Last week, both the House and Senate were back in session after more than a month of Congressional recess. As of today, Congress has one week – just 4 session days – until the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 on September 30. This post looks at where things stand across all of these moving pieces as Congress enters a crucial week of fiscal negotiations that will undoubtedly impact on federal food and farm policy…. Read More →
Farm Bill
More Money Out the Door! Farm Bill and IRA Funding Available Through Conservation Innovation Grants
USDA NRCS announced the availability of $65 million for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This funding is split into two separate opportunities: $50 million for CIG On Farm Trials and $15 million for CIG Classic. Half of the funding for the On Farm Trials competition was provided through the historic Inflation Reduction Act. This post provides details on both programs and how to apply before the October 30, 2023 deadline…. Read More →
Farm, Taxpayer, Conservation Groups Agree: Don’t Raise Reference Prices
Groups at the Summit on the Future of Farm Subsidies agreed Congress must oppose increasing reference prices and curb unlimited insurance subsidies…. Read More →
Regional Centers Promote Business Development and Stronger Supply Chains
USDA AMS recently announced the selection of the twelve new Regional Food Business Centers. In this post, NSAC details the structure, regional considerations and anticipated national impact of these Centers in strengthening local and regional food systems and supply chains. … Read More →
On IRA’s One Year Anniversary, the Top 5 Things to Know About the Historic Investment in Climate-Friendly Agriculture
Just over a year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA invested nearly $20 billion in climate-friendly agriculture practices. As an organization that represents small and midsized-farmers across the nation, it is difficult to overstate the transformative potential of this funding to support all farmers in building vibrant and productive farms that can contribute to a climate-resilient future. As Congress inches toward Farm Bill reauthorization, this post highlights 5 key things to know about the IRA’s $20 billion investment in climate-friendly agriculture. … Read More →
NSAC Heads to the Rockies – A Summer Meeting Recap
This year’s NSAC Summer Meeting was held last week in sunny (although unusually rainy) Boulder, Colorado. More than 100 members and NSAC staff from across the country gathered at the foothills of the Rockies to re-energize and strategize ahead of the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization. Summer Meeting is one of two annual opportunities when NSAC’s nearly 150 member organizations come together in person to discuss the Coalition’s policy and grassroots priorities for the year. At more than 5,000 feet above sea level and with its endless opportunities for outdoor adventure and good food, Boulder was the perfect backdrop to get down to coalition business. … Read More →
Agricultural Diversification: Practice and Policy
On the eve of the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization, this post drills down into the potential shape of a diversified U.S. agricultural landscape and the policies that are most closely aligned with incentivizing its creation. This post focuses on policies most directly shaping on-farm landscape diversity…. Read More →
Farmers on the Hill: Advocates and Farmers Join in Washington DC to Call for Food and Agriculture System Reform in the 2023 Farm Bill
Last week, NSAC hosted farmers, ranchers, and food system advocates from six states, who collectively attended nearly 20 meetings with Congressional offices and USDA officials, to share their stories and call for stronger, better-funded sustainable agriculture programs in the next farm bill…. Read More →
Release: Farmers and Advocates Take the Fight for the Farm Bill to the Capitol
This week, advocates and farmers from across the country came to Washington, DC to champion the federal programs important to them and their communities. Hosted by NSAC, a cohort of farmers, ranchers, and food systems advocates from 6 states met with Congressional leaders and USDA officials to encourage them to prioritize sustainable food and farm needs in the upcoming farm bill and in ongoing program implementation efforts…. Read More →
Following the Money: A Look at the Billions Behind CBO’s Farm Bill Baseline
Every spring, CBO – Congress’s official budgetary scorekeeper – publishes its ten-year projection (or “baseline”) for government spending. CBO’s baseline covers everything funded by the federal government – including farm bill spending. Published most recently on May 12, 2023, CBO’s baseline will be adopted as the official baseline for the 2023 Farm Bill. In this post, NSAC digs into the latest CBO changes to the four largest funding items within the farm bill – Commodity (Title 1), Conservation (Title 2), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, in Title 4), and Crop Insurance (Title 11). It also looks through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, PL 117-169) spending projections included in CBO’s most recent updates…. Read More →
Why Congress Should Mandate a Farm Credit Grant
