By Frida Garza for Grist.
Broadcast version by Chrystal Blair for Michigan News Connection reporting for the Rural News Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Senator Debbie Stabenow, a longtime champion of programs that support farmers and increase access to nutritious foods, introduced a new version of the farm bill, a key piece of legislation typically renewed every five years that governs much of how the agricultural industry in the U.S. operates.

Stabenow, who is retiring next month after representing Michigan in the Senate for 24 years, has staked her career on her vision for a robust, progressive farm bill: one that, among other things, paves the way for farmers to endure the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

The text of her bill comes almost two months after the 2018 farm bill, which initially expired last year and was revived thanks to a one-year extension, expired for a second time on September 30. And it comes mere weeks before the end of the year, when funding for several programs included in the farm bill will run out.

But more importantly, the bill comes after many months of infighting between Democratic and Republican lawmakers over what matters most in the next farm bill - and just weeks before the current congressional term ends. In order to pass the bill, Stabenow would need to gain the support of Republicans in the Senate agriculture committee and the House of Representatives, where Democrats lack the votes necessary to pass their own version of the legislation.

It's likely, even expected, that that won't happen. Senator John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas who is likely to chair the Senate agriculture committee after Stabenow's retirement, criticized her bill on X, calling it an "insulting 11th hour partisan proposal." Meanwhile, in the House, Republicans are reportedly hoping instead to pass another one-year extension of the farm bill, pushing negotiations over the new bill into next year, according to Politico. There's virtually no reason for Republicans not to prolong the process of hammering out the next farm bill, as starting in January they will have majority control over the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the federal government.

By proposing legislation that's all but doomed, Stabenow may be vying to secure her legacy as an environmental steward who understands how climate change is already impacting agricultural production, and why there should be more investment in climate initiatives that safeguard farmers now.

In a speech presenting the details of her bill to the Senate on Monday, Stabenow said, "For more than two years I've been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass my sixth Farm Bill, the third one that I've either been chair or ranking member of ... the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry."

She emphasized that farming is a risky business given its dependence on the weather. "But it's getting even riskier now, because [of] what's happening with the climate crisis, and we know that," she said. "How many once-in-a-generation storms or droughts need to hit our farmers over the head before we take this crisis seriously?"

Certain advocacy groups have praised Stabenow's farm bill. Rebecca Riley, the managing director for food and agriculture at the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, said the bill reflects Stabenow's "decades of leadership and dedication to strengthening America's farmers and rural communities." But other groups were slower to respond. In a statement, the American Farm Bureau Federation, an agricultural industry group, said simply: "We're reviewing Chairwoman Stabenow's newly released 1,300 pages of farm bill text," adding that it's "unfortunate that only a few legislative working days remain for Congress to act." (Stabenow's office did not reply to Grist's requests for comment.)

One of the key features of Stabenow's farm bill is funding for so-called "climate-smart" agriculture practices, an umbrella term that broadly refers to techniques that help farmers sequester carbon in the soil rather than emit more of it into the atmosphere, where it contributes to global warming. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, allocated nearly $20 billion in funding for these practices, such as crop rotation and no-till farming. And in the spring, Stabenow introduced a framework that rolled over the leftover money from the IRA for "climate-smart" practices into a new farm bill. (Shortly afterwards, Senate Republicans put forward another draft of the farm bill without this provision.)

Climate is hardly the only focus of the text Stabenow introduced earlier this week, which, like all farm bills, seeks to address a dizzying array of agricultural and nutritional priorities. Chief among the provisions in her bill, titled the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, are policies that aim to increase access to crop insurance and make coverage more affordable by boosting premium subsidies. The bill also seeks to invest $4.3 billion in rural communities, seeking to improve their access to health care, childcare, education, and broadband internet.

But other provisions indicate that Stabenow has long been thinking of how to further protect farmers from climate impacts such as extreme weather - and also make the U.S. food system more diversified and resilient. She proposes creating a permanent disaster program that would establish a consistent process for providing farmers with assistance after floods, wildfires, and other calamities. Stabenow also seeks to strengthen support for specialty crops - better known as fruits, nuts, vegetables, and herbs - and reminds the Senate during her press briefing that these crops "are almost half of what we grow."

