American Farmland Trust released its 2023 Farm Bill advocacy platform this week. It’s a series of policy recommendations focused on supporting farmers and ranchers in protecting their land from development, combating climate change, and enabling a diverse new generation of farmers to better access land and build businesses.

“The farm bill, which is passed once every five years, is the single most influential piece of federal legislation in food and agriculture,” says AFT president and CEO John Piotti.

“Our policy recommendations, developed with input from producers and experts across the country, will help ensure that the 2023 Farm Bill sets agriculture on a path towards a more resilient, profitable, and equitable future.”

AFT research has found that 11 million acres of agricultural land were paved over, fragmented, and converted to uses that jeopardize agriculture between 2011-2016. An additional loss of 18.4 million acres were expected by 2040 without additional policy actions.