The public has until July 25, 2011 to submit comments on the Farm Credit Administration’s (FCA) proposal to require Farm Credit System lending institutions to emphasize borrower diversity as part of their business plan, including young farmers, small farms serving local and regional food systems, and racial and ethnic diversity. The proposed rule is an […]
Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs
An Action Packed June
It’s been a busy month at NSAC with four separate advocacy campaigns put in play. On June 28th, NSAC and a broad coalition of farm, conservation, wildlife, and forestry organizations representing millions of Americans orchestrated a National Day of Action to protest huge cuts to farm bill conservation programs and an attack on local and […]
FAPRI releases report on impacts of eliminating direct payments to US farmers
On Thursday June 29th, the University of Missouri’s Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) released a report entitled “Potential Impacts of Limiting Direct Payments.” The report estimates the economic impacts to farmers, landowners, federal budgetary outlays and consumers if direct payments to farmers are eliminated. The report comes at a time when Congressional leaders […]
Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Visit DC
On June 15, eleven beginning farmers and ranchers from across the country arrived in Washington, DC to tell legislators what measures our country can take to support beginning farmers and ranchers. Anticipating the 2012 Farm Bill process, beginning farmers and ranchers sought support for a marker bill with a package of provisions for beginning farmer […]
Act Now to Rebuild the Food System
Looking for an opportunity to help rebuild the local and regional food system? The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) — the federally chartered agency that oversees the nationwide network of locally-controlled and borrower-owned cooperative lending associations that make up the Farm Credit System (FCS) — is asking the public to comment on a proposed rule that, […]
Farm Credit Agency Highlights Farmer Diversity
On May 25, the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) issued a proposed change to regulations for Farm Credit Systems that would require institutions to include an emphasis on diversity as part of their business plan. The pool of farmers, FCA notes, is becoming not only more racially and ethnically diverse than in the past, but includes […]
House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY2012 Funding Bill
On Tuesday, March 24, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies passed by voice vote its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which would cut USDA and FDA discretionary programs by 13.4 percent on top of a similar amount in the FY 2011 bill completed last month. […]
House FY2012 Appropriations Bill Would Slash Conservation, Rural Development, and Research Programs
On Monday, May 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies released a draft of its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The Subcommittee will debate, potentially amend, and almost certainly pass the bill on Tuesday during an afternoon markup. Before the bill can become law, […]
Congress Passes FY 2011 Budget, Cuts Billions from Agriculture
On Thursday, April 14, Congress passed a final 6-month continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. The CR cuts $42 billion relative to FY 2010 levels for non-defense spending, but couples that with a $4 billion increase in defense spending, for a net decrease of approximately $38 […]
Guest Blog: Value-Added Producer Grants in Action
(Editor’s Note: We want to thank Jenny R. Meudt of Pinn-Oak Ridge Farms, LLC in Delavan, Wisconsin, for submitting this post. Meudt was a participant in the recent NSAC farmer DC fly-in. She and other farmers came to DC to encourage Congress to maintain funding for critical sustainable agriculture programs, including the job-creating Value-Added Producer […]
Congress Releases Draft 6-Month Continuing Resolution
In the early morning of Tuesday, April 12, Congress released a draft of the 6-month continuing resolution (CR), agreed to by House and Senate Democrats and Republicans late last night. The CR would cut $42 billion relative to FY 2010 levels for non-defense spending, but couples that with a $4 billion increase in defense spending, […]
Congress Passes 3-Week Budget Extension
On Thursday, March 17, the Senate passed a three-week continuing resolution, which extends fiscal year (FY) 2010 federal funding levels until April 8. The House passed companion legislation on Tuesday, March 15, so the bill will now go to the President’s desk for his signature. As we reported in an earlier blog post, the three-week […]
Secretary Vilsack Releases Recovery Act Report
