Farm Advocacy
RAFI's Farm Advocates save and strengthen family farms in
crisis. We provide financial planning assistance and advocate
for the farmer to lenders and other agencies.
We serve diverse farms across the Southeast. They range from
small, specialty operations to livestock and commodity operations
on thousands of acres. Many of the farms are owned and operated
by minority farmers.
RAFI provides expert knowledge in complex lending situations
and two decades of experience fighting to keep family farmers
on the land. We do not provide direct financial relief.
If you are a farmer in need of assistance, please
call RAFI at (919) 542-1396 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday
–- Friday. If you need immediate assistance, please
call Farm Aid at (800) FARM-AID.
Education and Policy
RAFI brings the experience of family farmers to state and
national policy debates through education and legislative
advocacy. Together with partners across the United States,
we increase the ways farm policies and regulations support
family farmers.
RAFI also trains farmers and farm advisors on specific issues
and their effect on mid-scale family farms. These issues include:
- Disaster assistance programs
- Access to credit
- Commodity policy and the Farm Bill
Recent Initiatives
- Crop Insurance: RAFI staff testified
before Congress on the need for crop insurance programs
to keep up with the changes in agriculture.
- Emergency Response: We connect farmers
to sources of disaster relief funding and have trained hundreds
of farm advisors in five states in the wake of disasters.
- Clergy Consulting: We train rural clergy
to identify and address the mental-health needs of farm
families and provide guidance on the needs of farm communities
in transition.
- Publications: Our publications increase
the ability of farmers and farm advocates to engage effectively
in the political process.
|
Farm Sustainability Resources
Disaster
Programs and the Changing Face of Agriculture in North Carolina
explores the growing gap between the needs of North
Carolina farmers and the protection provided by federal disaster
programs. Read the executive
summary (PDF) or the
full report (PDF) online.
The
Farm Bill Tree: Understanding the Logic of the Farm Bill
(PDF) - What 's included in the farm bill? Why? Where do commodity
payments fit in? The answers are here, in Scott Marlow's article.
Disaster
Programs Discourage Organic and Natural Food Production
(PDF) - Current disaster relief and crop insurance
programs put organic and natural farmers at a serious diadvantage.
Learn why, and what can be changed.
Scott
Marlow's Testimony Before the House Subcommittee on Commodities
and Risk Mamagement (PDF) - Marlow offers analysis
of and recommendations for crop insurance programs and the
ways they serve organic, contract and value-added agricultural
enterprises.
A Non-Wonk Guide to
Understanding Federal Commodity Payments.
May 2005 (PDF, 4 MB). A 30-page publication explaining how
field crop commodity programs work.
North Carolina
On-Farm Research. May 2003 (PDF). Newsletter
topics include cotton tillage practices, wasps to control
bean beetles, steps to a successful research project, weed
control for firs, organic apples and reducing peanut production
costs.
Order the RAFI-USA printed 1998 report, The Peanut
Project: Farmer-Focused Innovation for Sustainable Peanut
Production, from our Publicationspage
(look under "Print Publications.") RAFI-USA's Peanut
Project assisted peanut farmers in eliminating over 25,000
pounds of active ingredient of pesticides on over 2000 acres.
|
