Archives for the 'Uncategorized' Category

House Passes Agriculture Credit Act of 2009

Friday, March 19th, 2010

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Agricultural Credit Act of 2009, approved for consideration earlier this month by the House Agriculture Committee.

The Agricultural Credit Act of 2009 (H.R. 3509) would reauthorize funding for the USDA’s State Agricultural Mediation Program, which administers grants for certified state agricultural mediation programs. These programs help agricultural producers, lenders and various USDA agencies resolve disputes outside of the traditional process of litigation, appeals, bankruptcy, and foreclosure.

“Like most of the country, the agriculture sector is currently experiencing increased financial stress, which has created a greater need for the service of the agriculture mediator program. This program provides our farmers and ranchers with a voluntary and low cost service to mediate disputes that may arise between their creditors, or to address adverse decisions with USDA,” said Agriculture Committee  Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), who was an original co-sponsor of the act. Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) is the lead sponsor of H.R. 3509, which has attracted bipartisan support.

State agricultural mediation programs offer many benefits, including providing a confidential forum for addressing disputes, building strong working relationships between participants, and streamlining the decision making process. The Coalition of Agriculture Mediation Programs (CAMP) offers a useful summary of additional benefits, components and background information for these programs.

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Organic Standards Board Meeting Announced

Friday, March 19th, 2010

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will be holding its next meeting in Woodland, CA, from April 26 to 29.   The NOSB was established by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and is charged with making recommendations on allowed and prohibited substances in organic production and handling, assisting in the development of standards for substances, and advising the Secretary of Agriculture on implementation of the Act.

In addition to concluding and continuing its reviews of a number of substances, the NOSB will be considering recommendations on production standards for plants in containers and enclosures, on the use of inerts (ingredients that are not intended to affect a target pest, but are added to enhance the treatment) due to their recent reassessment by the Environmental Protection Agency, on clarifying the definitions of the National List, and on revisions to the NOSB Policy and Procedures Manual.

The meeting is open to the public, and written comments on proposed recommendations and requests to make oral presentations much be received by April 12.  For more details about the meeting and proposed recommendations, download the Federal Register notice by clicking here.

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Perspectives on Policy from a Beginning Farmer

Friday, March 12th, 2010

We are excited to have Sarah Brown, beginning farmer at Diggin’ Roots Farm in Milwaukee, Oregon write a reflection on her experience at NSAC’s beginning farmer fly-in and Drake University’s Forum last week. If you, like Sarah, have suggestions for federal policies to support beginning farmers and ranchers, please email them to us at beginningfarmer(at)sustainableagriculture.net. If you would like to support the Beginning Farmer and Rancher IDA program that Sarah mentions, click here.

By Sarah Brown

sarah-diggin-roots-farm-3

Sarah Brown at her farm in Milwaukee, photo by Shawn Linehan

I never imagined that my path as a beginning farmer would lead me to a seat in a Senator’s office, but that’s where I found myself  last week as a participant in the NSAC beginning farmer fly-in in Washington D.C.  The fly-in and the Drake Forum on America’s New Farmers, which I also attended, brewed in me an interesting mix of ideas to being a beginning farmer, the challenges it holds, and the road ahead.

I was asked to participate in the beginning farmer forum as a representative from Friends of Family Farmers, a grassroots organization in Oregon that supports and works for our state’s sustainable family farms.  I was also invited to attend a farmer fly-in organized by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (of which Friends of Family Farmers is a member) held prior to the Drake Forum in which I participated with other beginning farmers in meetings with representatives from various USDA agencies and with Senator Merkley’s office.

While I am active in my community as a sustainable agriculture advocate and teacher, I am far from a politician.  To put it in perspective, I’d never worn a suit before and had to ask my husband how it should fit.  I am much more comfortable in a wool shirt (remember I live in Oregon) and a pair of Carharts.  This, to say the least, was an incredibly eye opening experience into the world that supports, regulates, and ideally improves the climate in which I dream to farm.

Many of the Senators and Representatives with whom we met were happy to learn about the beginning farmer and sustainable agriculture initiatives that need financial support in 2011 and beyond; but most were also concerned — during a time of budget cutbacks — about where the money would come from.

At a time when our society is in dire need of financial growth and human services support, there is no better investment than beginning farmers.  I might not make tons of money, buy imported goods, or invest in Wall Street but I support my local rural businesses, hire local employees, and most importantly, bring fresh healthy food into food deserts.

