AMERICA'S NEW AGRARIANS

40 Pages·2012·2.28 MB·English

AMERICA'S NEW AGRARIANS: POLICY OPPORTUNITIES
AND LEGAL INNOVATIONS TO SUPPORT NEW
FARMERS'
Prof Neil D. Hamilton*
WHY THE NEW FARMER GENERATION IS SO IMPORTANT TO
AMERICA'S FUTURE
A strong argument can be made that no issue is more important to
the future of U.S. agriculture - and thus to our food supply and social
sustainability - than identifying who will be the next generation of
farmers who will steward the land and produce our food. The good
news is our nation is experiencing a surge in interest of people who
want to be farmers - what we can see as a generation of New
Agrarians.2 The interest of young people in food and agriculture is
almost overwhelming, and such a stark difference from past decades
when few in the younger generation wanted anything to do with
*Neil D. Hamilton is the Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law and
the Director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University Law School in Des
Moines.
1. This Article grows out of the Center's work on new farmers and is designed
to identify ideas for how the USDA and other organizations can consider new
initiatives to assist new farmers. It was developed for a symposium held by the
Fordham Environmental Law Review. It is the result of extensive travels and
research conducted during the 2010-11 school year on a sabbatical from my
teaching responsibilities at Drake University Law School. The Article represents
the third installment in a related series of essays written during this period, all
dealing with the future of America's food and agricultural system. Readers are
encouraged to consult the other two companion articles. Neil D. Hamilton, Moving
Toward Food Democracy: Better Food,N ew Farmers and the Myth of Feeding the
World, 16 DRAKE J. AGRIC. L. (forthcoming 2011); Neil D. Hamilton, Farms, Food
and the Future: Legal Issues and Fifteen Years of the "New Agriculture," 26 J.
ENVTL. L. & LITIG. (forthcoming 2011).
2. See, e.g., Isolde Raftery, In New Food Culture, A Young Generation of
FarmersE merges, N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 6,2011, at Al9.
523
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farming, raising livestock or working the land. But the times are
changing and today the nation has a real opportunity to bring new
energy, fresh ideas, and young talent to the farm and food sector in
rural areas and urban communities alike. This interest on the part of
a new generation of potential farmers, many from non-agricultural
backgrounds, will challenge the traditional agricultural system and
culture in many ways. Interest in organic farming, different views on
what is proper and humane in caring for livestock, and less
enthusiasm for certain new technologies, such as genetically
modified seeds, are just some of the points of difference between the
traditional farm community and many in the New Agrarian
generation.4 This new interest in farming cuts across all economic,
geographic, racial, ethnic and educational distinctions. On a
November 2010 weekend, over 450 people, mostly black youth and
students, gathered at Brooklyn College for the Black Farmers and
Urban Agriculture conference to learn about how to be part of the
healthy food and urban farming movement.5 Less than two weeks
later, a sell-out crowd composed of over 250 mostly white, well
educated, college graduates from middle and upper income families,
gathered for the National Young Farmer Conference at the Stone
Barns Center for Food and Agriculture near Tarrytown, less than fifty
miles away.6 While the audiences were very different, their interests
and the forces motivating and attracting them were much the same; as
are the challenges and hurdles facing them in their desire to be
involved with farming.7
3. See Alec Appelbaum, Growing with the Crops, Nearby Property Values:
Organic Farms as Subdivisions Amenities, N.Y. TIMES, July 1, 2009, at B9; Kim
Severson, Old McDonald Had an Intern? Summer Jobs are Going Organic, N.Y.
TIMES, May 24, 2009, at Al; Elizabeth Weise, On Tiny Plots, a New Generation of
FarmersE merges, USA TODAY, July 14, 2009, at Al.
4. See, e.g., Andrew Martin, Is a Food Revolution Now in Season?, N.Y.
TIMES, Mar. 21, 2009, at BUl.
5. See BLACK FARMERS & URBAN GARDENERS CONF.,
http://www.blackfarmersconf.org (last visited May 6, 2011).
