Policy change is necessary for a radical future
Our focus is on shaping policy that can address the most pressing challenges young farmers and ranchers face. We’ve seen our farmers’ grassroots advocacy dismantle inequitable policies. We believe change happens both radically and incrementally and that we can help drive transformation by centering the voices of farmers most marginalized from policy making processes.
What We Do
Racial equity is not a policy pillar, but the base upon which all pillars must stand.
Young Farmers centers racial equity in our programs and campaigns. We know that federal farm policies have reinforced the systemic racism that encumbers Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers in almost every aspect of life, and we commit to advocating for anti-racist policy change.
The National Young Farmer Survey
Every five years, we survey young farmers and ranchers across the country to present a clear picture of their challenges and promises, and to call for a Farm Bill that serves the new generation in agriculture.
Learn more about the results and recommendations of our latest survey.
Young Farmers Policy Committee
We develop our policy priorities directly with farmers and ranchers. Young Farmers has historically created federal policy platforms and campaigns by surveying young farmers nationally and gathering informal feedback from our members and chapters. In 2018, in order to more directly engage our farmer members, we began developing a process to ensure young farmers, especially BIPOC farmers, have a formal voice in setting our federal policy platform and that our platform reflects the on-the-ground needs of our farmer members.
The Young Farmers’ Federal Policy Setting Process, launched in 2019, allows elected farmer leaders to partner with our policy team to develop our federal policy platform.