Wednesday, September 28th 2016
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, rolled out legislation on Monday that would increase assistance for urban farmers. Stabenow said the bill, the Urban Agriculture Act of 2016, would open a number of USDA programs to those involved in urban production agriculture. Specifically, the legislation allows for the development of urban farming cooperatives, increased research funding, and more access to USDA loan and risk management programs for urban farmers. The legislation hasn't yet been officially introduced, but Stabenow said that will likely happen this week. The bill is unlikely to be pushed as standalone legislation, but rather as a potential component to the upcoming farm bill. The bill was greeted with support from two major agricultural groups: the National Farmers Union and the American Farm Bureau Federation.