And yet, Members of Congress are hesitant to fund beginning farmer programs because of the deficit.  While I may not have the background to analyze our government’s budget, I do have a suggestion that touches on another reoccurring theme at the Drake Forum.  Why not take the 5 million dollars needed to fund the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account (IDA) program from somewhere in the billion dollar budget for commodity subsidies?  I can confidently say that a large portion of those calories are not bound for our nation’s dinner plates, nor is the money staying in rural communities.  Wouldn’t $5 million in direct support for beginning farmers make a larger difference to more people?

Again and again while in the nation’s capital, we heard that the USDA and Farm Service Agency (FSA) are here to serve beginning farmers.  But despite the Administration’s efforts to start a new conversation about food and farming through initiatives like the People’s Garden and the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food,” many of us in the field are still encountering serious challenges accessing the federal programs that are supposed to help, such as financing and loans.

The NSAC fly-in and Drake Forum reinforced the incredible challenges and opportunities facing beginning farmers, but more than anything the events affirmed my feeling that these issues need to be addressed from the ground up, literally and figuratively.  Small, minority, and beginning farmers absolutely have to reach out to their communities and drum up support for policy change.

Farmers need to be appreciated and preserved for the essential component that they are in our communities.  Our nation’s ‘eaters’ need to know the struggles beginning farmers face.  We need to call our congress-people and tell them not only what we need, but ideas on how to make it available.  Our loan officers need to be exposed to alternative farm models.  And we, as farmers, cannot stop asking for what we want.

I walked away from this conference with tears in my eyes.  Bearing witness to the work and the immense challenge that people from NSAC, ALBA, California Farmlink, Land Stewardship Program, and so many other organizations are doing to improve the services and resources that enable me to do something I so passionately love, overwhelms me with gratitude.  It is remarkable to me that these individuals work so hard, for so little,  to improve my chances at following my dream.  I can’t say thank you enough and look forward to finding myself in my Senators’ offices again!

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Policy Considerations in Revitalizing Local and Regional Food Systems

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Last week, Ferd Hoefner, NSAC’s Policy Director, addressed an audience at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum 2010 with an assessment of the policy opportunities and barriers to strengthening local and regional food systems.

The USDA’s increasing focus on connecting farmers with local and regional markets for their products is evident in cross-cutting initiatives like Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food and the recently proposed Rural Regional Innovation Initiative, which would include food systems development as part of a broader attempt to promote innovative regional planning.

Hoefner applauded these efforts and emphasized NSAC’s continued commitment to bringing the voice of grassroots organizations around the country into the policy discussion and providing feedback and suggestions to make programs work better on the ground.

Finally, he urged the audience to remember that efforts to rebuild economically, socially and environmentally sustainable food systems must also address the fundamental frameworks and  policy mechanisms that have undermined local and regional economies over the past 50 years.

To view Ferd’s full comments, click here (PDF).

To read NSAC staffer, Ariane Lotti’s take on the Outlook Forum, click here.

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Position Announcement: NSAC Executive Director

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

NSAC seeks a new Executive Director to provide leadership to the coalition and coordinate activities in the Washington DC office and among member groups.

The Executive Director promotes the mission of NSAC through a wide variety of public engagements, by overseeing efficient and responsible use of organizational resources and the implementation of the coalition’s priorities and objectives.

Applications will be accepted now through March 12.

For more information, check out the full position description here.

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Weekly Update – December 14-18, 2009

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Support the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition!

On your screen right now is the last NSAC Weekly Update of 2009!  Don’t miss out on the chance to show your support for NSAC and the Weekly Update with an end-of-the-year tax deductible donation.

If you have found the information in the NSAC Weekly Update useful, the analysis compelling, we ask you to support our work by making a donation today!

Thank you and happy holidays!
NSAC Staff

Correction: In last week’s Weekly Update story about the NSAC climate change and agriculture webinar, we inadvertently identified our friends and co-webinar presenters at the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) as the California Climate Action Network.

LAST WEEK

Farm to School Bills Introduced and Soon to Be Introduced! NSAC learned last week that Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) will be introducing a bill in the next few weeks that proposes to authorize $50 million in mandatory funding for the Farm to School program.  NSAC and its farm to school collaborative partners, the Community Food Security Coalition and Farm to School Network are encouraging people to contact their Representatives and urge them to co-sponsor Rep. Holt’s bill.  If you have any questions, please contact the NSAC office: 202-547-5754.  If the bill is introduced yet this week, we will issue a blog posting with more information.

Also last week, Representative Sam Farr (CA-17) introduced the Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Act (HR 4333) which includes several provisions that would increase the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias, as well as $50 million in mandatory funding for the Farm to School program.  HR 4333 has been referred to the House Education and Labor Committee and Agriculture Committee.