These details represent some of the divisions that run deep through congressional negotiations. Senator John Hoeven, the Republican congressman from North Dakota, was quick to dismiss Stabenow's vision, writing on X, "Unfortunately, the Senate bill released today does not meet the needs of farm country and fails to keep farm in the Farm Bill." Boozman has signaled he fully intends to ignore Stabenow's last-minute bill, telling reporters that Congress must push for another extension of the 2018 farm bill and meeting with agriculture industry groups to discuss their priorities.

Boozman's and other Republicans' concerns with the new farm bill text likely stem, at least in part, from lobbying groups representing large-scale, industrial farmers who wish to see fewer restrictions placed on how they do business. The National Pork Producers Council, or NPPC, for example, issued an instant rejection of Stabenow's farm bill text, calling it "simply not a viable bill" for "fail[ing] to provide a solution to California Prop. 12." That proposition prohibits the sale of veal, pork, and egg products by farm owners and operators who knowingly house animals "in a cruel manner." The NPPC has followed this issue closely, arguing that forcing pork producers to comply with "arbitrary" animal housing specifications would wildly increase their costs (and prices for consumers). The group successfully lobbied for a provision in the House farm bill that essentially takes away California's power to enforce such a law - by blocking state and local government from imposing conditions on the production of livestock sold in their jurisdiction (unless the livestock is actually produced within the state or local community).

Stabenow seems highly aware of the zero-sum framework with which many different actors view the farm bill. When addressing the Senate, she mentioned that the version of the Farm Bill released by the House in May would have put "immense" resources into a small number of commodity farmers in the South. "I'm not saying that these farmers don't need support. They do," she said. "But it can't be at the expense of millions of other farmers and ranchers in this country," including those who run smaller, diversified operations or who grow fruits and vegetables.

In her speech, Stabenow repeatedly framed the text of her bill as a bipartisan project, and projected an urgency to secure wider resources for more farmers now. Her vision, she says, "can pass and should pass." But whether that's true or not will depend an awful lot on her colleagues, who currently have no incentive to negotiate with her and other Democrats and could simply wait to push forward their own agenda. How long they wait remains to be seen.


This story was originally produced by Frida Garza of Grist as part of the Rural News Network, an initiative of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), supporting more than 475 independent, nonprofit news organizations.


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Extreme weather has hit Texas over the last few weeks bringing snow to many parts of the state.

During cold weather, landlords are required to ensure renters have adequate heat. Chapter 27 of the City of Dallas code establishes minimum property standards for all residential buildings, structures and premises.

Ella Caudill, attorney for the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, said property owners have 24 to 48 hours to correct life-threatening conditions, including heating and cooling problems.

"If they're having heating issues and their landlord is refusing to fix their heater their only option is to go through and file a repair and remedy case," Caudill pointed out. "In order to file one of those they do have to be current on rent."

She added tenants can also fix the problems themselves and hope to get reimbursed by their landlord.

Cities nationwide are looking for ways to address the problems of extreme weather conditions brought on by climate change. Many are requiring landlords to install heat pumps in their buildings.

Vince Romanin, founder and CEO of the heating and cooling company Gradient, noted while it is not mandatory in Texas, the technology is more efficient and easier on the environment.

"A heat pump delivers three to five times as much heat to the room as the energy it spends," Romanin explained. "If you have an electric heater, you spend one unit of electricity and you put one unit of heat into the room. If you have an electric heat pump you can put three to five times as much heat into the room."

He added they are working to integrate the heat pumps with backup generators and battery storage systems in case the Texas power grid fails like it did in 2021.

This story is based on original reporting by Maria Ramos Pacheco for The Dallas Morning News (paywall).


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Faith-based climate activists with the nonprofit GreenFaith are organizing a series of vigils tied to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, hoping to influence the new administration.

Hundreds gathered at vigils this past week in San Diego, San Francisco and cities around the country - and more are planned in Los Angeles and Riverside.

William Morris is a faith organizer with GreenFaith - and urged people to speak out in favor of policies that protect our water, air, soil, and wildlife.

"People of faith are guided by our morals, our conscience, our values," said Morris, "and that we have this obligation and responsibility to speak up about caring for the earth and policies that help protect it."

