NSAC Archives for April, 2010
Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grants
Friday, April 30th, 2010
The USDA announced Wednesday that almost $3.5 million will be available for the Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant program (SSDPG) which provides competitive grant funds for cooperatives or an association of cooperatives to provide technical assistance to socially disadvantaged, small-scale producers. Applications are due by July 27, 2010. Applicants may propose projects up to $200,000 Read the Rest…
NRCS Funding Available for Great Lakes Conservation
Friday, April 30th, 2010
The Environmental Protection Agency has provided USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with $34 million to provide additional FY2010 funding to Farm Bill conservation programs in selected watersheds of the eight Great Lake states. The funding is provided under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a collaboration of federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, businesses, Read the Rest…
USDA Rural Energy Grant and Loan Applications Open
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
USDA’s Rural Development Agency has announced that it is taking applications for Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants and guaranteed loans. A total of $87 million is available in FY2010 for projects to develop and/or construct renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. Applications for REAP grants and guaranteed loans must be received by Read the Rest…
NRCS Funding for Farm Energy Audits and Plans
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced an initiative to use $2 million in FY2010 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding to help farmers and ranchers conserve energy and reduce energy costs. Farmers and ranchers may apply for the funding in the following 29 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Read the Rest…
Farm Bill 2012: Additional Field Hearings Scheduled
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) described last Wednesday’s House Agriculture Committee Hearing on the Farm Bill as “two-and-a-half hours to kick off two-and-a-half years.” The hearing was the first of Committee Chairman Collin Peterson’s (D-MN) meetings to get a head start on planning for the next Farm Bill, scheduled for completion in 2012. Over the past Read the Rest…
New NSAC Guide to USDA funding for Food Systems
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
This week, NSAC is launching a new tool to help producers, community-based organizations, local governments, and other groups who are engaged in work to develop their local or regional food system. The Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems seeks to de-mystify some of the federal grant programs most likely to be Read the Rest…
Groups Urge Ag Funding Fairness
Monday, April 26th, 2010
More than 100 national, regional, state and local groups have signed on to a letter urging President Obama to pay for proposed increases in child nutrition and to settle long standing claims stemming from systemic discrimination in USDA programs without cutting critical conservation programs. The letter circulated by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, the Rural Read the Rest…
Hungry for a Better School Lunch?
Monday, April 26th, 2010
ACTION ALERT! You Can Help Put Local, Fresh and Healthy Food on School Lunch Trays Call Your Senators and Representative Today!! For many of America’s children, school lunch is the most important meal of their day— making up a third of their daily nutritional intake. As rates of childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes skyrocket, Read the Rest…
And We’re Off: Farm Bill 2012
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) described Wednesday’s House Agriculture Committee Hearing on the Farm Bill as “two-and-a-half hours to kick off two-and-a-half years.” The hearing was the first of Committee Chairman Collin Peterson’s (D-MN) meetings to get a head start on planning for the next Farm Bill, scheduled for completion in 2012. Over the past Read the Rest…
Conservation Stewardship Program Update
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
This post provides some basic updates on the status of the nearly completed 2009 sign-up as well as the upcoming 2010 version of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). 2009 Sign-up Nearing Completion Despite sign-up coming late in the year and being rushed, some 21,000 farmers and ranchers applied to enroll 33 million acres in the Read the Rest…
