The 1996 farm bill, known widely as the Freedom to Farm Act, has long been derided as hurtful to family farmers. The rural life conference, which sponsored the summit, was one of the dozen sponsors of the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, held Feb. 25-28 in Washington. Man is the steward of creation.
Stewardship takes place through the family and for the family.
There is a need for conversion of heart. One example of this, he said, was the confinement of large animals in small pens. That would take energy which we need to save to make more milk. Zabrae Valentine, an aide to Sen. Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., said it was important to get started on writing the 2002 farm bill soon. Because 2002 is an election year, most members of Congress will not want to deal with controversial legislation in the months just prior to the election, Valentine said.