Urban Agriculture in the 2018 Farm Bill

The 2018 Farm Bill took a major step forward by creating the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP), an advisory committee that gives the public a voice in shaping federal policy, and a pilot program for urban county committees in select cities. The law authorized up to $25 million a year through 2023 to support their work. Congress funded the program each year, but always below the $25 million cap.

The old Farm Bill expired. Now what?

The 2018 Farm Bill expired in 2023. Since then there hasn’t been a new Farm Bill, but Congress continued to fund urban ag anyway, by “appropriating to an expired authorization.” That’s a legal and fairly common workaround, but not ideal. It leaves the program without a recent policy mandate, which makes it more vulnerable to shifting political priorities.

Now, a new bill—H.R. 5804—would reauthorize the urban agriculture programs through 2030 and raise the funding cap to $50 million. It was introduced by Robert Menendez of New Jersey. As of this date it has five co-sponsors and a catchy name, as spelled out in the bill itself:

This Act may be cited as the “Providing Robust Organics and Diets for Urban Communities Everywhere Act” or the “PRODUCE Act”.

H.R. 5804 is a marker bill.

The bill nails down some basic issues — reauthorization and funding cap — but nothing more. In time it can be fleshed out, but the first goal of a marker bill is to flag an issue and gather allies. Most marker bills are introduced mainly to signal policy priorities, stake out a position, or influence future negotiations rather than to become law themselves. The vast majority never move out of committee or receive a floor vote.

A stronger, more detailed version of 5804 may become part of the next Farm Bill, but the first priority if this bill is to survive its time in committee and prevail in a floor vote is to build support for it now.

What Next?

Congress needs to know that there is backing for a strong urban ag presence in the Farm Bill and hence in the USDA. Here’s what I got from ChatGPT — ya, I cheat 😉

1. Early support matters more than early detail.
   A bill with a small number of sponsors tends to vanish; one with visible bipartisan or cross-regional support gets attention.
2. Thank-you letters and recruitment outreach help normalize the idea that this reauthorization is important and popular.
3. Educational outreach now (to urban agriculture advocates, farm organizations, environmental groups, etc.) builds the base of people ready to speak up when the strengthening phase comes.
4. Once support is established, policy suggestions for improvement (e.g., expanding eligible activities, providing technical assistance, ensuring stable funding mechanisms) will carry more weight.

And how do we do that? More from ChatGPT:

1. Letters of appreciation to the sponsor and current co-sponsors.
2. Outreach to potential co-sponsors, especially members on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.
3. Educational briefings or one-pagers explaining why urban agriculture needs a reauthorized and improved OUAIP.
4. Build a network of endorsers—local governments, nonprofits, and farm organizations willing to sign a support letter later.
5. Begin drafting recommendations for what a “strengthened” version would include, but hold them until the bill gains traction or heads to markup.