6. See YF Conference, STONE BARNS CTR. FOR FOOD & AGRIC.,
http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/our-work/young-farmers-initiative (last visited
May 8, 2011). The Young Farmer Conference was part of the Stone Barns initiative
on supporting new farmers. Id
7. The Drake Agricultural Law Center has implemented a new research
initiative on policies to support the next generation of America's farmers. As part
of this work, the Center organized a two-day national conference "The Drake
Forum: America's New Farmers: Policy Innovations & Opportunities" held in
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2011] NEWAGRARIANS 525
The opportunity to focus the nation's attention on the needs of a
new generation of farmers and the role they can play in the future of
local and regional food systems presents an important opportunity for
policy makers and public officials. The people interested in food and
farming come from all backgrounds, but there are segments of the
population that present special opportunities and challenges. For
example, women play a significant role in the nation's healthy food
movement and in creating new farms, especially in relation to local
foods, small farms, and beginning farms.8 Over fify percent of the
speakers and attendees at the Drake Forum were women.9 This means
women are a critical part of the new farmer agenda, and policy efforts
need to recognize and empower them.'0 Another group that presents
a unique opportunity to aid in assisting their desire to farm are the
nation's young veterans. Helping these potential new farmers -
literally turning combat boots into cowboy boots - represents one of
the most important and symbolic opportunities for the U.S. to make
real a commitment to helping create new farms." In addition to
Washington DC on March 4 and 5, 2010. The Forum, cosponsored by USDA Risk
Management Agency, Farm Credit, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture,
and others, attracted over 200 attendees from forty states. See Beginning Farmers,
DRAKE LAW SCHOOL, http://www.law.drake.edu/centers/agLaw/ (last modified
Mar. 17, 2011) (follow "Beginning Farmers" hyperlink) (containing information
from the Forum such as pod casts of the fifty speakers, including remarks by
Secretary Vilsack). As part of Drake's focus on new farmer issues the Law School
offers a one-credit summer class on America's New Farmers - Legal and Policy
Opportunities. DetailedI nformationf or AgriculturalL aw Curriculum, DRAKE LAW
SCHooL, http://www.law.drake.edu/academics/docs/areasofSpecialization-
legisAg2011 .pdf (last visited May 15, 2011).
8. See FARMER JANE, http://www.farmerjane.org (last visited May 3, 2011).
9. See Beginning Farmers, supra note 7.
10. An example of an organization working to address the economic and policy
needs of women farmers and landowners is the Women, Food, and Agriculture
Network, headquartered in Iowa. See WOMEN, FOOD, & AGRIC. NETWORK,
http://www.wfan.org (last visited May 7, 2011).
11. See Patricia Leigh Brown, Helping Soldiers Trade Their Swords for Plows,
N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 6, 2011, at Al 8. There are organizations working to improve the
farming opportunities for veterans, for example the Veterans Farmer Coalition.
USDA can partner with them to identify other concerns of veterans, as well as
coordinate support with the Department of Defense and the Veterans
Administration. See FARMER VET. COAL., http://www.farmvetco.org (last visited
May 1, 2011); see also 2011 USDA FundedF armer-V eteran Retreats Set in Four
States, BEGINNING FARMERS (Feb. 21, 2011), http://www.beginningfarmers.org/
2011-usda-funded-farmer-veteran-retreats-set-in-four-states.
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traditional ideas of farming, which for most observers is a rural
activity, interest is growing in the idea of urban agriculture or
expanding food production within and near our cities.12 In the last
year, officials in several major cities have amended their zoning
codes to authorize urban farming, creating opportunities for
community gardens and local markets.13 The interest in urban
agriculture or community-based agriculture is burgeoning across the
nation - perhaps best symbolized by the growing interest in raising
poultry, i.e., the "city chicken" movement.14
The emergence of a new generation of people interested in farming
is important to our nation for many reasons. It is a critical change in
attitude to see new people who want to farm, become landowners and
even live in rural areas. These new farmers are helping to reverse
trends regarding both the number of farmers and the rural
population.'5 These people bring a new range of skills, education,
talents, and creativity to rural areas as well as entrepreneurial drive.
