The deeply problematic proposals of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget, released on Monday of this week, include devastating cuts to critical farm and food programs. The budget, if enacted, would reduce the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) budget by a whopping 25 percent, from $24 billion to $18 billion. In addition to cutting […]
Rural Development
RFA Roundup: Funding Opportunities in the New Year
The New Year may have just started, but there are already many federal funding opportunities available for eligible farmers, ranchers, non-profits, and universities. Several of these opportunities opened last year and have rapidly approaching deadlines. Others have been more recently posted, and you may have missed the Request for Application (RFA) announcement during the end-of-year […]
Deadline Approaching for Value-Added Producer Grant Applications!
Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published in August of 2017 and has been republished to highlight the approaching application deadline: January 24, 2018 for electronic applications and January 31, 2018 for paper applications. To learn more about the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG), please see the blog post below. You can also consult our […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: A Comprehensive Approach to Food and Farm Policy
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill. NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for over 30 years, and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving […]
Clock Ticking On FY 2018 Appropriations
The end of the fiscal year (September 30) has come and gone, and with fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding levels extended through December 8, the time Congress has to negotiate final spending levels for FY 2018 is quickly running out. There is a lot on the line in this appropriations package for farmers and consumers […]
Trump Administration Undertaking Historic Reorganizing of USDA, But to What End?
Back in May, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a USDA reorganization plan that eliminated its Rural Development Mission Area and downgraded the status of what was the Under Secretary for Rural Development to an Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, closing the Office of the Under Secretary in the process. […]
RELEASE: “Farmers’ Guide” Will Help Producers Navigate VAPG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net “Farmers’ Guide” Will Help Producers Navigate Value-Added Producer Grant Program National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Releases Newly Updated Resource Washington, DC, September 11, 2017 – Following months of consternation by farmers and advocacy groups alike, on Monday, August 28, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally announced […]
$18 million Available for Value-Added Agriculture
Editor’s note: Following the publication of this blog post, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) will publish its updated Farmers’ Guide to Applying for the Value-Added Producer Grant Program. The Guide is a free resource that walks farmers through the program’s application requirements, including a step-by-step description of the application and ranking processes. Producing fresh, […]
Say Cheese! NSAC Hosts 2017 Summer Meeting in Madison, WI
This summer, farm and food advocates have more on their minds than just vacation planning and sweet corn picking. Even though the current farm bill doesn’t expire until next September, the content of the 2018 Farm Bill is already being debated in the halls of Congress, on the farm, and in homes across the country. […]
Federal Reserve Puts Its Money on Regional Food Systems
The Federal Reserve, better known for setting the nation’s monetary policy than promoting locally-grown produce, released a book this week celebrating the growing local and regional farm and food sectors as key drivers of economic and community development. Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities, produced by the Federal Reserve […]
Senate Appropriators Prioritize Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
Following closely on the heels of the House Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee’s funding bill, which was approved by the full House Appropriations Committee last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced its agriculture appropriations funding measure for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The Senate bill moved quickly through the Subcommittee and full Committee approval process, with just […]
The Numbers Behind the Farm Bill: A Little-Known Factor for the Fate of Sustainable Ag Programs
Editor’s Note: This is the third of a four-part series explaining the background budget information that will be used to craft the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. In this post we look in more detail at the smaller, more innovative programs that receive direct farm bill funding but will need to have their funding renewed in […]
RFA Roundup: Deadline Reminders and New Funding Opportunities
Many program application deadlines are quickly approaching, so if you are a farmer, rancher, non-profit organization, university or other eligible entity and are interested in securing some federal support, make sure you get your application in on time! As part of our ongoing efforts to help farmers and advocates stay up to date with federal […]
House Appropriations Bill Largely Rejects President’s Proposed Cuts to Agriculture Programs
“Dead on arrival” is what many in Congress called the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request – which included a discretionary funding cut of 21 percent ($47 billion over 10 years) to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) – when it was released earlier this year. This week’s FY 2018 funding bill from the House […]
Congressional Appropriators Question Secretary Perdue on USDA Budget and Reorganization Plans
On Tuesday, June 13, shortly after appropriators received a letter from nearly 600 organizations, businesses, and local governments opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to eliminate its Rural Development Mission Area, the Secretary of Agriculture returned to Capitol Hill to once again defend his plans for a Departmental reorganization. This week, the Secretary […]
USDA Secretary Testifies on Administration’s Budget Proposal, Department Reorganization
One day after the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget was released, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue headed to Capitol Hill to testify before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. This subcommittee, along with its counterpart in the Senate, is comprised of the members of Congress who will ultimately determine discretionary funding levels […]
Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts Would Spell Disaster for Rural America
The outcry from farmers, farm and food groups, and Members of Congress came swiftly this week following the release of President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget proposal. The nation got its initial preview of the Administration’s priorities this March in an outline budget document termed “the skinny budget”. This week the full proposal, which […]
RELEASE: Budget Proposal Throws Administration’s Promises to Rural America Out the Window
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754, RKovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Budget Proposal Throws Administration’s Promises to Rural America Out the Window Washington, DC, May 23, 2017 – President Trump’s FY 2018 budget request – “A New Foundation for American Greatness” – seeks to cut nearly $230 billion (21 percent) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) bottom line, […]
RELEASE: Budget Proposal Guts Rural Development, Cuts Conservation and Research
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754, RKovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Budget Proposal Guts Rural Development, Cuts Conservation and Research National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Warns Trump Budget Will Be Devastating for Farmers Washington, DC, May 19, 2017 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) had the opportunity to view the second installment of the Trump Administration’s budget […]
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue Defends Elimination of Rural Development Mission Area
Last week the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) reported on Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s plan to reorganize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by eliminating the Rural Development Mission Area and moving the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) from the Natural Resources and Environment Mission Area to a newly created “Farm Production and Conservation” Mission […]
USDA Trades Away Rural Development
In its first reorganization in over two decades, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) stands to lose one of its core Mission Areas – Rural Development – according to a plan released yesterday by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. The Department’s restructuring is the result of a congressional directive included in the 2014 Farm Bill, which […]
RELEASE: Proposed Reorganization of USDA Trades Away Rural Development
Editor’s note: This release has been updated to correct a previous misstatement that USDA was restricted by law to having a maximum of seven undersecretary positions. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754, RKovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Greg Fogel, 202-547-5754, GFogel@sustainableagriculture.net Proposed Reorganization of USDA Trades Away Rural Development Washington, DC, May 11, 2017 – On Thursday, May […]
Stories from the Field: Investing in Farmer Ingenuity
When your product is in more stores than there are people in town, you know you’re doing something right. Clay Oliver and his family are from the small town of Pitts, Georgia, but the artisan, cold-pressed oils they produce as Oliver Oil Company are found in kitchens across the country. The Oliver family’s creativity and […]
Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2017 Spending Package
After three continuing resolutions (CR), which cumulatively delayed the fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations package by over seven months, Congress has finally reached an agreement on funding levels for the remainder of FY 2017. Despite a particularly contentious political environment, one area on which Congress was largely able to agree in the omnibus spending bill […]