NSAC Archives for the 'Rural Development' Category
Lenders Learn how to Bank on Small Farms, Local Food
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Financing team offers training as part of healthy food initiative By Patty Cantrell Nic Welty employs himself full time year-round raising lettuce, spinach, and other leafy greens in three low-cost passive solar greenhouses, which together cover less than one acre of land. His Nine Bean Rows farm near Traverse City, MI, is one of many Read the Rest…
It’s Time: Help us Speak up for Sustainable Agriculture
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Stay tuned for a detailed blog post on the 2012 Farm Bill next week. The summer’s bounty may feel far away, but even in January, farmers and ranchers are busy – unloading hay for cattle on the snowy range, selecting next summer’s most-delicious tomato seeds, or harvesting fresh grapefruit for your breakfast table. Here in Read the Rest…
Generations Bookend Rural Great Plains and Midwest
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
by Jon Bailey, Director, Rural Research and Analysis Program, Center for Rural Affairs A new Center for Rural Affairs report released finds that rural areas in the Great Plains and Midwest continue to lose population and are caught between “bookend generations” – the youngest and the oldest – with a demographic valley in between. The Read the Rest…
If you eat and live in America
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
If you eat and live in America, you should be concerned about the future of farming in this country. The average age of our nation’s farmers is 57 years old, with more than a quarter of all farmers 65 or older. There are many people inspired to farm, but as recent studies show, our nation’s Read the Rest…
Food and Farm Bill Alive in 2012!
Monday, December 5th, 2011
Dear Supporters, We previously reported to you that a 2011 Food and Farm Bill appeared imminent. Days before Thanksgiving the Congressional “Super Committee” failed to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in budget cuts. With that, the 2011 Farm Bill proposal intended for inclusion in the Super Committee’s deficit reduction bill is thus no more. The Read the Rest…
The Farm Bill is Dead! Long Live the Farm Bill! – Part Two
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
In part one of this post, we discuss what might be next for the ongoing congressional budget debate and in turn for the new farm bill. In part two we turn to details about what was in the short-lived and now dead 2011 Farm Bill deal. What We Know About the Farm Bill that Did Read the Rest…
Final FY 2012 Agriculture Funding Levels Agreed Upon
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
On Tuesday, November 15, House and Senate negotiators reached a compromise deal on a fiscal year (FY) 2012 appropriations “minibus” (H.R. 2112) which includes the FY 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The minibus will now be sent back to both chambers of Congress for a final vote before being sent to the President for his signature Read the Rest…
Vilsack Announces Funding for Rural Micro-Enterprise Programs
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
On November 9th, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of 35 rural micro-development organizations in 22 states to receive loans and grants to support rural business development, create jobs, and strengthen local communities. “These investments will bring increased economic opportunity to rural residents and communities,” said Vilsack. “They will help organizations expand job and Read the Rest…
USDA Releases Report on Marketing of Local Foods in the US
Monday, November 7th, 2011
On Friday, November 4, USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report entitled “Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States” that assesses the relative scale of local food marketing channels throughout the country. This report provides new information on marketing channels based on the 2008 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). The research Read the Rest…
Farmers Visit DC to Advocate for the Local Food Bill
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
On November 3rd, 50 farmers and local food advocates from across the country traveled to Washington DC to meet with their Congressional members to advocate for the recently introduced Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act. NSAC hosted the Local Farm and Food “Fly-in” at a critical juncture for agriculture policy, as the 2012 Farm Bill Read the Rest…