Find out more about the vigils at greenfaith.org.

The group is circulating a petition asking that the U.S. stay in the Paris Climate Accords, oppose new fossil-fuel projects and deforestation, and promote clean energy.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to ramp up oil and gas drilling and roll back many of President Joe Biden's climate policies.

He also reportedly pressed oil-company executives to contribute a billion dollars to his campaign.

Morris encouraged people to organize their own public-facing protests going forward.

"It could be on street corners," said Morris. "It could be in community spaces, in front of city halls, or could be in houses of worship. We want people of faith around the country to be able to say that this doesn't line up with our values."

Morris added that, based on the actions of the first Trump administration, GreenFaith is concerned about increased mining, grazing and timber harvesting on public lands.

The group vows to fight any attempt to deregulate toxic chemicals or reduce protections for endangered species.

By María Ramos Pacheco for The Dallas Morning News.
Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Texas News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Anamelia Jaramillo has lived in Jubilee Park for almost 20 years and is concerned about the heat getting worse every summer.

She fears her air conditioning system failing because her husband has diabetes and can be vulnerable to extreme heat.

“I wish we didn’t have to have the A/C running all day long, but it is impossible to survive in the summer without it,” said Jaramillo, 54, after attending a Zumba class at Jubilee Park on Nov. 11.

In 2023, more than 20 people died in Dallas and Tarrant counties from heat-related illnesses as Texas saw record heat waves and triple-digit temperatures, according to the counties’ medical examiners. The lack of trees and green spaces, such as community gardens and parks, in an urban area contributes significantly to the “urban heat island effect,” as buildings, roads and other hard surfaces absorb and retain more heat.

Dallas’ District 7, where most of the neighborhoods participating in the South Dallas Greening Initiative are located, was ranked the third-highest priority for tree canopy, according to the Dallas Tree Equity Mapping Report published in 2022 by the Texas Trees Foundation.

Districts 4 and 6 ranked as the first and second highest priority for tree canopy, and the organization has been deploying some of their programs to plant more trees in these areas. Early this year, the Texas Trees Foundation released its plan to tackle the lack of trees in the Southwestern Medical District as part of its initiatives to combat the urban heat island effect.

Texas Trees, through the South Dallas Greening Initiative, also is working in the Jubilee neighborhood to address the area’s lack of trees to combat the extreme heat affecting residents’ health and quality of life. The nonprofit is providing thousands of trees to the almost 50,000 residents of Fair Park, Mill City, Queen City, Wheatley Place and adjacent neighborhoods over five years. Jubilee Park is just below Interstate 30 and north of Fair Park.

Chandler Stephens’ father, Calvin Stephens, has owned two vacant lots in South Dallas since the 1980s. The younger Stephens has been talking with Texas Trees about working together on his vision to create a community garden.

Stephens dreams of having a green space in every corner of South Dallas to improve residents’ quality of life.

“I can see [the initiative] as something that will prolong the community’s livelihood. Not only with addressing the urban heat island issue but just by providing greenery,” Stephens said. “Plants and our health is so linked to the health of the earth and the planet.”

The Dallas Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan established protocols for adapting to climate change challenges in 2020. It states that Dallas needs approximately 735,000 trees to reach a goal of 37% tree canopy cover and, specifically, mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Since its founding in 1982, Texas Trees has planted an estimated 1.5 million trees across the Dallas-Fort Worth region. In 2023, the Dallas-based nonprofit secured a $15 million grant from the Reduction Act through the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program for the South Dallas Greening Initiative.

The project, however, is part of a long-term solution to extreme heat, and many of Jubilee’s residents want to see more.

“I am in favor of the initiative and for them to plant more trees in the area, but we also need help with how to pay the electricity bills,” Jaramillo said.

In any community, including South Dallas, trees may not be at the top of each resident’s list of the needs they see for their community, said Elissa Izmailyan, chief strategy and operations officer with Texas Trees.

“We are showing up with a commitment to help and the ability to offer trees and urban forestry education but realize that we’re entering a landscape where there are a lot of other needs and priorities,” Izmailyan said.

