U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham – fresh off her barnstorming North Florida Farm Tour – is dropping an agriculture bill along with fellow North Floridian U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho.
The bill would create a pilot “AgShare” program, which aims to free up farming equipment currently being held by the federal government for use by farmers. The legislation would create an equipment-sharing program administered through the Department of Defense, with an eye towards helping new farmers push past the extensive capital requirements that often serve as barriers to entry.
“With an aging farmer population, there is a growing need to address agriculture’s obstacles to entry and find ways to help new farmers – and I heard firsthand from many beginning farmers that their biggest challenge is the high cost of equipment,” said Graham on Thursday morning.
“At the same time they’re struggling, the government is storing idle equipment that could be used for farming. This common sense bill would create an equipment-share program for new farmers to get on their feet and begin a career in agriculture,” added the Democrat from Tallahassee.
Graham said the idea occurred to her during a conversation at the beginning of her tour, when she spoke to a veteran and new farmer named Jim Hill, who took part in the Farm Tour’s Next Generation of Agriculture Panel Discussion at FAMU.
Hill said the Graham/Yoho bill sounds promising.
“Gwen listened to our concerns and now she’s working to help us,” Mr. Hill said. “This new program will be a hand up for new farmers like myself. It will make a way for people to come into farming who wouldn’t be able to otherwise. It will help revitalize American agriculture.”
Yoho, a Gainesville Republican, sits on the House Agriculture Committee along with Graham, the only Floridians on the panel.
“So much is owed to our nation’s farmers,” said Yoho. “Never before has such a small number of Americans supplied so much too so many. With the percentage of people putting food on our tables getting smaller, more needs to be done to encourage a new generation to join the agricultural community. Leasing idle farm equipment is a common sense approach to helping new farmers manage their startup costs, while alleviating the debt burden of new equipment.”
The bill, if enacted, would provide that the State Department and Defense Department must coordinate to identify idle equipment within one year, excluding any equipment necessary for military preparedness.
After three years, the Defense Secretary would submit a report to Congress on the efficacy of the program and make a recommendation on whether to continue or expand it.
The Graham camp has released a video recapping their recent farm tour. Watch it below:
