The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is collecting organizational endorsements for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011 [HR3236]. This piece of legislation was developed over the past two years with extensive input from NSAC and several other organizations who work on beginning farmer issues. The bill was recently introduced in the House by Rep. Walz (D-MN-1) and Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE-1). An identical bill will be introduced in the Senate by Senator Harkin (D-IA) hopefully this week.

Having a list of organizations that support the bill is extremely helpful for NSAC as they work to generate co-sponsors and support for the bill in DC, especially during visits to congressional offices. Please complete the form at the link below if you would like to sign your organization on as a supporter of this bill. The deadline for sign-ons is by Nov 14th. https://docs.google.com/a/sustainableagriculture.net/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHFXNUd5cHEyMUVqOGRVUTJxMUJabGc6MQ

More information on the bill can be found on the NSAC website: http://sustainableagriculture.net/our-work/beginning-farmer-bill/