WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) recently introduced a bill that seeks to offer beginning and future farmers better access to land, funding, and essential resources.

The lawmakers said the New Producer Economic Security Act is aimed at launching a pilot program through the USDA to support those who have been farming for 10 years or less, and would establish a pilot program within the USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

“If we are going to revitalize and strengthen American agriculture going forward, we need to take steps now to ensure young farmers can succeed,” Budzinski said. “I’m proud to lead bipartisan legislation that will allow young and beginning farmers access land, markets, and capital – the biggest challenges for new farmers.”

Nunn said, “In Iowa, agriculture is the backbone of our state, and our farmers are the backbone of agriculture. That’s why I’m fighting to ensure young and beginning farmers have the tools they need to access the credit necessary to purchase farmland. Young Americans who are willing to do the essential work to feed and fuel our world should be commended and supported however we can help.”

Michelle Hughes, National Young Farmers Coalition co-executive director, said, “The New Producer Economic Security Act comes at a time when farmers need us the most. The bill comprehensively addresses the greatest barriers young and beginning farmers face, while elevating local leadership, securing our domestic food system, and delivering material benefits for new producers.”

Lawmakers said this program, if included in the farm bill and funded through the appropriations process, “would be a meaningful opportunity to support young and beginning producers across the country with tangible outcomes for land access, retention, and transition.”

Kristiana Coutu, Iowa State University’s (ISU) Beginning Farmer Center director and counsel for the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, told Farm World, “Support for beginning farmers to purchase land would be an eligible project under the program, including financial assistance for down payments and closing costs, and also assistance to obtain surveys and assess potential land purchases.

“Support to acquire farm transition planning is included, which is a key component of providing opportunities for new farmers,” she added.

Jason Grimm, Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development executive director and owner of Grimm Family Farm in Williamsburg, Iowa, said, “New farmers or returning generations of the family farm support rural school districts, shop in local stores and attend community events. As a young farmer myself, my wife and I have chosen to set roots in our local community and send our three children to the local school district in Williamsburg.

“But we need more support to ensure that we can gain long-term access to land to grow our farm business into a long-standing venture,” he added. “The proposed pilot program over 10 years would provide the necessary foundation for the USDA’s complimentary programs to create vibrant rural communities across Iowa, and the country.”

Amanda Koehler, National Young Farmers Coalition land policy associate director, said with the average U.S. farmer approaching 60 years old and nearly 40 percent of U.S. farmland close to changing ownership over the next two decades, “the next farm bill is our best chance at creating meaningful and lasting policy solutions to this daunting trend that keeps farmland out of reach for so many.

“Congress must act now to ensure that investment in secure and equitable land tenure for the next generation is progressed through the next farm bill,” she said.