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qualify for the exemption or whose exemption is revoked, the Preventative usually happens when the Farm Bill falls dur-
Controls rule requires that any business that packs, holds, processes or ing an election year, Congress did a short-term
manufactures food creates a Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventa- extension, leaving it to be taken up yet again this
tive Control (HARPC) plan. This encompasses a large number of low-risk year.
activities that farms, food hubs, and cooperative produce distributors The Farm Bill has between ten and twelve
normally conduct, such as packing fruits and vegetables, milling grains titles dealing with a wide range of topics, includ-
and making maple or sorghum syrups. ing conservation, trade, credit, rural develop-
A few, very limited on-farm post-harvest activities are exempt, but ment, research and much more. The two titles
only on the farm’s own produce. All of the following would be subject to that draw the most publicity are the commodities
the HARPC requirements: two farms running a joint CSA and handling and the nutrition and food stamp programs. For
each other’s produce; a farm that stores food from any other farm or pro- decades, these two sections of the Farm Bill
ducer (even if they do no processing); and all sorts of “food hubs” that have been linked together to ensure its passage;
distribute food from multiple local producers. In effect, FDA treats a legal rural legislators support the bill because of the
event—the change in the possession of a crop—as a safety hazard, despite subsidies provided in the commodities title, and
all scientific evidence to the contrary. In addition, even many low-risk urban legislators support the bill because of the
activities conducted by a farm on its own produce would be subject to the food assistance dollars.
rule, such as dehydrating fruits and vegetables or making jam. The Senate passed its five-year Farm Bill
A business subject to the Preventative Controls rule must conduct back on June 10. It contained no real surprises,
a “hazard analysis” of all its operations to identify potential food safety including modest cuts to the food stamp section.
threats and steps to control them. Estimates of the costs of such plans The House took up its version of the Farm Bill
indicate that they can cost thousands of dollars, up to twenty thousand ten days later and, in a move that shocked most
dollars for a small operation in the first year. The rule then requires annual political observers, voted it down.
“verification” that the plan is working, with records of this verification A few weeks later, the Republican House
process and its findings. leadership brought up a controversial idea: split
The scope and complexity of the paperwork that will be required is the Farm Bill into two parts and leave the nutri-
daunting for both on-farm and off-farm processors. In the early 1990s, tion and food stamp programs out of the bill. In
similar HACCP requirements resulted in many small- and mid-scale July, the House passed this chopped up version
slaughterhouses having to shut their doors. The FDA’s proposed rule has of the Farm Bill, with a vote on party lines.
the potential to put an end to many of the exciting innovations taking place The House version of the Farm Bill had an-
right now with local food hubs, community processing facilities and the other, far more radical change. For decades, farm
other infrastructure so vital to re-establishing local food systems. bills have been written so that if they expire, we
revert to “permanent law” from the 1930s and
WHAT HAPPEnS nExT? 1940s. up until this year, the threat of reverting to
Some members of congress are becoming aware of FDA’s overreach- these old laws motivated the Congress to actually
ing. Representative Dan Benishek (R-MI) introduced an amendment to finish the farm bill. But the bill as passed by the
the Farm Bill, which was adopted by the House, to require the FDA to do House took out the permanent law provisions,
a full analysis of both the science and the economic impact of any rule so if a future farm bill expires, we would revert
proposed under FSMA before enforcing it. While the Farm Bill’s future is to the farm policy being debated today. Whether
uncertain (see below), it is important to build support for this amendment you like the laws from the ‘30s and ‘40s more
so that it is included in some bill, whether the Farm Bill or another. than the current farm bill or not, removing the
At the same time, we need to create pressure directly on the FDA to threat of permanent law removes the only incen-
make changes. The agency is accepting public comments on the proposed tive for a gridlocked Congress to actually pass
rules until november 15, 2013. See the sidebar for more details and sample a new farm bill. This has the potential to end
talking points. the farm bill process as we have known it for
decades, and not in a manner that encourages the
FARM BIll ConFuSIon sort of deep, systemic changes that are needed.
While we hope that the Benishek Amendment will make it into the Splitting the bill makes it harder to actu-
final Farm Bill, it’s far from clear that any Farm Bill will pass this year. ally finish the farm bill process. The House
The Farm Bill is a massive piece of legislation that comes up approximately and Senate versions of the Farm Bill must now
every five years. Last year was supposed to be a Farm Bill year but, as be reconciled through a conference commit-
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