NSAC Archives for January, 2011
40th Conservation Reserve Program General Sign-up Announced
Friday, January 28th, 2011
On Friday, January 28, USDA announced that a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up will be held from March 14-April 14, 2011. This is the 40th general sign-up for the CRP and the second general sign-up since 2006. Secretary Vilsack made the announcement today at the National Pheasant Fest in Omaha, Nebraska. The last general Read the Rest…
More Committee Assignments
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Senate Agriculture Committee The new roster for the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee was announced January 27. As expected, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) takes over the reins as Chair, and Pat Roberts (R-KS) replaces Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) as the Ranking Member. New to the Committee are two GOP first term GOP Senators — John Read the Rest…
AFRI Releases RFA for Childhood Obesity Prevention Projects
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
On Wednesday, January 26, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Childhood Obesity Prevention Challenge Area. AFRI has yet to release FY 2011 RFAs for the remaining four Challenge Areas: climate change, food safety, global food security, and sustainable bioenergy. Read the Rest…
Democrats Named to House Ag Subcommittees
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
On Tuesday, January 25, House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) announced the Democratic members and leadership for the Ag Committee’s newly reorganized Subcommittees. Also, the House Appropriations Committee announced its Democratic subcommittee assignments last week; the four Democratic members of the Subcommittee on Agriculture are listed below. House Agriculture Committee: Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, Read the Rest…
USDA Publishes Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Final Rule
Monday, January 24th, 2011
On Monday, January 24, NRCS published its final rule (FR) for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) in the Federal Register. You can download a pdf version of the final rule here. USDA published its interim final rule (IFR) for public comment on January 16, 2009, and subsequently published an amendment to: Clarify Read the Rest…
Specialty Crop Webinar Now Available Online
Monday, January 24th, 2011
On December 16, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) hosted an interactive webinar on the Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) program, “Grant Opportunity: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops,” which is now archived and available for playback here. The 50-minute webinar, led by SCBG program manager Trista Etzig, discussed the purpose of the program, the types Read the Rest…
USDA Announces Funding for Bioenergy
Friday, January 21st, 2011
On January 20, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced the award of USDA funding for bioenergy provided in the 2008 Farm Bill’s Energy Title. The funding includes the award of 68 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants to determine the feasibility of renewable energy projects in 27 states. About half the funding goes for feasibility studies Read the Rest…
Whither Budget and Appropriations for Current Fiscal Year and Beyond?
Friday, January 21st, 2011
Very little is clear yet about how House Republican leadership will proceed on government-wide appropriations for the fiscal year that started last October and is currently under a stop-gap continuing resolution. Coming out of the elections, the new majority declared its support for returning immediately to discretionary funding levels that existing in 2008, the last Read the Rest…
House Ag Committee Questions USDA Regulation of GE Crops
Friday, January 21st, 2011
On Thursday, January 20, the House Agriculture Committee held a “Public Forum” on USDA’s Biotechnology Product Regulatory Approval Process. The Forum focused primarily on USDA’s regulation of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready (glyphosate herbicide resistant) genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa under the Plant Protection Act, which has been challenged by organic and consumer organizations and farmers in federal Read the Rest…
Taxpayers Believe More Should be Spent on Food Safety, Conservation, Reseach, Rural Development
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
A new study, to be presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2011 Annual Meeting in February, finds that taxpayers believe that less money should be spent on direct payments, price supports, and crop insurance, while more should be directed toward food safety, natural resource conservation, research and education, and rural development. The paper was Read the Rest…