They represent a branch of the 'cultural creatives,' people who are
savvy with new information technologies and who have the
marketing skills to open new economic opportunities.' 6 Many of
12. The topic of urban agriculture has been the subject of several recent legal
articles. See, e.g., Catherine J. LaCroix, Urban Agriculture and Other Green Uses:
Remaking the Shrinking City, 42 URB. LAW. 225 (2010); Kathryn A. Peters,
Creatinga Sustainable Urban Agriculture Revolution, 25 J. ENvTL. L. & LITIG. 203
(2010). One of the best sources of information about the growth of urban
agriculture in the U.S. is the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture. KANSAS
CITY CTR. FOR URBAN AGRIC., http://www.cultivatekc.org/ (last visited May 25,
2011).
13. See Neil D. Hamilton, Farms, Food and the Future: Legal Issues and
Fifteen Years of the "New Agriculture," 26 J. ENvTL. L. & LITIG. (forthcoming
2011) (discussing at length the issue of urban agriculture and the range of cities
taking steps to support it).
14. See Patricia E. Salkin, Feeding the Locavores, One Chicken at a Time:
Regulating Backyard Chickens, 34 ZONING & PLAN. L. REP. 1 (2011) (providing a
comprehensive review of the legal issues associated with urban poultry
production).
15. See, e.g., NAT'L AGRIC. STAT. SERv., U.S. DEP'T AGRIC., 2007 CENSUS OF
AGRICULTURE 216 tbl.63 (2007), availablea t http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/
Publications/2007/Full Report/usvl.pdf (revealing an increase in the total number
of farmers, with the largest increases coming in the categories of lower sales).
16. See RICHARD FLORIDA, THE RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS (2002)
(regarding how new people with different social and personal goals can help
transform the economy and personality of a region); PAUL H. RAY & RUTH
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them see their farms as food businesses, which can be the basis for
other entrepreneurial activities.17 They represent not just new bodies
and new blood, offering new ideas and energy, but also have the
capacity and leadership to help fuel local developments.
It may be too easy to generalize about the motivations of these
New Agrarians, but they generally bring an enlightened attitude to
resource conservation and sustainability and are interested in
embracing environmental stewardship. Fortunately, this attitude
stands in contrast to many in the traditional farm sector who continue
to view environmental issues, such as addressing water quality
protection or confronting the challenges of climate change,' as an
economic burden rather than a social and legal responsibility.19
Many of the New Agrarians see involvement in food production and
agriculture as imbued with a dimension of public service,20 and see
producing healthy food and restoring land as an important social
good, in addition to being an economic opportunity.21 They are
committed to the ideal of community and see themselves in
relationships with their consumers, neighboring farmers, the land,
ANDERSON, CULTURAL CREATIVES: How FIFTY MILLION PEOPLE ARE CHANGING
THE WORLD (2000) (defining the concept of "cultural creatives").
17. See BEN HEWITT, THE TOWN THAT FOOD SAVED: How ONE COMMUNITY
FOUND VITALITY IN LOCAL FOOD (2009) (discussing how farms and food-based
businesses can help drive local economic development in rural areas).
18. See Neil D. Hamilton, Farming an Uncertain Climate Future: What COP
15 Means for Agriculture, 2011 U. ILL. L. REv. 341 (2011) (discussing the views of
much of the traditional farm sector to climate change).
19. See, e.g., Perry Beaman, Farm Runoff Blamedf or Fouled Waterways, DES
MOINES REG., Sept. 28, 2010, at B2 (quoting Rick Robinson the environmental
policy staffer of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation as saying "People who point
fingers at farmer are behind the times, the discussion has moved on to what is cost-
effective"). For a discussion of the role of law in creating a duty of stewardship on
the part of landowners see generally Neil D. Hamilton, Feeding Our Green Future:
Legal Responsibilities and Sustainable Agricultural Land Tenure, 13 DRAKE J.
AGRIC. L. 377, 382 (2008).
20. The idea of a "national new farmer corps", proposed by the author in
November 2008, would treat farming as a form of public service and continues to
attract considerable interest. See Neil Hamilton, Obama Should Launch a New
Farmer Corps, DES MOINES REG., Dec. 1, 2008, at 7A. The idea helped generate
support for a "Food Corps" initiative now being funded as an Ameri-corps pilot
project to place individuals with schools working on farm-to-school and school
garden projects.
