Archives for February, 2010
Sustainable Biofuels Alert
Friday, February 26th, 2010
ACTION ALERT
Help Make the Next Generation of Biofuels Sustainable!
COMMENTS TO USDA’S FARM SERVICE AGENCY ON
THE NEW BIOMASS CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ARE DUE APRIL 9, 2010
The 2008 Farm Bill included a new program to provide incentives to farmers and foresters for the production of energy efficient and resource conserving bioenergy crops. Congress intended the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) to especially encourage the production of perennial crops and to shift bioenergy production away from corn and other food or animal feed crops.
Read on…
Ranking the Sustainability of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Results from a recent survey conducted by Tufts University, in cooperation with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, demonstrate that a majority of the conservation practices funded by the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) are ranked as advancing sustainability, while several rank as not advancing sustainability. The survey results and accompanying article are published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.
The Tufts EQIP survey of academics, farmers, government, and NGOs with expertise in sustainable agriculture was conceived of as an alternative, complementary analysis to the sole use of environmental outcomes as an indicator of conservation program success. Sustainability incorporates not only environmental outcomes but also economic viability and social impacts. The survey asked respondents to rate 47 selected National Conservation Practice Standards as either Advancing Sustainability or Not Advancing Sustainability.
Of the 47 conservation practices that were considered by survey respondents, over 73% of the EQIP payments fell under the category of Advancing Sustainability, while over 26% of the EQIP payments fell under the category of Not Advancing Sustainability, including a number of irrigation and livestock waste-related practices.
Interestingly, the survey responses were also analyzed by sector. Overall, the respondents from academia ranked practices for which there were cross-sector discrepancies (anaerobic digesters, trickle irrigation systems, irrigation pipeline, and solid waste separation facilities) more favorably than did farmers and representatives of NGOs and government agencies.
The study’s primary investigator, Tufts doctoral candidate Melissa Bailey, notes the importance of evaluating whether the practices funded by EQIP are consistent with perspectives on what advances sustainability given that the USDA is increasingly “developing programs and policies that incorporate sustainability as a goal for our food system…”
Opportunity for Farmers to Speak About Justice to Power
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
The U.S. Department of Justice and USDA have announced the agenda for the first in a series of 5 workshops intended to give these agencies and the public in-depth information about the increasing concentration and decreasing competition in the agricultural sector. The workshop will be held March 12 in Ankeny, Iowa. Attendance at all the workshops is free and open to the public. The agenda and other information on this workshop are posted on the Department of Justice website, along with information on the next four workshops.
Farmers are caught in the middle of concentration in the agriculture sector. Increasingly fewer corporations control both the purchase and processing of livestock, poultry and other agricultural products and the supply to farmers of agricultural inputs. At the morning session of the Iowa workshop, farmers will have the opportunity to tell USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney about the decreasing ability for farmers to contract on fair terms with processors, to buy seed and other inputs at a reasonable price, and to get access to markets and a reasonable price for their products. Iowa Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley are tentatively scheduled to participate in the morning session, along with Iowa state officials. Both Senators support stronger protections for farmers and ranchers in federal laws that regulate livestock and poultry markets. The farmers participating in this morning roundtable session will be named in a future announcement.
The afternoon panel on competition in the seed industry will include a representative from the Monsanto Company, which is rapidly buying up much of the world’s seed resources, and a representative from the American Antitrust Institute, which recently released a detailed report on Monsanto’s dominance. Another afternoon panel on agricultural trends includes Professor Mary Hendrickson from the University of Missouri, who has conducted long-term research on consolidation of firms in livestock and poultry sectors and in the retail food sector.
The Obama Administration announced last August that it was concerned about the impacts of the concentration of power in the agricultural sector on food costs, the effect of agricultural regulatory statutes or other applicable laws and programs on competition, issues relating to patent and intellectual property affecting agricultural marketing or production, and the impact on farmers of market practices such as price spreads, forward contracts, packer ownership of livestock before slaughter, market transparency, and increasing retailer concentration.