NSAC is quite pleased to see our efforts on Farm to School begin to take shape as legislation and we congratulate Representative Farr and Holt for their leadership.  The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act is expected to be front and center in Congress next year (see related article below).

Appeals Court Overturns Decision in Wheeler Packers & Stockyards Act Case:  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion on Tuesday, December 15 which overturned a lower court decision in Wheeler v. Pilgrim’s Pride, Inc. that favored farmers.  The case involved farmers contracted to grow chickens for Pilgrim’s Pride who claimed that the company provided undue preferences to certain growers.  The lower court ruled that farmers bringing a claim of undue preferences and unfair and deceptive practices under Section 202 of the Packers & Stockyards Act did not need to prove that the specific unfair practice at issue had an adverse effect on competition.  The Fifth Circuit overruled the lower court concluding that farmers must prove a lessening of competition, even if there is clear evidence that a defendant had exercised undue preferences or undertaken unfair and deceptive practices in the company’s dealings with farmers.

Crop Insurance – Child Nutrition Trial Balloon:  According to a Congress Daily story published on Thursday, December 17, the Obama Administration has explored the idea that cuts in crop insurance subsidies might be used to offset proposed funding increases for school lunch and related feeding programs.  Periodically USDA must renegotiate a subsidy package with crop insurance companies, a process which started in its most recent iteration earlier this month.  The 2008 Farm Bill already took escalating crop insurance company federal funding down a few notches to help pay for other farm bill activities and now USDA is proposing further cuts, to the tune of a reported $4 billion over the next five years.

Congress Daily reported that the Administration is contemplating using these potential savings to help cover the costs of the school lunch program.  Last year the White House proposed increasing the school meal payments by $1 billion a year.  Congress rejected the Obama proposal to pay for the increase by cutting commodity program subsidies, then extended the current version of the Child Nutrition Act by one year to give itself more time to come up with a funding formula.  Unknown as of this writing is whether the Administration will once again propose a $1 billion a year increase and, if so, how it will propose to pay for the increase.  Congress intends to take up the nutrition bill in 2010.

The proposed trade-off hinted at in the Congress Daily article has a fatal flaw with respect to next year’s congressional action on the Child Nutrition Act.  Savings that are achieved administratively, as would be the case with crop insurance re-negotiation, cannot be claimed as offsets by Congress.  For this trade-off to work to fund child nutrition, Congress would have to legislate the crop insurance cuts, a proposition which would at the very least be highly controversial within the Agriculture Committees.  It would also require the House Agriculture Committee, which does not have jurisdiction over the Child Nutrition Act, to get into the bill drafting and mark-up process, a move that would undoubtedly not be welcomed by the committee of jurisdiction, the House Education and Labor Committee.

USDA NEWS

Update on EQIP Organic Initiative:  There has been confusion over how USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be implementing the Organic Initiative administered through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in 2010.  NRCS has not yet sent guidance to the states with changes and updates to the 2009 version despite having allocated $50 million to the initiative earlier this fall.  Here is the most up-to-date information:

If farmers are interested in signing up for regular EQIP or the Organic Initiative, they should make contact as soon as possible with the local NRCS office to begin the application process.  When the 2010 guidance for the Organic Initiative is released, the full details of the application can be determined for farmers applying to that particular funding pool.  Updated information will be posted on NSAC’s Organic Initiative page.

CSP Update:  At the close of last week, the Natural Resources Conservation Service made a final decision on cropland, pasture, and range land payment rates for Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) contracts from the 2009 sign-up.  Those payment rates per land use will be multiplied by the total number of payments points in each contract proposal submitted by farmers and ranchers.  All 2009 CSP applicants will be contacted with the total payment amount and can then decide whether or not to accept the contract.  The current expectation is for the contracts to all be finalized by the end of January.

New Hoop House Initiative:  On Wednesday, December 16, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced the launch of a three-year study on the effectiveness of high tunnels (sometimes called hoop houses) on the conservation of natural resources.  The study will verify if high tunnels are effective in reducing pesticide use, extending the growing season, increasing yields, and the retention of nutrients in the soil.  The Natural Resource Conservation Service will be providing assistance by funding one high tunnel per farm in the participating 38 states.  Funding is through NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

To see a high tunnel be placed in the White House garden click here.  To find out if your state is participating in the high tunnel study, click here.  If you are in one of the 12 states that has not yet opted to participate in the pilot, there is still time for your NRCS state office to decide to opt in, but they need to move quickly.  If you would like to see your state participate and it is not currently opted in, call the state office and press your case.

