Farm Bureau Offers ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Recommendations

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) on Aug. 1 sent a series of recommendations to the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. AFBF stated that the recommendations “will benefit health outcomes and ensure farmers can continue growing safe, healthy and affordable food for America’s families.”

“Farmers and ranchers share the goal of advancing health in America,” said Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “Healthy meals start with healthy farms, which is a responsibility farmers take seriously. Investing in research, rewarding innovation and alleviating overregulation helps them reach that goal.”

Farm Bureau’s letter highlights four areas of recommendations to the MAHA Commission, including:

1) Advancing Innovation and Sustainability

• Promote the adoption of precision application technologies
• Dedicate funding to improve mechanization and automation
• Support plant biostimulants and biologicals as promising tools
• Support a thoughtful and iterative public comment process on shared understandings of regenerative agriculture
  

2) Smart Regulatory Reform and Program Enhancements to Support Farmers and Ranchers

• Modernize current agriculture labor workforce programs
• Protect domestic markets from being flooded by foreign foods
• Reintroduce whole milk into school meal programs
• Enable schools/food banks to directly purchase food from farms
• Make it easier for small- and medium-size farms to serve local markets

3) Public Investment in Agricultural Research

• Invest in U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies focused on research and innovation
• Invest in projects which would help fruit, vegetable and nut growers

4) Pesticide Tools

• Process improvements in the regulatory system to support the innovation pipeline for new discoveries
• Increased resources for pesticide regulatory offices and programs

Farm Bureau is a founding member of the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA), which also sent a report to the MAHA Commission. FACA’s recommendations focused on key pillars to help agricultural producers and forest owners keep soil healthy and air and water clean.