NSAC supported comprehensive reform in the 2008 Farm Bill of the Packers and Stockyards Act and the Agricultural Fair Practices Act, the laws that govern market relations in the agricultural sector. A new Livestock Title in the Farm Bill included a few important reforms, which are described in our NSAC Grassroots Guide to the 2008 Farm Bill, but other reforms, which will be examined in depth at the upcoming workshops, were left on the table.
The 2008 Farm Bill also directed USDA to issue an important proposed rulemaking on unfair market preferences and on agricultural contract reforms. The proposed rule will be issued for public comment by USDA in the near future, probably fairly soon after the March 12 hearing in Iowa. NSAC will be alerting readers to the publication of that rule and will provide analysis and possible talking points for public comment.
House Ag Appropriation Hearings kick off with questions for Vilsack
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Yesterday’s hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture kicked off the annual ag appropriations cycle with a round of questions for Secretary Vilsack on the USDA’s budget proposals for 2011. Members covered a wide swath of issues, and specifically addressed a number of programs of interest to NSAC members, including the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), climate change, food safety, farm to school, and the recently announced Healthy Food Financing and Rural Innovation Initiatives.
Notably missing from the mix were questions on the Administration’s proposed major cuts to mandatory conservation programs. Despite urging from NSAC and a number of other farm, conservation and environmental groups to reject cuts to mandatory farm conservation programs, no subcommittee member raised the issue with Secretary Vilsack throughout the three-plus hours of questioning.
But on the other side of the budget spectrum, the ballooning Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) prompted Ranking Member Jack Kingston (GA) to dub it the USDA’s “cash for clunkers” equivalent and admonish that the agency could “do better.” BCAP was written in the 2008 Farm Bill at an estimated $70 million, but is projected to cost $479 million dollars in FY 2011.
Both Kingston and Representative Tom Latham (IA) also criticized the proposed $50 million within the Agriculture and Food Research Institute (AFRI) on climate change research to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies. Secretary Vilsack responded in defense of the investment, stating that the research was “consistent with the USDA’s responsibilities” and essential in order for the US to continue to be the “most productive and adaptive” agricultural power in the world. Kingston later questioned the impact that EPA regulations on greenhouse gases (GHGs) might have on farmers. The Secretary cautioned that the impact was difficult to assess in the absence of a specific proposal, but that preliminary studies show that GHG regulation could represent an economic opportunity for commodity growers.
Following on her press statement on the release of the budget earlier this month, Chairwoman Rosa De Lauro (CT) questioned the Secretary about the lack of increased funding for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in light of growing concerns by consumers and policy makers about food safety. De Lauro drilled the Secretary on details about terminating School Lunch Program suppliers who violate safety standards, and about the agency’s role in beefing up oversight of the current Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) management system, which she described as “too much industry self-policing.”
Multiple committee members chimed in on the issue of Child Nutrition spending. Notably, Representative Sam Farr (CA) reminded the committee of his pending Children’s Fruits and Vegetable Act which includes $10 million in competitive grants and technical assistance for farm-to-school programs. Representative De Lauro asked for a breakdown of spending within the Administration’s proposed $1 billion per year increase for improvements to Child Nutrition Programs. The Secretary did not outline details, and in particular did not offer additional information on how Farm to School might be funded within Child Nutrition reauthorization, though he did reiterate the USDA’s commitment to the strategy and mentioned the potential for using Rural Development funds to address supply chain development for Farm to School programs in rural areas.
Rural development was another reoccurring theme with questions ranging from broadband spending to housing to electric loans. In response to each question about specific programs, Secretary Vilsack brought the conversation back to the concept of regional change made tangible in the USDA’s proposed Regional Innovation Initiative. In response to concerns about the program eating away at existing competitive grant programs (the initiative would establish modest funding set-asides from twenty different programs across the USDA but does not propose additional new funding), the Secretary reiterated the need for a new approach to rural development that leveraged resources from across communities and encouraged strategic planning to create better places to live rather than focusing on individual business development. With all respect to the work that’s been done, said the Secretary, “rural development is not working.” Based on 25 years of experience working on these issues, the Secretary views the new initiative as an exciting and innovative alternative make real improvements in the lives of rural Americans.
Click here to view the full webcast. Or click here to download a pdf of Secretary Vilsack’s testimony.
