Now that the Senate is done, the House of Representatives is beginning to work on its version of the Farm Bill. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to do the “mark up” of the House Farm Bill this week, beginning on Wednesday.

Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) plans to introduce an amendment to help small-scale slaughterhouses through technical assistance, grants, and more. The lack of small-scale slaughterhouses in many areas of the country is a huge barrier to the ability of local farmers to raise livestock for market. If we want to increase access to locally raised meats, we need to help existing and new small-scale slaughterhouses to succeed.

Below is a list of the members of the House Agriculture Committee, organized by State, with their phone numbers. If your Representative is on the Committee, please call him or her. Otherwise, call the Chairman and Ranking Member.

MESSAGE:

“My name is ____, and I am a constituent (if calling your own Representative). I urge Representative _________ to vote in favor the Pingree Livestock Amendment to provide assistance for small-scale slaughterhouses. Having access to locally raised meats is very important to me and my family, and small-scale slaughterhouses are a vital part of the local food system.

Please vote yes on the Pingree Livestock Amendment for small-scale slaughterhouses and help move it forward in the House.”

If you don’t know who represents you, you can find out at www.house.gov or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. More information about the Pingree Livestock Amendment is provided after the list of Committee members.

*** Stay tuned for more alerts as the Farm Bill moves forward. The Biotech Industry has inserted some very bad pro-GMO provisions into the draft bill, and we are working with a coalition of organizations to get an amendment introduced to strip them out. We will keep you posted! ***

HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

If your Representative is on the Committee, please call him or her. If not, call the Chairman and Ranking Member. You can also contact them online through the links on the Committee’s website. But phone calls are more effective than emails, so please take a moment to call if you can!

Chairman: OKLAHOMA: Rep Frank Lucas (202) 225-5565
Ranking Member: MINNESOTA: Rep Collin Peterson (202) 225-2165

• ALABAMA: Rep Martha Roby (202) 225-2901
• ALABAMA: Rep Terri A. Sewell (202) 225-2665
• ARKANSAS: Rep Rick Crawford (202) 225-4076
• CALIFORNIA: Rep Joe Baca (202) 225-6161
• CALIFORNIA: Rep Dennis Cardoza (202) 225-6131
• CALIFORNIA: Rep Jim Costa (202) 225-3341
• COLORADO: Rep Scott R. Tipton (202) 225-4761
• CONNECTICUT: Rep Joe Courtney (202) 225-2076
• FLORIDA: Rep Thomas J. Rooney (202) 225-5792
• FLORIDA: Rep Steve Southerland, II (202) 225-5235
• GEORGIA: Rep Austin Scott (202) 225-6531
• GEORGIA: Rep David Scott (202) 225-2939
• ILLINOIS: Rep Randy Hultgren (202) 225-2976
• ILLINOIS: Rep Timothy V. Johnson (202) 225-2371
• ILLINOIS: Rep Robert T. Schilling (202) 225-5905
• INDIANA: Rep Marlin Stutzman (202) 225-4436
• IOWA: Rep Leonard Boswell (202) 225-3806
• IOWA: Rep Steve King (202) 225-4426
• KANSAS: Rep Tim Huelskamp (202) 225-2715
• MAINE: Rep Chellie Pingree (202) 225-6116
• MASSACHUSETTS: Rep James McGovern (202) 225-6101
• MINNESOTA: Rep Timothy J. Walz (202) 225-2472
• MISSOURI: Rep Vicky Hartzler (202) 225-2876
• NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS: Rep Gregorio Sablan (202) 225-2646
• NEBRASKA: Rep Jeff Fortenberry (202) 225-4806
• NEW YORK: Rep Bill Owens (202) 225-4611
• NEW YORK: Rep Christopher P. Gibson (202) 225-5614
• NORTH CAROLINA: Rep Renee L. Ellmers (202) 225-4531
• NORTH CAROLINA: Rep Larry Kissell (202) 225-3715
• NORTH CAROLINA: Rep Mike McIntyre (202) 225-2731
• OHIO: Rep Marcia L. Fudge (202) 225-7032
• OHIO: Rep Bob Gibbs (202) 225-6265
• OHIO: Rep Jean Schmidt (202) 225-3164
• OREGON: Rep Kurt Schrader (202) 225-5711
• PENNSYLVANIA: Rep Tim Holden (202) 225-5546
• PENNSYLVANIA: Rep Glenn Thompson (202) 225-5121
• SOUTH DAKOTA: Rep Kristi Noem (202) 225-2801
• TENNESSEE: Rep Scott DesJarlais (202) 225-6831
• TEXAS: Rep Michael Conaway (202) 225-3605
• TEXAS: Rep Henry Cuellar ( 202) 225-1640
• TEXAS: Rep Randy Neugebauer (202) 225-4005
• VERMONT: Rep Peter Welch (202) 225-4115
• VIRGINIA: Rep Bob Goodlatte (202) 225-5431 (Vice Chairman)
• WISCONSIN: Rep Reid J. Ribble (202) 225-5665

MORE INFORMATION

The Pingree Livestock Amendment will do five things to help very small and “certain small” slaughterhouses, which include facilities with no more than 25 employees:

1) Outreach and Technical Assistance – Establishes a new division within USDA to coordinate technical assistance activities within USDA agencies and provide grants to state agencies (including Extension, nonprofits, and partnerships) in order to provide outreach, education and training to small processing plants.

2) Guidance on Process Control – Requires USDA to develop guidance for small processing plants, including on-farm and mobile processing facilities, on how to comply with the regulatory requirements.

3) Grant Program – Creates a small-processor grant program to provide competitive grants to small processors, including on-farm and mobile processors.

4) Electronic Submission of Labels and Public Information on Label Content – Requires USDA to provide an electronic submission option for the meat label approval process and to provide improved public access to information on the label approval process.

5) Meat and Poultry Processing Report – Directs USDA, in cooperation with the States, processors, and growers, to submit a report to Congress within 2 years of enactment of the bill to analyze additional steps that can be taken to better meet the needs of small meat and poultry growers and processors.

Please call to support this important amendment today!