New Bill Would Help Farmers Transition from Factory Farming

Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), joined by Rep. James McGovern (D-MA), just introduced the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act (IACA) in the House and Senate. This is a huge step in the right direction! The groundbreaking new bill supports practical, real-world solutions to problems facing farmers, rural communities, our environment, and animals. 

What is the IACA?

The IACA would create a federal grant program through the United States Department of Agriculture to provide funding for farmers who wish to transition from industrial animal agriculture to alternative farming practices, including specialty-crop production. It would also help protect farmers against retaliation from the big corporations that control their contracts. Craig Watts, a North Carolina farmer, spoke in support of the IACA:

Currently, it is nearly impossible for farmers to leave the industrialized model, but the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act is a solution America’s farmers deserve. We need to start supporting systems we believe in. We need federal policy to help farmers to get out of these exploitative contracts. We need better choices for our food system.

Representatives Adams and McGovern and Senator Booker are all agriculture committee members. Their choice to introduce the legislation shows an eagerness in Washington to create solutions that will help farmers access new market opportunities and create rural jobs. A federal program to support farmers in transitioning to climate-smart practices is long overdue. It’s time farmers had autonomy in their small businesses. Representative Adams explained:

Farmers want to produce food in ways that are good for people and the planet, but aren’t always empowered to do so in a consolidated food system like ours. I’m thrilled to introduce the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act, which unlocks climate-forward conservation dollars to assist producers who want to transition out of the factory farm model.

Representative Adams and Senator Booker have advocated true climate-smart solutions for some time. In February, they and Representative McGovern penned a letter to the secretary of agriculture denouncing eligibility for conservation funding for anaerobic digesters at factory farms to generate biogas. The letter states:

[Practices] which prop up infrastructure currently utilized by industrial animal agriculture systems have a myriad of local environmental harms that disproportionately impact low-income communities and people of color.

Their diligent work in support of small farms and true environmental solutions is well documented, and we are thrilled that they are leading the charge on this important bill.

The ASPCA also supports the IACA, along with over 300 businesses, farmers, and other nonprofits, such as the Center for Biological Diversity, Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, and Operation Spring Plant. This support further indicates how important this bill would be for the future of our food system.

Mercy For Animals is passionate about helping farmers escape the exploitative factory-farming industry and transition to growing crops for human consumption. Through The Transfarmation Project^®, we provide resources and support to industrial animal farmers interested in transitioning their farms to plant-focused operations. The resources we create and data we collect are accessible to other farmers and organizations to facilitate widespread farm transitions, thereby contributing to societal good.