Dear John,

Last week, I welcomed Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, to the Fifth District of Connecticut for a Farm Bill Listening Session. During the event, we heard from Connecticut stakeholders about their priorities for the 2023 reauthorization of the Farm Bill.

Participants in the listening session included stakeholders advocating for issues that cover numerous agricultural and food programs. 

The Fifth District is home to 1,404 farms, comprising 95,583 total acres, and the state of Connecticut has a total of 380,000 acres of farmland. Participants expressed the need to increase access to U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for small Connecticut farms, expand access to meat processing plants for smaller farmers, properly fund safety net programs and risk management measures like crop insurance, provide better resources and financial support to BIPOC, young and beginning farmers, and combat the impact of extreme weather and the climate crisis on farms as well.

Alarmingly, our district is also home to 81,100 food insecure individuals. Representatives from food banks and food pantries stressed the importance of increasing access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for underserved Americans.

Many of the concerns expressed at the listening session align with my farm bill priorities including:

•  Boosting funding for nutrition incentive programs such as the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which often helps local farmer’s markets increase community access to fresh fruits and vegetables 
• Equally distributing disaster assistance to small and big states alike
•  Continuing funding for the Dairy Margin Coverage program and expanding support for small- to medium-sized processing facilities to insulate local and regional food supply chains from disruptions at extensive, centralized facilities via the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program
•  Authorizing new loan programs through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to better serve farmers during economic crises
• Addressing and correcting historic discrimination within the federal agricultural policy by establishing an independent civil rights oversight board to review appeals of civil rights complaints filed against USDA, investigate reports of discrimination within USDA, and provide oversight of Farm Service Agency County Committees.

A comprehensive list of my Farm bill priorities is available here.

I am committed to hearing priorities from diverse groups of stakeholders throughout Connecticut and across the nation and will continue working hard to strengthen and improve the Farm Bill. Further, I was happy to host Chairman “GT” Thompson in my district. Bipartisan efforts like this listening session are essential as we work towards crafting this bill.

Additional information on the 2023 Farm Bill Listening Session is available here. 

Jahana Hayes

Member of Congress