The National Young Farmers Coalition, with support from U.S. restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, announced a new campaign Tuesday asking Congress to invest $2.5 billion over 10 years to in the 2023 farm bill to “facilitate equitable access to one million acres of land for the next generation of farmers.”
In a release, the organization said the 2023 farm bill is a “pivotal moment to invest in farmland tradition” and, citing statistics from the American Farmland Trust, said nearly half of all U.S. farmland is expected to change hands in the next fifteen years.
“Access to land is the number one challenge facing the next generation of farmers in the United States, and this barrier is even greater for farmers of color. Without a historic investment in land transition in the next farm bill, the future of agriculture is at risk,” Sophie Ackoff, the co-executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, said in the release.
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As a part of the effort, Chipotle created a page on its website where people could add their names to a petition advocating for the measure. Additionally, the company said in a release that guests will be able to round up their order total through November to support the campaign.
“Land is deeply intertwined with all aspects of farmers’ success, and it does not just impact farmers — land access is critical to the health and well-being of our environment, economy and marginalized communities,” Holly Rippon Butler, the Young Farmer Coalition’s Land Campaign Director, said in a release.
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