UA Agricultural Lawyer to Influence National Policy on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A University of Arkansas researcher who has worked extensively with minority, women and limited-resource farming communities has been appointed to the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, which will advise Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on the next Farm Bill.

Janie Hipp, assistant professor of agricultural law and natural resources regulatory policy specialist, has spent more than 20 years in agricultural law, providing information to farmers and ranchers on changing environmental and natural resource policies, changing policy climates in general, and the stresses on the farming and ranching community. She has conducted her research at the University of Arkansas for the past 12 years.

“The challenges faced today by all farmers and ranchers, not just beginning farmers and ranchers, are probably more substantial and complex than at any other time in our nation’s history,” Hipp said. “Today’s farmer must have a different set of skills in order to remain viable in farming and ranching.”

Land use pressures, the high cost of land and machinery, and regulatory requirements make farming and ranching a particular challenge in the 21st century. And the face of farming has changed as well — many farmers don’t live on the land they cultivate, and in many farming families, at least one person on the farm is employed elsewhere to provide additional income.

In addition to working with large agricultural companies, Hipp also has worked with sustainable agriculture enterprises, organic farms, farmers’ markets, women farmers, American Indian farmers and ranchers, African-American farmers and ranchers, and Hispanic and Hmong communities of farmers and ranchers. All of these producers face unique challenges, but all also have many challenges in common.

“Some of the broader issues, such as natural resources regulation, food safety regulation, and animal health/disease regulation, cut across all levels of agriculture, regardless of whether you have 5,000 acres or five acres,” she said.

The committee will advise the Agriculture secretary on issues faced by new and beginning farmers and ranchers particularly and will work to develop coordinated assistance for new farmers and ranchers and to maximize opportunities for new producers.

New farmers and ranchers need support in many areas, particularly with regulations, which have increased in number and complexity in recent years. Hipp hopes to contribute through her work on the committee by making suggestions that cut through regulatory red tape and provide new farmers and ranchers with much-needed assistance and support through training, education and financial assistance.

“We need stronger financial programs designed to keep people in farming and ranching, not drive them away,” Hipp said. “We need to equip our next generation farmers and ranchers with the tools to allow them to succeed. And we need to ensure that there is an agriculture for the next generation to come to.”

The committee works with the Farm Service Agency, which provides direct and guaranteed loans to beginning farmers and ranchers who cannot obtain financing from commercial credit sources.

The 20 committee members represent farmers and ranchers; state beginning farming programs; commercial lenders; nonprofit organizations; USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Offices; and educational institutions from all over the United States.