IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 88 
Supporting the Farmers Bill of Rights. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2020 
Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MCCOL-
LUM, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. 
DELAURO) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Agriculture 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Supporting the Farmers Bill of Rights. 
Whereas the Center for American Progress reported mergers 
and acquisitions have increased corporate concentration 
across agricultural markets, including monopolizing 85- 
percent market share of the corn seed market through 
the 4 largest firms in the seed sector; 
Whereas according to the Open Markets Institute, the exces-
sive concentration in the poultry industry has resulted in 
half of chicken farmers working in regions dominated by 
only 1 or 2 processing monopolies, leaving them with lit-
tle, if any, bargaining power for better contracts or grow-
ing terms; 
Whereas the Organization for Competitive Markets reported 
cattle prices paid to farmers from 2013 to 2016 dropped 
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by 13 percent, while during the same period prices paid 
for beef by consumers at the grocery store increased by 
4 percent, leading them to conclude that the prices paid 
to farmers and by consumers are not the result of a fair 
and just market; 
Whereas corporate concentration and abusive practices in 
America’s food and farm sector are at detrimental highs, 
harming consumers, rural communities and family farm-
ers and ranchers, including historically underserved farm-
ers and ranchers, by— 
(1) diminishing the availability of seed choice; 
(2) limiting the accessibility of domestic farming 
lands; 
(3) increasing food prices and market manipulation; 
and 
(4) hindering access to traditional foodways and ag-
ricultural practices; 
Whereas according to the American Farm Bureau Federa-
tion, farm loan delinquencies are at a 6-year high and 
have increased over the past 24 quarters; 
Whereas increasing farm debt, decreasing incomes, and dete-
riorating overall conditions for family farmers and ranch-
ers have caused farm foreclosures and chapter 12 bank-
ruptcies to steadily increase over the past year; 
Whereas, according to the 2019 Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change Special Report, agriculture, forestry, and 
other land use activities accounted for 23 percent of net 
global anthropogenic emissions contributing to human-in-
duced climate change, which is resulting in the ongoing 
deterioration of food systems, including irreversible im-
pacts to the traditional farming practices and foodways 
of indigenous peoples and their lands; 
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Whereas, according to the Midwest Center for Investigative 
Reporting, the foreign acquisition of and increasing in-
vestments in American farmlands and agribusiness pre-
sents a risk to food system security and contributes to in-
creasing prices of the country’s farmland beyond the fi-
nancial ability of local residents to purchase domestic 
farm land; and 
Whereas monopolization and an increase of large corporations 
and foreign interests in America’s farming sector, com-
bined with a changing climate, creates an unprecedented 
negative impact on the regional economic strength and 
security of rural and Tribal communities: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), 
SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
That— 
(1) the Congress recognizes the many contribu-
tions that family farmers and ranchers, including 
historically underserved farmers and ranchers, have 
made to America’s agricultural industry, local food 
production, food sovereignty, rich variety of the 
country’s abundant food supply, and traditional and 
cultural agricultural practices; and 
(2) it is the sense of the Congress that the Fed-
eral Government should encourage support for fam-
ily farmers and ranchers, in rural communities and 
on indigenous lands, and ensure access to open and 
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fair agricultural markets in the United States, by in-
troducing the Farmers Bill of Rights. 
SEC. 2. FARMERS BILL OF RIGHTS. 
The Farmer’s Bill of Rights is as follows: 
(1) RIGHT TO FAIR, OPEN MARKETS.—There 
must be a competitive open marketplace to buy 
seeds, fertilizer, and other goods, and to sell 
produce, livestock, and meat for all people. It has 
become nearly impossible for independent farmers, 
processors, seed suppliers, mechanics, and other 
rural businesses to compete with multinational mo-
nopolies. Farmers need strong antitrust safeguards. 
