End of Summer Legislative Update from SeTNYF

In late June, SeTNYF participated in a Farm Bill listening session in Lebanon, TN. The event attracted over 300 attendees, including U.S. House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Rep. DesJarlais (R-TN), Rep. Rose (R-TN), and Rep. Jackson (D-IL) who came to hear comments from Tennessee farmers on the upcoming Farm Bill. Two SeTNYF members submitted public comments supporting the inclusion of marker bill HR 3955, the Increasing Land Access Security and Opportunities Act and more broadly speaking to the importance of land access for young farmers.

In late July, SeTNYF started working on a letter to state lawmakers, urging them to address land access challenges in Tennessee by drafting legislation to strengthen existing programs such as TN FarmLink and UT Extension's farmland legacy workshop series. We believe that, with adequate funding and some internal restructuring, these programs could much more effectively connect land owners aging out of agriculture and young farmers seeking land. Tennessee's next legislative session isn't until February, but stay tuned for updates!

Policy presents many of the most impactful opportunities to help young farmers and ranchers. We believe we can help drive necessary transformations by centering the voices of farmers most marginalized from policy-making processes, equitably resourcing and training farmer leaders across the country, and advocating for farmer-driven, equitable, and intersectional policy recommendations in service of both incremental and radical change.