The Farm Credit System (FCS), agriculture’s government sponsored enterprise (GSE), is a nationwide network of customer-owned lenders with a mission to support rural communities and agriculture. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) 2023 Farm Bill Platform includes a proposal that requires FCS, agriculture’s GSE, to grant 15 percent of its annual profits to support underserved producers and food systems enterprises. These grants will build upon successful programs already facilitated by some Farm Credit associations and help fulfill its mission and public mandate to serve young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers. … Read More →
Historical Perspectives on Food System Transformation
This blog post is the culmination of a fellowship research project by NSAC Grassroots Fellow Anthony Singh-Reynoso and highlights three case studies: the struggle for farmworker justice and the United Farm Workers; the necessity of community-based methods of self-sufficiency and the Freedom Farm Cooperative; and the origins of the Farm Bill and the farmer response to the Dust Bowl…. Read More →
Senate Hears Commodity and Industry Perspectives on Farm Safety Net and Credit
This week, the Senate Agriculture Committee held two hearings featuring commodity and industry perspectives on the farm safety net and credit…. Read More →
Release: Farm Safety Net House Subcommittee Hearing Yields Red Flags
The House Agriculture Committee’s General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit Subcommittee held a hearing entitled: “Producer Perspectives on the 2023 Farm Bill.” The two-part hearing featured 10 witnesses representing major commodity producers, who shared perspectives on federal crop insurance, commodity price support programs, disaster assistance, and access to lending. … Read More →
Secretary Vilsack Underscores Priorities for USDA to House Agriculture Committee
In a hearing before the House Agriculture Committee, Secretary Vilsack highlighted the importance of climate investments, efforts to better support underserved producers, the need for increased staffing at USDA, and how funds allocated through the IRA will address conservation backlogs for farmers across the nation…. Read More →
FARMERS AND ADVOCATES MARCH FOR CLIMATE ACTION IN THE 2023 FARM BILL
With the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization underway, action is necessary to ensure that the biggest piece of food and agriculture legislation in the United States advances farmer-led climate solutions, centers racial justice, and prioritizes communities over corporations. With these central tenets at the core, over 500 farmers and farmer-advocates from 40 US states and 2 territories gathered in Washington, DC last week for the Farmers for Climate: Rally for Resilience. … Read More →
Release: Farmers and Advocates Rally and March for a Climate-Focused Farm Bill
Today, hundreds of farmers and food and farm systems advocates gathered for the Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience, part of a mass mobilization calling on lawmakers to prioritize climate solutions in the 2023 Farm Bill. Participants hailed from 40 US states and 2 territories. … Read More →
Release: Farmers Come to DC Asking Policymakers to Make Climate a Priority in the Farm Bill
Next week farmers, farmworkers and farmer allies will be heading to Washington D.C. to ask lawmakers to prioritize climate solutions in the 2023 Farm Bill. The Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience will highlight the need to simultaneously address climate impacts, racial justice, and needed improvements to antitrust and fair competition laws. Communities need federal support to address these challenges head on…. Read More →
GAO Urges Congress to Reduce Crop Insurance Subsidies… Again
GAO released a report urging Congress to reduce crop insurance subsidies for the highest-income participants and private insurance companies…. Read More →
AG-VOCATES ASSEMBLE: NSAC 2023 WINTER MEETING RECAP
Last week, over 100 attendees from 61 member organizations came together for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) annual winter meeting. In light of the anticipated 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization, members gathered in Washington, DC, to strategically coordinate campaign tactics, meet with Congressional leaders and senior USDA officials, and connect through a shared vision of a just food and farm system for all…. Read More →
Release: NSAC Hosts Farm Bill Lobby Day
Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) hosted a lobby day for coalition members to meet with Congressional leaders and senior USDA officials to encourage them to prioritize sustainable food and farm needs and farmer-led solutions in the upcoming farm bill reauthorization. Members from across the country scheduled 100 visits throughout the day with members of Congress from their home states and districts to champion the federal programs and reforms most important to them and their communities. … Read More →
Record-High Crop Insurance Subsidies Are Unsustainable
Record-high subsidies to the federal crop insurance program are unsustainable and must be curbed in the 2023 Farm Bill…. Read More →
Release: Farmers Take Action on Climate Crisis, Urging Policymakers to Pay Attention
Coined “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience,” a grassroots alliance of farmers, farmworkers and farmer allies will be heading to Washington D.C. during the week of March 6, 2023, with a singular ask for policymakers: make climate change policy a priority in the 2023 Farm Bill. … Read More →
DON’T HARM CROP INSURANCE, IMPROVE IT!
Barriers in program design and implementation leave small and nonconventional farmers without access to crop insurance…. Read More →