“So first, we need to be sensitive to that broad range of priorities and capacities. Second, we need to think about how our offering intersects with other needs in a way that’s additive.”

The project will have several components beyond planting trees in the community, Izmailyan said.

The first phase has been to reach out to the community and work with nonprofits and organizations in South Dallas to establish a trusting relationship and understand the community’s needs and wants.

That’s where partnerships with local organizations come into play, as well as involvement with community leaders.

The Jubilee Park and Community Center is a nonprofit that works to restore equity and resources for the 3,000 residents of the Jubilee neighborhood. The community center has been around for almost 30 years and offers education, health, food access and after-school programs.

Emily Plauche, Texas Trees’ community greening manager, said the initiative includes an educational component that teaches residents about trees, their benefits, how to care for them, green jobs and other measures that can be taken to combat extreme heat.

“So there’s always going to be other needs or things that arise, too, and we can’t necessarily, with our money, purchase that. But we can help advocate and get the city involved and bring other people to the table who have some of these potential solutions,” Plauche said. “We are deeply committed to the well-being of the community.”

Texas Trees will work with some of the area’s schools to boost green spaces and tree planting on the campuses. The organization already runs a program across the city focusing on schools needing more canopy.

Marissa Castro Mikoy, president and chief executive officer at Jubilee Park, said that over the years Texas Trees has helped plant over 150 trees on their campus, and they can see the benefits to the community, from providing shade to beautifying the park.

Benefits of trees

In April, Dallas shared findings from a study that identified at least 10 neighborhoods as urban heat island spots. Some of these spots have less green space, and the temperature is 10 degrees hotter than in other parts of the city.

Trees can help reduce the urban heat island effect and improve people’s and the environment’s health in several ways.

They provide shade and block incoming solar radiation, lowering temperatures by several degrees. They also release water vapor, which can help cool temperatures. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, trees sequester carbon from the atmosphere in their wood and roots, absorb gases and provide a place for harmful air particles to land.

At the same time, according to the U.S. Forest Service, trees provide mental health benefits such as stress reduction, improved mood and a sense of well-being due to increased exposure to nature.

Cities across the country and the world have documented the long-term effects of planting trees strategically in urban areas.

In Chicago, according to studies, neighborhoods with higher tree canopy cover have experienced temperature reductions of up to 4.6 F to 6.8 F compared to areas with little or no tree canopy.

Similarly, in Medellin, Colombia, temperatures fell by 3.6 F in the first three years of their program installing green corridors, and officials expect a further decrease of 7.2 F to 9 F over the next few decades, even taking into account climate change, the Secretary of Environment of Medellin reported.

Limitations

Trees are one solution that can help residents in South Dallas combat extreme heat, but Castro Mikoy said the initiative needs to be combined with solutions to the area’s other problems.

Displacement, making ends meet and food insecurity are some issues facing South Dallas residents that make heat waves even more damaging for them.

Silvia Herrera, 48, a Jubilee resident, avoids turning on lights and household appliances during the day in the summer to keep her home cooler and reduce her electricity bills. She said her bill is around $500 in the peak summer months.

“You have to make decisions such as when you turn on the A/C and what things to avoid to spend less energy so the bill [electricity] is not too high because then I can’t pay for it,” Herrera said.

Planting trees and having the ecosystem to purchase, transport and maintain them can also be expensive. The South Dallas Greening Initiative was able to come to life because of the grant Texas Trees secured. Not all cities or organizations can afford this type of solution, which is a limitation to replicating this program everywhere.

Community First

Through the five-year plan, Brittani Hite, strategic director of Ethos Equity Consulting, which is working with Texas Trees on the initiative, said there should be no surprises for the residents.

The project is for the community and by the community, said Hite.

“We understand that the solutions are already within the community,” Hite said. “South Dallas residents know what they want. They know what they need, but because of environmental and ultimately systemic racism, unfortunately, we lack green spaces, trees and other basic necessities in our city’s Black and brown neighborhoods.”

From Hite’s perspective, the conversations among the Jubilee moms after Zumba classes to Stephen’s dream of having community gardens that work with the wants and needs of the South Dallas community, will have an impact on finding the right solution.


María Ramos Pacheco wrote this article for The Dallas Morning News.


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