NSAC Archives for the 'Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs' Category
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…
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…
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…
Secretary Vilsack Promotes Cover Crops, Local Foods, Contract Fairness during House Hearing
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies today to discuss his agency’s FY 2014 budget requests. The Subcommittee will consider USDA’s requests as it writes its funding bill for the year. Conservation, Drought, and Crop Insurance Early in the hearing, Subcommittee 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 and Senate Debate 2013 Farm Funding Levels
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
Late on Monday, March 11, the Senate released appropriations legislation to keep the government running through the remainder of fiscal year 2013. Recall that the House passed its own FY 2013 legislation last week. Overview The Senate bill provides a total of $20.532 billion in discretionary agriculture spending, inclusive of a 2.513 percent “across-the-board” cut. 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…
Microloans Now Available for Young and Beginning Farmers
Thursday, January 17th, 2013
Earlier this week, USDA announced the start of an exciting new loan program that will better meet the credit needs of small farms of all types, including especially young farmers and those serving local and regional food markets, including urban farmers. The final rule for the proposed microloan program was published today, and the Farm Read the Rest…
Farm Service Agency Increasing Action on Program for New Farmers and Ranchers
Wednesday, December 19th, 2012
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is taking steps to increase participation in the Land Contract Guarantee Program. The program facilitates the transfer of a farm or ranch to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher who may have a relatively short credit history or limited farming experience. In order to be eligible for this 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…
