NSAC Archives for July, 2011
USDA Loan Program Can Help Finance New Meat Plants
Friday, July 29th, 2011
by Kate Fitzgerald NSAC welcomes back Kate Fitzgerald, a farm and food policy consultant, to our pages as a guest blogger. Thanks Kate! USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food blog published the first of two articles on Rural Development’s grant and loan programs that can be used to develop or improve small meat and Read the Rest…
Livestock Marketing Fairness Act Introduced in House
Friday, July 29th, 2011
This week Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Livestock Marketing Fairness Act (H.R. 2631) with Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) as a co-sponsor. The Act is a companion bill to Senate Bill 1026 introduced earlier this year. That bill also had the bipartisan of Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (D-IA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), and Jon Read the Rest…
Standing up for the Local Food Economy
Friday, July 29th, 2011
This summer hundreds of NSAC supporters and members, farmers, and allies took action in support of a proposed rule that could bring millions of dollars in new investment to the local and regional food producers all across this country. The Farm Credit Administration’s (FCA) proposal would require Farm Credit System (FCS) lending institutions to be Read the Rest…
NSAC Opposes National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement
Friday, July 29th, 2011
On Thursday, July 28, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition filed its comments on the proposed National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (NLGMA) with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). NSAC urged USDA to withdraw the proposal. The NLGMA attempts to create a new federal marketing agreement to establish food safety rules that would be agreed to by Read the Rest…
Senators and Representatives with Farms Blog About Farm Bill
Friday, July 29th, 2011
The Congress Blog page of The Hill, a paper and website widely read in federal policy circles, published four blog posts on July 28 by four Republican Senators and Members of Congress who are farmers and maintain interests in farms that are in their families. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) penned “Food and farm bill benefits Read the Rest…
House Holds Hearing on USDA Research Programs
Friday, July 29th, 2011
On Thursday, July 28, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture held an audit hearing on federal research programs administered by USDA. This was the ninth hearing on farm bill programs the Committee has held this year. The Committee heard testimony from top administrators of four agencies that make Read the Rest…
Conservation Stewardship Program Update – Part I
Friday, July 29th, 2011
Note: This is the first of several blog posts that will summarize some initial data we are receiving from USDA on the Conservation Stewardship Program. In January of 2011, the third sign-up period for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) closed and in June National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Dave White reported to the House Read the Rest…
Senate Holds Specialty Crop and Organic Hearing
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
On Thursday, July 28, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing to discuss farm bill specialty crop and organic programs. The Committee, led by Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), heard testimony from USDA officials Ann Wright, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and Dr. Catherine Woteki, Under Secretary for Research, Read the Rest…
House Hearing on Commodity and Disaster Programs
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
On Wednesday, July 27, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held an audit hearing to examine commodity and farm safety net programs, including crop insurance and disaster assistance. This was the eighth hearing on farm bill programs that the Committee has convened this year. Bruce Nelson, Administrator of the Read the Rest…
New Biomass Crop Assistance Program Projects Announced
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
On Tuesday, July 26, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of four new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) projects. BCAP provides funding to farmers and other landowners who enter contracts to establish crops and trees suitable for use as biomass feedstock on land included in biomass project areas. Payments are made for the establishment Read the Rest…
