NSAC Archives for the 'Beginning and Minority Farmers' Category
USDA Taking Rural Business Opportunity Grant Applications
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
USDA has issued a notice that the Rural Development Agency is taking applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG). RBOG funds feasibility studies, strategic planning, leadership training and other services and activities that can foster the creation of businesses and jobs in rural areas. Eligible applicants include public entities, non-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, Read the Rest…
House Subcommittee Debates 2014 Farm and Food Funding
Friday, April 26th, 2013
Over the last two weeks, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee held a series of hearings to examine the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s and the Food and Drug Administration’s budget requests for fiscal year (FY) 2014. We previously posted about the first Subcommittee hearing of the year, which featured Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and the second 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…
President’s 2014 Budget: Overview and Department of Agriculture
Thursday, April 11th, 2013
On Wednesday, April 10, President Obama released his budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. In this year’s ongoing budget saga, the White House is billing its proposal as a step towards reaching a “grand bargain” with Republicans over taxes and spending. (For more on the “grand bargain,” see a previous blog post.) Over ten weeks Read the Rest…
House Chair Introduces Food and Farm Funding Bill for Rest of 2013
Monday, March 4th, 2013
On Monday, March 4, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) introduced legislation to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year (FY). The bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), would replace existing funding legislation, which expires on March 27. Discretionary Spending As expected, the Chairman’s bill includes sequestration cuts, which would reduce Read the Rest…
Changes Give Minority and Women Farmers More Input on Farm Programs
Friday, March 1st, 2013
USDA recently finalized federal regulations that allow the Secretary of Agriculture greater authority in ensuring fair representation and participation of minority, tribal and women farmers on local Farm Service Agency (FSA) committees. FSA is the credit lending arm of USDA, and also has responsibility for administering and delivering other services to producers, such as issuing Read the Rest…
AGree Issues 2013 Policy Proposals
Friday, February 8th, 2013
AGree, an initiative to seek consensus on proposals to transform food, agriculture, conservation, energy, nutrition policies, today issued some near-term recommendations for the 2013 Farm Bill and other food and agriculture-related legislation. The five areas included – immigration and work force issues, nutrition and food systems, conservation, young people in food and agriculture, and agricultural Read the Rest…
The 2012 Farm Bill (that never was) Year in Review
Friday, January 11th, 2013
Although 2012 ended on a sour note for farmers and ranchers across the country, there were some notable moments to celebrate for the sustainable agriculture movement, amidst all the ups and downs of the 2012 Farm Bill debate. In this final blog post of our “Path to the 2012 Farm Bill” series, we include twists Read the Rest…
Rural Development Progress Report for Fiscal Year 2012
Thursday, January 10th, 2013
On January 9, USDA released their Rural Development Progress Report for Fiscal Year 2012. The report highlights success stories from USDA Rural Development’s active portfolio, including the following rural business development programs: $1 billion in Business and Industry loan guarantees $25.5 million in Rural Business Enterprise Grants $50.3 million in Rural Economic Development loans and Read the Rest…
President’s Council Report on Agriculture — What About Ecology?
Wednesday, January 9th, 2013
Guest Post by Doug Gurian-Sherman, Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists The new report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) addresses the state of U.S. agriculture research. The report notes that public funding for agricultural research has stagnated, while industry sources have increased greatly to 61 percent of the total—three times the Read the Rest…