Delayed, not diminished: Vilsack on Child Nutrition priorities, including Farm to School
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
After being postponed for two weeks by the blizzard that shut down the capitol, USDA Secretary Vilsack outlined the Administration’s priorities for the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization yesterday at a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Child Nutrition Act includes authorization for the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, summer food, Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, and the Women, Infants’ and Children’s (WIC) Program. With frequent references to the history of the School Lunch program (it was begun during the depression and expanded in 1946 at the urging of the military) the Secretary laid out the pragmatic reasons as well moral imperative to improve and expand the programs with additional funding this year.
The Administration’s emphasis is on increasing access and improving quality of school lunch and they are taking a page from the Department of Education’s Race to the Top competitive grants for excellence by offering grants and/or bonus payments to states that implement effective direct certification of students already enrolled in other assistance programs and increasing the reimbursement rate for schools conditional on their improving the quality of the meals they serve, including increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.
Farm to school is included by the Administration as a key component of the push to improve the quality of school lunches. NSAC continues to campaign for a farm to school provision establishing a grants program within USDA to support projects developing links between small and mid-sized producers with the school lunch program in the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization.
The reauthorization plan includes support for increased participation in the school breakfast program, expanding the summer foods program and extending the authority of the Child and Adult Care Food Program to provide food after school in all 50 states. The emphasis is on finding creative and cost effective ways to extend the reach of the programs with the goal of increasing the number of children participating in USDA nutrition programs by one million within five years. Nutritional improvements will be extended to all food sold in schools, including what is in vending machines and a la carte lines. Secretary Vilsack also called for more funds to upgrade cafeteria equipment and increase food service staff training to give schools the capacity to prepare and serve more nutritious food.
Secretary Vilsack pointed out that the Administration’s Child Nutrition proposals support the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative by ensuring that the food children eat in school will be more nutritious and by emphasizing increased attention to nutrition education for both students and their parents. He also tied better nutrition in schools to increased time and attention for children to exercise during the day — presenting a comprehensive approach to health in schools that will be emphasized and encouraged by expanding the Department’s Healthier US School Challenge to 3,000 schools within three years.
The Administration would like to increase the amount spent on child nutrition programs by $1 billion a year for the next ten years, but the priorities laid out by Secretary Vilsack could far exceed that increase. The Administration has not announced a funding strategy for this enahnced investment, looking to Congress for leadership on crafting a funding mechanism, nor have they provided any details about specific proposed provisions and their cost.
The nutrition programs are now working under a one-year extension of the Act, which expired on September 30, 2009. Reauthorization has been slowed down by negotiations over healthcare reform and it now looks as though deliberations in the House and Senate will not begin until the spring.
Policy Considerations in Revitalizing Local and Regional Food Systems
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Last week, Ferd Hoefner, NSAC’s Policy Director, addressed an audience at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum 2010 with an assessment of the policy opportunities and barriers to strengthening local and regional food systems.
The USDA’s increasing focus on connecting farmers with local and regional markets for their products is evident in cross-cutting initiatives like Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food and the recently proposed Rural Regional Innovation Initiative, which would include food systems development as part of a broader attempt to promote innovative regional planning.
Hoefner applauded these efforts and emphasized NSAC’s continued commitment to bringing the voice of grassroots organizations around the country into the policy discussion and providing feedback and suggestions to make programs work better on the ground.
Finally, he urged the audience to remember that efforts to rebuild economically, socially and environmentally sustainable food systems must also address the fundamental frameworks and policy mechanisms that have undermined local and regional economies over the past 50 years.
To view Ferd’s full comments, click here (PDF).
To read NSAC staffer, Ariane Lotti’s take on the Outlook Forum, click here.
Position Announcement: NSAC Executive Director
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
NSAC seeks a new Executive Director to provide leadership to the coalition and coordinate activities in the Washington DC office and among member groups.
The Executive Director promotes the mission of NSAC through a wide variety of public engagements, by overseeing efficient and responsible use of organizational resources and the implementation of the coalition’s priorities and objectives.
Applications will be accepted now through March 12.
For more information, check out the full position description here.
Want to support sustainable ag? Serve as a federal grant reviewer.