(2) RIGHT TO FEED THEIR COMMUNITY.—Mul-
tinational corporations have taken control of the 
country’s food system by shutting out independent 
processing and distribution businesses, consequen-
tially locking farmers out of their local markets and 
denying domestic consumers local, regional, and cul-
turally traditional foods. In the United States, Na-
tive Americans suffer from the highest rates of food 
insecurity with African Americans and Hispanic 
communities more food insecure than the national 
average, which could be remedied through invest-
ment in local food systems, greater regulatory flexi-
bility, and Tribal self-governance programs. 
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(3) RIGHT TO FAIR CAPITAL.—With the loss of 
community and regional banks, coupled with the ex-
traction of wealth from rural communities by large 
corporations, farmers and local businesses cannot 
access the capital necessary to operate. Congress 
must ensure that all farmers, regardless of back-
ground, can access the credit and capital they need. 
This includes Native American producers and Tribal 
agricultural enterprises that often must contract 
with Federal agencies for resources, and African- 
American farmers who have endured historical dis-
crimination accessing farm credit. 
(4) 
RIGHT
TO
PROTECT
NATURAL
RE-
SOURCES.—If large corporations want to purchase 
land and operate megafarms, they have a duty to 
protect the Earth’s soil, water, and natural re-
sources, as rural and indigenous farmers have for 
generations. This includes the protection of acequias 
that sustain accessibility to water, local agriculture, 
and 
traditional 
irrigation 
practices. 
Corporate 
megafarms have a duty to support conservation by 
following reasonable standards for aquifer use, ma-
nure storage, and other land-use guidelines. Pre-
serving land-based agricultural resources is vital to 
beginning to mitigate the impacts of climate change 
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and preserve natural resources for both the tradition 
of diversified rural family farming and the cultural 
sustainability of indigenous agricultural commu-
nities. 
(5) RIGHT TO LOCAL LAND CONTROL, PROP-
ERTY RIGHTS, AND PROTECTION OF TRIBAL LANDS 
AND SOVEREIGNTY.—Counties and other local gov-
ernments should have the ability to pass and enforce 
ordinances regulating the size, placement, and scope 
of megafarms to protect the value of rural family 
farmers’ land and the surrounding environment. Af-
rican-American farmers and other historically under-
served farmers and ranchers should retain their land 
ownership and rights. Tribal Governments are sov-
ereign nations with the inherent right to independ-
ently control their lands through self-governance 
programs to safeguard traditional foods and medi-
cines for their citizens’ wellbeing and preservation of 
ceremonial practices of American Indian and Alaska 
Natives, including the expansion of historically di-
minished indigenous hunting, fishing, and gathering 
rights. 
(6) RIGHT TO FOOD SECURITY.—Foreign own-
ership hurts family farmers and ranchers and raises 
national security concerns. A strict cap on foreign 
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ownership of farms, farmland, and agribusinesses 
should be set to ensure that all American farmers 
can access domestic farm land. 
(7) RIGHT TO REPAIR.—Huge corporations and 
their Wall Street backers have gone so far as to pre-
vent local businesses and farmers from fixing their 
own tractors and equipment, forcing them to pay 
corporate technicians to make all repairs. A farmer 
should have the right to fix their own equipment as 
they see fit. 
(8) RIGHT
TO
TRANSPARENT
LABELING.—A 
farmer should be able to label their food accurately 
and transparently—including strong country of ori-
gin labeling standards. 
(9) RIGHT TO RURAL OPPORTUNITY.—Monopo-
lies have hollowed out local economies and taken 
away the traditional pathways of opportunity for 
free enterprise that helped communities thrive. No 
farmer should have to choose between continuing to 
operate their farm and getting access to good 
schools and health care. No farmer should have to 
choose between farming and providing a future for 
their children. Farmers need the right to basic serv-
ices in rural communities. 
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(10) RIGHT TO PRESERVE A DIVERSE COMMU-
NITY OF FARMERS AND FARMING PRACTICES.—For 
too long, historically underserved farmers and ranch-
ers have lacked a voice on local and national agricul-
tural policies and development. Congress must en-
sure that historically underserved farmers and 
ranchers have fair opportunities in the market, a 
seat at the table in policy development, access to cul-
turally relevant training and technical assistance, 
and equal treatment by all Federal agencies. 
Æ 
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