Farm & Food Policy. 

Federal policy related to agriculture and food has evolved significantly over the last several decades. While the roughly twice per decade Farm Bill still addresses commodity price supports, it also provides significant federal funding for food stamps and farm conservation programs. Because the northeastern states and the midwestern states contain a distinct mix of urban and rural/agricultural areas, the Institute has played a unique role in bringing together regional interest groups from both worlds to address critical issues such as: urban food access, sustainable farming practices, the proliferation of markets for locally grown food, childhood obesity and rural water quality protection.

Trade and the Environment. 

Trade has been a lynch pin in the economic development of the 18 northeastern and midwestern states. Unfortunately, the mechanisms of that trade, particularly ocean-going shipping, have created environmental challenges to the region. Aquatic invasive species, invasive microbes and invasive forest pests and pathogens now threaten the ecosystems of the region as never before. The Institute has a long history of involvement in addressing these issues by: documenting the levels of threat, identifying invasion pathways, advising the region’s federal legislators on potential solutions, and organizing the region’s stakeholders to implement solutions, including through testing of technologies that can help limit or solve parts of the invasives problem for the region.

Watersheds and Ecosystems. 

The northeast-midwest region is blessed with some of the most magnificent – and most fragile – ecosystems in the world. Key to maintaining these ecosystems is protecting their life blood; the freshwater and brackish water watersheds that run through them. Most of these watersheds include multiple states and are not easily managed by state authority. The Institute serves as bridge between stakeholders in these watersheds – farmers, boaters, shippers, municipalities, the fishing industry, state governors – and the federal legislators best positioned to help provide the necessary protections. In doing so the Institute works with task forces of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions created specifically to protect: the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware River, and the upper Mississippi River. We also consult regularly with the Administration and its federal agencies and a host of non-governmental organizations.