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
NSAC advocates for federal grant programs that provide resources for farmers, researchers, and grassroots organizations to get things done on the ground. But once a program is established, money is secure, and applications are in, there’s still at least one more step before policy can translate to action.
Someone has to decide which projects to fund.
Grant reviewers help decide who receives USDA competitive grants. As requests for applications are made available throughout the year, USDA recruits members of the public with subject expertise to serve on panels to prioritize projects for funding.
Serving on a grant review panel for a program like the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) grants or the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) can:
- Bring sustainable agriculture expertise to the review process.
- Ensure the most critical projects are funded and guarantee the ongoing success of the program.
- Help you get experience with the federal grants process.
For more information on what it’s like to be a reviewer, and for information on how to sign up as a reviewer for some of NSAC’s priority programs,
check out the new page in our Advocacy Toolkit.
$320 Million to Improve Health of Mississippi River Basin
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
In November of last year Secretary Vilsack announced a commitment of $320 million over the next four years for a Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watershed Initiative (MRBI) to address water quality, wildlife habitat and natural resource conservation concerns in the Basin. The Agency’s focus will bring badly needed resources to bear on the very serious water quality problems in the Basin.
The Mississippi River Basin drains an area of 1.2 million square miles in 31 states. The US Geological Survey estimates that 58% of the Mississippi River Basin consists of cropland devoted to the production of corn, soybeans, wheat, cattle, hogs and chickens. Seven million metric tons of nitrogen in the form of commercial fertilizers are applied annually in the Basin, much of it on lands with man-made subsurface drainage systems that provide a quick conduit for surface drainage to nearby streams. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus from farm runoff has impaired water quality in the Mississippi River Basin and beyond.
Farm runoff is also the most significant contributor to the 1.57 million metric tons of nitrogen flowing into the Gulf of Mexico each year and the principal cause of the hypoxic zone that develops in the Gulf each spring and summer. The hypoxic zone is sometimes called the dead zone. Excess nutrients promote excessive plant growth and as that growth begins to decay, the process of decomposition consumes all available oxygen killing any organism unable to swim away. In 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2007 the dead zone grew to an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
Administered through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, MRBI will assist farmers in 41 selected watersheds (map) in Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. A request for proposals is expected to issue within the next few weeks. The National Association of Resource Conservation Districts has set up a proposal clearinghouse site that will include a copy of the RFP when issued and abstracts of proposals of applicants who choose to post them. For regular updates and additional information on MRBI visit this page on our website.
Pigford: One step closer to closure?
Friday, February 19th, 2010
On Thursday USDA and the Justice Department announced a $1.25 billion settlement agreement in a class action brought by African American farmers on outstanding discrimination claims, which were not covered by the 1999 consent agreement in the case Pigford v. Glickman (Pigford I). Under the Pigford I consent agreement, USDA paid 16,000 farmers about $1 billion to settle their claims.
The federal court hearing the case for the outstanding claims (Pigford II) must approve the settlement agreement. In addition, and Congress will need to appropriate $1.15 billion to add to the $100 million provided in the 2008 Farm Bill. The Obama Administration’s FY2010 budget request included $1.15 billion to settle the case but the funds were not appropriated and it is not clear where the money will come from now. Under the agreement, the farmer plaintiffs in Pigford II will not have to go through a judicial process to have the merits of their claims determined but rather through a simpler administrative process. The Justice Department estimates that some 70,000 farmer plaintiffs will be eligible for redress of their claims.
Latino producers brought a similar class action against USDA alleging discrimination but in late 2009 the Supreme Court rejected their class action status, requiring that each farmer would have to bring an individual claim. Woman farmers and ranchers have also filed complaints of discrimination in lending against USDA and both groups will probably consider this settlement an opportunity to find redress for their similar grievances. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), an advocate for woman farmers and Chair of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee said “In addition to addressing discrimination cases against black farmers, I strongly urge the USDA to work toward settling discrimination claims brought forward by women, Hispanic, and other minority farmers. These groups have also suffered great hardships as a result of decades-long discrimination by USDA and it is critical that their perseverance and hard work in overcoming a hostile environment receive some recognition.”
For more information on the Pigford settlement, see the website of our allies at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.