NSAC Archives for the '2013 Farm Bill' Category
Key Amendments Debated During Farm Bill Markups This Week
Saturday, May 18th, 2013
Both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees held their respective committee “markup” sessions this week. Initial drafts of the 2013 Farm Bill written mainly by the Chairs and Ranking Members of each committee were presented to members and modified through several hours of debate and committee votes through the amendment process. While the Senate markup Read the Rest…
2013 Farm Bill Doubleheader
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Next week is a big week for the 2013 Farm Bill. Both the House and the Senate Agriculture Committees will be debating and voting on their respective versions of the 2013 Farm Bill next week. The Senate Agriculture Committee will markup its farm bill on Tuesday, May 14, at 10 AM. Chairwoman Stabenow (D-MI) released Read the Rest…
Representatives Introduce Bill to Improve Farm Bill Conservation Programs
Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Today, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with eleven additional cosponsors, introduced a bill to improve current farm conservation programs. The Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act (H.R. 1890) aims to help farmers and ranchers improve their environmental performance and reward them for the conservation benefits they produce. The other cosponsors of the bill are Representatives Read the Rest…
Six Former USDA Officials Send Letter on Conservation Accountability
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
On Tuesday, May 7, six former Chiefs of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) delivered a letter to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, urging them to reattach conservation accountability measures to federal crop insurance premium subsidies. In the letter, former NRCS Chiefs Dave White (2009-2012), Arlen Lancaster (2006-2009), Bruce Knight (2002-2006), Pearlie Reed (1998-2002), Paul Read the Rest…
Farmers and Ranchers Awarded Value-Added Grants for New Markets and Products
Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
On May 1, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) awards to over 110 agricultural producers. The grant awards totaled nearly $16.8 million. The funding came from the $14 million appropriation for VAPG in the FY 2012 Appropriations Bill as well as $2.8 million from earlier years. The Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) Read the Rest…
Lawmakers Announce Plans for 2013 Farm Bill
Friday, April 26th, 2013
This week, Agriculture Committee leaders announced plans for starting the 2013 Farm Bill process. Because a new Congress started this year, Congress cannot pick up where it left off with the farm bill last year and must start the process over again. Currently, USDA is operating under an awful 9-month farm bill extension that Congress Read the Rest…
Bill to Boost Opportunities for Beginning Farmers Introduced
Friday, April 26th, 2013
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) along with nine of his colleagues, and Representative Tim Walz (D-MN) together with Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Chris Gibson (R-NY), and Collin Peterson (D-MN) have just introduced the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013. The Senate bill is number is S. 837 and the House bill number is H.R. Read the Rest…
Guest Post: An Alabama Farmer’s Perspective on Policies that Promote Healthy Food and Healthy Economies
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Today on Capitol Hill, farmers, business owners and community advocates shared their stories and knowledge of critical farm bill programs with Congressional staff. Sponsored by the Congressional Tri-Caucus – made up of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) – the collaborative briefing “Policies that Read the Rest…
Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Prime Grasslands
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
On Thursday, April 25, Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), along with four additional cosponsors, introduced bipartisan legislation that would protect our nation’s remaining native prairies and prime grasslands. Additional cosponsors of the bill include Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Mike Johanns (R-NE). The Sodsaver Prairie Protection Act Read the Rest…
GO-FARM Legislation Re-Introduced: New Loan Fund to Support Local Farms and Jobs
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Guest Blog — We want to thank Bob Junk, Local Economy Manager with Fay-Penn Economic Development Council for preparing this blog post. Fay-Penn is an NSAC member organization and Bob co-chairs our Marketing, Food Systems, and Rural Development committee. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) has re-introduced the Growing Opportunities for Agriculture and Responding to Read the Rest…
