As Congress prepares to start the Farm Bill reauthorization process, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is holding a workshop for Maine farmers and other food system stakeholders to ask for feedback on their priorities, Friday, November 18, 9-11 a.m. at the Morris Farm, 156 Gardiner Road, Wiscasset.

 Congresswoman Pingree will be joined by a panel of businesses and organizations that work with USDA programs in the Farm Bill.

They include Rhiannon Hampson, of Grace Pond Farm; Jerry Ireland, of the United Farmer Veterans of Maine and Ireland Hill Farms; Emilie Knight, of the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets; Beth Schiller, of Dandelion Spring Farm; Colleen Halon Smith, of the Unity Food Hub; and workshop attendees, including Maine farmers and organizations, that support the state’s agriculture and food industry.

The Farm Bill authorizes numerous programs important to nutrition, farming, and rural development. The current legislation is set to expire in 2018 and Congress will soon begin the process of its reauthorization. 

Pingree is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, which oversees funding for the USDA, and formerly served on the House Committee on Agriculture.  She has been a vocal proponent of reforming federal policies to better support small- and medium-sized farms and invest in farms to help them meet the rising consumer demand for locally produced food. 

She was successful in getting several of these reforms into the 2014 Farm Bill, including increased funding for key grant programs, better crop insurance for diversified farms, and expanding programs allowing consumers to use food assistance benefits to purchase food directly from producers. 

Pingree plans to propose additional reforms for the next Farm Bill.  She will be holding listening sessions in Maine to get on-the-ground feedback on what should be included as well as inform people on how they can be involved in the reauthorization process.