Advocacy Action Alert: Tell Your Representatives to Vote NO on the 2026 Farm Bill

Take action to influence both federal and state level legislation!

Federal

The Farm Bill will get a vote in the House of Representatives this week. It is a terrible bill, and we need to put on all the pressure we can to stop it.

Seven years into what is supposed to be a five year process, the House Farm, Food, and National Security Act favors Big Ag, and not family farms in countless ways. Of specific interest to CT NOFA are pesticide industry provisions that would strip states and cities of their power to regulate certain pesticides and would shield the manufacturers from liability.

Actions

• Write or call your Congressional Representative, and tell them to vote NO on the Farm Bill. You can find contact information for your Representative here. Want to know more? Beyond Pesticides explains pesticide provisions in detail.
• Join the National Family Farm Coalition’s sign-on messaging

Connecticut

The legislative session will be ending at midnight on May 6. Many, many bills will get left behind and have to wait another year.

Waiting for action now in the State Senate

• The CT Environmental Rights Amendment (SJ 37). Would put the rights to clean and healthy air, water, soil, ecosystems and environment into the state constitution. 

Waiting for action now in the State House

• Pesticide Reporting Modernization Act (HB 5155) — Would likely be a working group on making information on pesticide use in Connecticut available to the public, with strong participation from advocates for pesticide reform (including NOFA!)
• Waste Management (HB 5524). Would eliminate styrofoam packaging from restaurants and other extra stuff except on request, would increase requirements for donating leftover food and composting food waste.
• Climate Superfund Act (HB 5156). Also known as Make Polluters Pay. Would require fossil fuel companies to pay for adaptation to climate change — including for damage to crops and farms from weather disasters
• Solar Bill (HB 5340). Broad solar bill reauthorizing many of the programs encouraging solar. Support the bill, but also ask for more involvement of the Department of Agriculture in Agrivoltaics (projects combining solar with agriculture) to make sure that there is a strong agriculture component.

Waiting for action now in the Appropriations Committee

• Ask for $2 million to fund the Land, Capital, Markets Access program, helping beginning farmers get access to land and capital to start and build their farms. This can come from the state funds set aside to replace Federal budget cuts.

Action

Reach out to your state legislators to let them know your opinion on any and all of these bills. You can find your state legislators, using this handy website.