NSAC Archives for the 'Agriculture Appropriations' Category
USDA Invests $33 Million in Pest Management Research
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012
On Monday, December 3, USDA announced over $33 million in funding for research, education, and extension grants that support innovative pest management solutions to address the pest and disease problems farmers face across the nation. These grants were awarded as part of ten separate competitive grants programs administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Farm Bill and Agriculture Appropriations Options Heading Into December
Friday, November 30th, 2012
As we close out on two full weeks of the lame duck session of Congress and head into the final three-week December marathon, there has been lots and lots of talk about farm bill options but little-to-no action. By contrast, there has been some action on the appropriations bills to fund the government, including USDA, Read the Rest…
Election Returns Spell Some Changes for Congressional Agriculture Makeup
Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
With election returns beginning to firm up, it is now clear there will be a modest number of changes to the congressional committees that deal directly with agricultural issues. This post summarizes the basic nuts and bolts of those changes. What the agriculture committees look like for the next session of Congress looms large if Read the Rest…
FY 2013 Enrollment Deadlines for Conservation Programs May Be Fast Approaching
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
As the new fiscal year begins, states have begun to set Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 “ranking deadlines” for enrollment in farm bill conservation programs and initiatives. These dates are important for farmers and ranchers to be aware of if they are considering applying for conservation funding. While many USDA conservation programs offer continuous enrollments, meaning Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Farm Bill Expires on Monday — What Does It Mean and What Happens Now?
Friday, September 28th, 2012
We have been fielding lots of questions in the past few weeks following the congressional meltdown on the new farm bill. This is not surprising, given Congress’ failure to date to either pass a new farm bill or to enact a short-term extension of the existing farm bill before the farm bill expires at midnight, Read the Rest…
Congress Votes to Slash Conservation Spending, Extends FY 2012 Funding Levels
Thursday, September 20th, 2012
The Senate voted (67-31) this morning to proceed to a vote to pass a 6-month continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded at FY 2012 levels through March 27, 2013. The final vote will likely occur sometime this weekend, slowed down by several procedural moves related to votes on extraneous matters. It may take Read the Rest…
Revised Version: Obama Administration Details Sequestration Cuts
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012
On Friday, September 14, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a preliminary outline of how it would implement automatic budget cuts (known as sequestration) across government programs, as required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). In early August 2012, Congress passed the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, which forced the Obama Read the Rest…
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Not Now, Maybe Later; And Meanwhile, Conservation Programs Shut Down; Sequestration Cuts to be Revealed
Thursday, September 13th, 2012
Congress returned this week from its summer recess with questions abounding on the fate of the 2012 Farm Bill. After less than one short week in session, a bad situation has unfortunately grown worse, not better. Conservation Programs Shut Down On Thursday, September 13, the House approved a “continuing resolution” (or CR for short) to Read the Rest…
Continuing Resolution Would Stop Key Conservation Programs in 2013
Monday, September 10th, 2012
On Monday evening, September 10, the House Rules Committee posted the Continuing Resolution (CR) agreed upon by congressional leaders to fund the government for the next six months. The bill is expected to be voted on in the House on Thursday and in the Senate after that. The overall goal is to avoid a government Read the Rest…
Poll Finds Farmers Oppose Cutting Conservation to Fund Drought Assistance
Monday, September 10th, 2012
Last week, the National Farmers Union (NFU) released a poll confirming that farmers believe conservation programs are vital in helping to deal with drought. Two research firms (one Democratic and one Republican) polled 502 farmers across 13 states in the American Heartland and found that an overwhelming 79 percent of respondents view conservation programs as Read the Rest…