2 1. Id.
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their animals, and the communities in which they live.22 As a result,
they see farming as an avenue to economic development and building
better futures for their families and their communities. One important
component of the New Agrarian movement are older, second career
people either returning to their home areas or moving to rural areas,
who bring their employment experience and skills, as well as capital
and other wealth to their farms, with the goal of retiring in the area.23
Another component of the new farm movement is focused on urban
agriculture, and represents an important force not just for improving
food access in their communities, but also stimulating economic
development and stabilizing and restoring neighborhoods facing
economic decline.24
This Article addresses how law and policy can be employed to
create opportunities for new farmers and considers how this relates to
the expansion of local and regional food systems. Part I considers the
traditional role played by the United States Department of
Agriculture ("USDA") in supporting new farmers and addresses how
the work of the USDA can be enhanced. This discussion builds on
the leadership of USDA Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack who, in a July
2010 appearance before the Senate Agriculture Committee,
articulated a goal of helping create 100,000 new farmers.25 Further,
this Article presents an extensive set of ideas and recommendations
on how the USDA can achieve this goal. Part II considers three
22. Id.
23. See, e.g., Ralph Gardner, Jr., At Midlife, Called to a New Field,N .Y. TIMES,
July 3, 2008, at Fl.
24. See Hamilton, supra note 20.
25. See Farm Bill Oversight: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Agric., Nutrition
& Forestry, 111th Cong. 7-8 (2010) (statement of Hon. Tom Vilsack, Sec'y of U.S.
Dep't of Agric.), available at http://www.farmpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/
2010/07/Senate-Ag-Committee-Hearing_10 June_30-FINAL.pdf. When Secretary
of Agriculture Vilsack appeared before the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry at a Farm Bill Oversight Hearing on June 30, 2010, the
Secretary departed from his prepared remarks and articulated his concern about the
declining farm population and the need to revitalize rural America. The Secretary
made a bold proposal to Congress:
Let me suggest one idea that this committee might consider. ...Why not
set as a goal for the 2012 Farm Bill the ability to add at least 100,000
additional farmers in the area of the small farming and commercial
operations? Why not establish local advisory councils in communities
across the country to identify, recruit, encourage and assist young people
to consider a life of farming? Id.
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topics which address key issues facing new farmers. The three topics
are: 1) how the local food policy councils proliferating across the
nation can incorporate efforts to support new farmers; 2) how a "new
farmer fund" generated in part through market-based consumer-
oriented support can be used by organizations working to train and
assist new farmers; and 3) how a "farm school" model may address
the labor law issues associated with traditional models of on-farm
"internships" and apprentices" while expanding the opportunities for
people interested in learning about farming. The Article concludes
with a brief discussion of the connection between efforts to support
new farmers and expanding local and regional food systems and how
these developments are both part of the growing national interest in
healthy food and direct farmer-to-consumer marketing.
I. WHY NEW FARMER ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE USDA
A critical challenge for American agriculture and for the USDA is
helping identify and support the next generation of farmers and rural
landowners. Although the USDA has a long history of programs
important to new and beginning farmers, such as targeted Farm
Service Agency (FSA) loans to help finance the acquisition of land,26
it is fair to criticize past USDA and Administration efforts for not
providing a sharp focus on new farmers. For example, a September
2007 Government Accountability Office ("GAO") Report to the
Senate Agriculture Committee concluded the USDA did not have any
way to measure the effectiveness of the financial support for
beginning farmers and instead relied primarily on counting the
number and amount of FSA loans.27 While support for new farmers
26. See Farm Loan Programs, FARM SERV. AGENCY, U. S. DEP'T OF AGRIC.,
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=bfl (last
updated May 12, 2011) (for information on the range of lending programs USDA
FSA offers to support new and beginning farmers).
27. U.S. GOv'T ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GAO-07-1130, BEGINNING
FARMERS: ADDITIONAL STEPS NEEDED TO DEMONSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
USDA ASSISTANCE 4-5 (2007), http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07l130.pdf. The
USDA response to the GAO suggestions was largely non-responsive. The GAO
noted that the
USDA did not discuss the need for further analysis of (1) beginning
farmer characteristics, (2) gaps in beginning farmer assistance, and (3) the
effects of beginning farmer policies on farm entry and the age of farmers.
