S.510 is moving forward and thankfully, the Tester-Hagan amendment is included (albeit somewhat compromised). The final vote on the bill is delayed until 11/29.
Big agribusiness has supported S.510 since its inception. (Illinois Senator Durbin authored S.510; sigh...) I believe that this bill will further consolidate large agribusiness and make it even more difficult (really? is that possible?) for small producers to compete in the market place. Once the Senate agreed to include the amendment to the bill - large agribusiness came out swinging. During these few days between the agreement on the amendment and the final vote, you can bet that the agribusiness lobbyists are working hard to pull or further dilute the amendment.
Best case scenario, in my opinion, would be no passage of this bill; but obviously that is not going to happen because agri-money talks. As a future small producer and proponent for small farms, the best we can hope for is that the amendment is included - not pulled from the bill.
Grist.org has a good debate on the bill here.
A journal of our adventures in construction, garlic farming and growing our own food as we transition from life in Chicago to life in Southwestern Wisconsin.
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