On Wednesday March 9, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the released of the Investments report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The report, entitled The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Working for Rural Communities, shows that the investments are renewing the Nation’s rural areas and providing benefits to the rural […]
Over 185 Groups Urge Congress to Oppose H.R. 1 Cuts to Sustainable Agriculture
On Tuesday, March 1, NSAC delivered two letters to Senate offices in opposition to the sustainable agriculture cuts contained in H.R. 1, the House-passed Continuing Resolution (CR). The first letter was signed by 154 grassroots organizations from throughout the country, while the second letter was signed by 35 national conservation organizations. The common thread, running […]
USDA Announce Process to Resolve Discrimination Claims of Hispanic and Women Farmers
On Friday February 25, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Assistant Attorney General Tony West announced the establishment of a program to resolve the claims of Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who assert that they were discriminated against when seeking USDA farm loans. The program provides up to $50,000 for each Hispanic or woman farmer […]
Take Action: Oppose Reckless Spending Cuts
Call Your Senators In the early hours of Saturday, February 19, the House of Representatives approved a government funding bill that would slash more than $60 billion from the federal budget for the last half of fiscal year 2011. The bill (H.R. 1) unfairly targets programs that serve sustainable and organic farmers. It makes steep […]
Obama USDA Budget Proposal a Mixed Bag
On Monday, February 14, President Obama submitted his budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. For sustainable agriculture interests, the budget proposal is a mixed bag, with big cuts to farm bill conservation programs, though mostly good news on discretionary spending accounts. Mandatory Farm Bill Spending President Obama’s proposed budget calls for deep, […]
House GOP Funding Proposal Would Cut NSAC Priority Programs
Post updated 2/15/11 Following a revolt by some of their rank and file on Thursday, House Republican leaders on Friday night released their draft bill to cut government funding for the remainder of the fiscal year that end September 3 by a significantly larger amount then they planned for earlier in the week. The bill […]
House Agriculture Committee Re-Organizes
As often happens following elections that shift the party in the majority, the new Republican leadership of the House Agriculture Committee reorganized the panel’s subcommittees. As we previously have reported, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) is the new Chair of the Full Committee, and former Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has been named Vice Chair. There are […]
Senate Omnibus Appropriations Bill Released
(Updated Version — 12/15/10 — of Original Post) The Senate Appropriations Committee released the long-awaited omnibus, government-wide appropriations bill the afternoon of December 14. The $1.1 trillion bill is a less than two percent increase over FY 2010, $26 billion less than what the Obama Administration requested in February, $18 billion more than the long-term […]
Beginning Farmer Advisory Committee Meeting Next Week in DC
USDA’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers will be holding a public meeting next Wednesday and Thursday, December 15th and 16th, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the Secretary of the USDA on the development, administration, and improvement of USDA’s beginning farmer programs. The meeting will […]
House Passes Senate Food Safety Bill with FY 11 Appropriations
On Wednesday evening, December 8, the House passed a combined Continuing Resolution-Food Safety bill by a vote of 212-206. All Republicans and 35 Democrats voted no. The Continuing Resolution would fund all government functions for the remainder of the current fiscal year 2011, which ends September 30, 2011. The current short-term Continuing Resolution expires on […]
FSA Proposes Expansion of Beginning Farmer and Rancher Land Contract Program
On Thursday, September 23, USDA’s Farm Services Agency (FSA) issued a proposed rule to implement the Land Contract Sales Program pursuant to the 2008 Farm Bill. The proposal makes permanent the Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) Land Contract Guarantee Pilot Program from the 2002 Farm Bill. As required by the new Farm Bill, the new […]
Over 50 Organizations Express Discontent over RMAP Interim Final Rule
On Thursday, September 23, NSAC and 56 other organizations delivered a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressing concern over USDA’s Interim Final Rule for the Rural Microenterprise Assistance Program (RMAP). The letter was organized by the Center for Rural Affairs. Interim rules for RMAP were published to the Federal Register on May 28, 2010. […]