Such analysis could help USDA define the outcomes it expects its
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530 FORDHAMENVIRONMENTAL LA WREVIEW [VOL. XX II
might be implicit in other departmental efforts to create agricultural
opportunities, what has been missing in the past at the USDA has
been an intentional effort to treat the topic of new farmers as an
integrated theme and provide a clear, strong articulation of the
importance of creating new farms as an over-arching (or
underpinning) priority for USDA's work. Fortunately, this situation
changed with the appointment of Secretary Vilsack and a new team
of USDA leaders interested in creating opportunities in America's
food system and in addressing the needs of all farmers regardless of
their size or type of operation.
Today the USDA administers a variety of programs relating to this
topic, many of which were created by the 2008 Farm Bill.28 These
programs include new funding for competitive grants under the
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program ("BFRDP"),
which provided over seventeen million dollars in grants in 2009 and
2010;29 Natural Resource Conservation Service ("NRCS") assistance
for new farmers;30 and the new Conservation Reserve Program
("CRP") Transition Incentives Program ("TIP") offering financial
incentives to landowners who assist new farmers in obtaining access
beginning farmer assistance to achieve and develop a cross cutting,
departmental strategic goal to measure success. Id. at 23-24.
28. See Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-246, 122
Stat. 1651 (2008). In addition to these examples, the USDA has a broad array of
other existing programs relating to new farmers, including the Farm Service
Agency (FSA) targeted lending programs, a key source of direct and guaranteed
lending to farmers, which earmark significant funds for new farmers; youth loans,
smaller FSA loans for youth between 12 and 20 for use in supervised agricultural
projects; and implementing Departmental Regulation 9700-001, detailing support
for small farms and new and beginning farmers. See FSA Administered Programs,
FARM SERV. AGENCY, U. S. DEP'T OF AGRIC., http://www.apfo.usda.gov/FSA/
stateoffapp?mystate=wa&area=home&subject-prog&topic=1anding (last modified
Dec. 16, 2010).
29. See Grants, NAT'L INST. OF FOOD & AGRIC., U. S. DEP'T OF AGRIC.,
www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/beginningfarmerandrancher.cfm (last modified May 19,
2011); see also Farm Loan Programs:A dvisory Committee, FARM SERV. AGENCY,
U. S. DEP'T OF AGRIC., http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject
=fmlp&topic=bfl-er (last modified May 3, 2010) (providing information about the
legislative authority for the committee).
30. See 2008 NRCS Farm Bill ConservationP rograms,N AT. RES. CONSERV.
SERV.,U.S. DEP'T OF AGRIC., http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2008/
index.html (last visited June 5, 2011).
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2011] NEWAGRARIANS 531
to land coming out of this popular conservation program.31 In August
2010, after a two-year hiatus, the USDA reappointed the Advisory
Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, designed to provide
advice and input from external audiences to USDA officials working
on new farmers.32 The new Office of Advocacy and Outreach, and
the national program leader for new and beginning farmers have
responsibility for administering the advisory committee and for
leading a focused internal USDA effort to develop wide ranging and
effective support for new farming operations.33 In addition to USDA
efforts, other traditional new farmer lending efforts exist across the
nation, such as the tax exempt "aggie bonds" issued in twenty
states.34 A variety of non-profit organizations and farm groups
31. See FARM SERV. AGENCY, U.S. DEP'T OF AGRic, FACT SHEET,
CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM (CRP) - TRANSITION INCENTIVES PROGRAM
(TIP) (2010), available at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/lnternet/FSAFile/
tip051410.pdf.
