As you know the federal government will soon be rewriting federal farm policy. As the letter below illustrates, diverse groups from across America support new directions in farm bill spending to help farmers care for the natural environment and to revitalize family farms and rural America.

The following sign on letter was signed by the groups listed below and sent to Congress on February 14, 2001. We encourage you to take a moment to review this important message. Please work with your state’s Members of Congress to see that the 2002 farm bill effectively promotes a better agricultural economy, conservation, and a vital and vibrant rural America.

Aldo Leopold Foundation - American Farmland Trust - ACCORD - Alliance for a Chemical Free Environment(ACE) - Community Nutrition Institute - Community Food Security Coalition - Defenders of Wildlife Environmental Defense - Environmental Working Group - Fires of Hope - Global Resource Action Center for the Environment - Gulf Restoration Network - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy - National Audubon Society National Association of State Foresters - National Farmers Union - National Catholic Rural Life Conference - National Wildlife Federation- National Audubon Society - National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture - National Wildlife Federation - National Family Farm Coalition - New World Agriculture and Ecology Group - Sierra Club Agriculture Committee - Soil and Water Conservation Society - Sustainable Agriculture Coalition - The Habitat Trust - The Wildlife Society - The Trust for Public Land - The Union of Concerned Scientists – The Wilderness Society - The Union of Concerned Scientists – The Trust for Public Land

Alliance for Sustainable Communities - American Bottom Conservancy - Arkansas River Coalition - Audoubon - New Mexico - - California Wilderness Coalition - Center for Rural Affairs - Concerned Citizens of Southeast Ohio - Deer Island Congregational Church -- Dutcher Farms - East New York Farms - Endangered Habitats League - Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers Association - Friends of the Nescopeck (PA) - Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society (PA) - Green Party of Pima County (AZ) - Harmony Hill Farms - Hoztrak Coalition - Informed Choices - Illinois Humane Political Action Committee - Justice for Fathers - Kansas City Food Circle - Kansas Natural Resources Council - Kentucky Resources Council - Kettle Range Conservation Group - Lewis and Clark Wildlife Club -- Loy's Station Neighborhood Alliance - Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness - Maryland Interfaith Coalition for the Environment - McPherson County Farmers Union - Mid Nebraska Pride - Missouri Coalition for the Environment - North Central Regional Center for Rural Development - North Star Neighbors Delta Land and Community Alliance - Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society - Northern California Association of River Guides - Ohio Environmental Council - Ohio Family Farm Coalition Oregon Environmental Council - Pennsylvanians for Responsible Agriculture - Prairie Rivers League - Prairie Land Mangement - Prairie Rivers League Ohio Environmental Council - Promised Land Network - San Miguel County Green - Sand Mountain Concerned Citizens - Sisters of the Presentation - South Dakota Resources Council - Spirit of the Sage Council - Spokane Tilth Association - Stewards of the Land - The Wildlands Project - University of Wisconsin Madison Greens - Weidner Investments - Women Food and Agriculture Network

We the above signed organizations represent a wide array of family farmer, sustainable agriculture, religious, environmental, conservation, sportsmen, labor and consumer groups who believe that the 2002 Farm Bill represents an important opportunity to improve the economy and environment of rural America.

The U.S. farm and rural economy are in turmoil. Many factors, including overproduction, low commodity prices, market concentration, diminished competition, natural disasters, low investment in resource conservation, rising fuel costs and declining farm and rural economic opportunity in agricultural areas have contributed to the problem. It is clear to us that Congress must take comprehensive action to reverse this trend.

We collectively believe that agricultural program budgets should be substantially increased and reallocated in a manner that encourages and provides incentives for responsible resource stewardship of farmlands, reduces nutrient and chemical run- off, restores competition, increases farm and rural opportunity, and significantly improves the status and prospects for family farms.

We strongly believe that such an overhaul of our agricultural programs requires that commodity, conservation, rural development, marketing, research, and related programs be made more consistent with the above purposes and be considered simultaneously. We are united in urging Congress to adopt a comprehensive and cohesive approach to food and agricultural legislation, looking particularly at long-term solutions to the problems that face agriculture, the environment, and rural communities.

We will be visiting your offices in the coming months collectively and individually. We look forward to working with you as you formulate a budget resolution, the FY 2002 Agriculture appropriations bills, and the 2002 farm bill. Our organizations believe that these measures should support the widely-held public goals of targeting assistance to family farms, economic opportunity, resource protection, and environmental improvement. We look forward to working with you in coming months toward these ends.

Thank You.