32. News Release, U. S. DEP'T OF AGRIC., Secretary Vilsack Appoints Members
to Beginning Farmer Committee, '(Aug. 12, 2010), http://www.usda.gov/wps/
portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly-true&contentid=2010/08/0405.xml. Traci
Bruckner from the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska was appointed to chair the
USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Advisory Committee at the December 2010
meeting. See News Release, CTR. FOR RURAL AFFAIRS, Bruckner Named Chair of
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Advisory Committee (Dec. 16, 2010),
http://www.cfra.org/newsrelease/2010/12/16/bruckner-named-chair-beginning-
farmer-and-rancher-advisory-committee. The Center for Rural Affairs has a long
history of developing innovative programs to support new farmers, many of which
have become models for use in other states. See About the Centerf or Rural Affairs,
CTR. FOR RURAL AFFAIRS, http://www.cfra.org/about (last visited June 4, 2011).
33. See OFF. OF BUDGET & PROGRAM ANALYSIS, U. S. DEP'T OF AGRIC.,
DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT OFFICE OF ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH
EXPLANATORY NOTES 6-1, 6-5 (2011), available at http://www.obpa.usda.gov/
06oao201 Inotes.pdf .
34. See CDFA Spotlight: Aggie Bonds, COUNCIL OF DEV. FIN. AGENCIES,
http://www.cdfa.net/cdfa/cdfaweb.nsf/pages/cdfafactsheetaggiebonds.html (last
visited June 2, 2011). "Aggie Bonds" are tax-exempt bonds issued in connection
with state programs to finance the purchase of land by qualified beginning farmers.
Id. See IOWA AGRIC. DEV. AUTH., http://www.iada.state.ia.us (last visited June 3,
2011) (providing a comprehensive discussion of these programs). Many states
offer programs to support new farmers. See, e.g., Resources for New and Aspiring
Farmers, STATE AGRIC. DEV. COMM., STATE OF N.J. DEP'T OF AGRIC.
http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/farmlink/resources/newfarmers.html (last
visited June 2. 2011). A discussion of all the various state and local efforts
currently in place to support new farmers is beyond the scope of this article. For
information about many of these projects see Beginning Farmers supra note 7
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develop innovative training and education programs, some involving
incubator farms, to support new farmers.35
New farmer issues represent an exciting opportunity to revitalize
and re-energize the work of the USDA, especially at the field level.
The new farmer issue is key to the future of USDA for many reasons,
principally because it is forward looking and fundamentally linked to
the future of agriculture, i.e. no farms, no food. Efforts to support
new farmers are people-focused and based on creating economic
opportunities - creating new jobs and farm businesses, building
family wealth, and strengthening rural communities. Helping support
a new farm family and farm operation is very real and is something
other people can identify with - whether it be existing farmers,
neighbors, landowners, community leaders or USDA employees.
Further, the ability to engage local USDA staff in helping new
farmers may offer a more rewarding and satisfying experience when
compared to assisting large-scale producers work through the
complex, mind-numbing and increasingly artificial rules associated
with delivering many USDA programs, like farm subsidies and crop
insurance.36 New farmer issues fit all types and categories of
agriculture, and new farmers are a key component of the USDA's
"Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative.37 Talking about
new farmers is a versatile way to make the "Know Your Farmer"
initiative relevant to all parts of agriculture and may address the
skepticism some people have about the economic potential for
expanding local food production. It is not just about the food, it is
also about the farms and farmers, and creating new opportunities for
more people to put their hands in the land. While new farmer issues
touch all parts of agriculture, one of the most common ways to help
(Drake Forum on America's New Farmers: Policy Innovations and Opportunities);
Beginning Farmer Center, IOWA STATE UNIV. EXTENSION,
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/bfc (last visited May 29, 2011).
35. See, e.g., New FarmerD evelopment Project,G ROWNYC (2010),
http://www.cenyc.org/greenmarket/nfdp (last visited Apr. 27, 2011). See generally
GRoWNYC, 2009 ANNUAL REPORT (2009), available at http://www.grownyc.org/
files/FINAL GrowNYCAnnual 09.pdf (detailing efforts to help new farmers
locate available land and access New York City markets).
36. See Chris Edwards, CATO INST., Agricultural Subsidies, http://www.
downsizinggovernment.org/agriculture/subsidies (last visited June 5, 2011).
37. See Support Local Farmers, KNOW YOUR FARMER KNOW YOUR FOOD, U.
S. DEP'T OF AGRIC., http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/knowyourfarmer
?navtype=KYF&navid=KYFLOCALFARMER (last visited June 3, 2011).
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