NRCS Issues Final Rule for State Technical Committees:  On Thursday, Dec. 17, NRCS issued the final rule for the operation of State Technical Committees (STCs) and Local Working Groups.  The Federal Register announcement also discussed changes to the NRCS Standard Operating Procedures for State Technical Committees.

NSAC is pleased to see that a number of our recommendations in comments on the proposed rule were included in the final rule.  These include, among others, requirements that:  NRCS State Conservationists provide STCs with response to their recommendations within 90 days; that non-profit organizations are eligible to serve on Local Working Groups; that Local Working Group decisions be provided to STCs; and that STC membership will include to the extent practicable individuals who can represent the concerns of beginning farmers and ranchers, as well as minorities, women, persons with disabilities and socially and economically disadvantaged groups.

Marketing Grant RFP Released:  On Tuesday, December 15, USDA announced a new round of funding to study the challenges associated with marketing agricultural products.  The Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP) provides matching funds to state departments of agriculture and state agricultural experiment stations who propose ways to help market, transport and distribute United States-produced food and agricultural products domestically and internationally.

“Given the broad flexibility of this program there are endless possibilities for creative projects, such as increasing consumption of locally produced foods in hospitals or to exploring opportunities for sales of locally grown and processed products in school vending machines,” said Edward Avalos, Under Secretary for USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

Although only state agencies are able to apply, collaborations with community based organizations and academic institutions are highly encouraged.  Program guidelines, application forms and other related information are posted on the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/FSMIP.

USDA Announces Roundtables on Jobs and Economic Growth:  On Tuesday, December 15, Secretary Vilsack announced that USDA Rural Development state directors and Farm Service Agency state executive directors will host roundtables to discuss ideas to accelerate job growth in rural areas, including promoting local businesses and supporting job growth in small businesses.  The roundtables started two days after the announcement and extend to February.

For a list of forum dates and locations, click here.

Job Openings at National Organic Program:  Last week, USDA’s National Organic Program posted job announcements for an Associate Deputy Administrator and a Standards Division Director.  Both listings are open until January 11, 2010.  For more information, click here.

CLIMATE NEWS

Secretary Vilsack at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference:  USDA Secretary Vilsack was among U.S. officials attending the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last week.  The Conference was officially the 15th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.  The purpose of the Conference was to advance negotiations on a binding agreement for climate change measures to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

New USDA Reports:  In coordination with Vilsack’s participation at the Conference, USDA released a new report entitled Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Ecosystems.  The report was prepared in cooperation with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and the U.S. Global Change Research Program.  The report concludes that climate change is already affecting U.S. agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity, and will continue to do so.  The report identifies the effects climate is having and is expected to have on natural resources and ecosystems services in the U.S. over the next several decades.

Earlier in the week, another USDA report based on modeling work done at Texas A&M caused a stir by predicting a carbon offset program could result in 59 million acres of farmland, mostly pasture but including 22.5 million acres of cropland, being converted to forestry uses.  Realizing the political damage this report could do, Secretary Vilsack cautioned that the study did not fully account for the details of climate legislation which would be quite favorable to agriculture.

Vilsack Speech:  While in Copenhagen, Vilsack spoke at Agricultural and Rural Development Day, an event with more than 300 policy makers and other leaders from the agricultural and climate change scientific community.  The event was intended to assemble a plan for incorporating agriculture into a post-Copenhagen climate agenda.

In his remarks, Vilsack flagged genetic engineering, precision agriculture, reduced and no-till farming, and cellulosic ethanol production as his preferred methods for reducing GHG emissions and helping farmers adapt to climate change.

Dairy Digester Agreement:  Vilsack’s presentation was followed a few days later by the announcement that USDA had entered into an agreement with Dairy Management Inc. under which USDA will conduct research initiatives, allow “implementation flexibility,” and enhance marketing efforts of anaerobic digesters to dairy producers.  USDA hopes to reduce dairy producer emissions by 25 percent by 2020.  Currently, about 2 percent of dairy producers use manure digesters in their operations.  Through the agreement, USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy will increase the number of anaerobic digesters supported by USDA programs.  Beyond promoting the digesters, the agreement will encourage research, and development of new technologies to help dairies reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Global Research Alliance:  On Wednesday, December 16, USDA announced a Global Research Alliance to Combat Climate Change, a research collaboration with over 20 countries to address climate change.  USDA announced that it would increase its investment in climate change adaptation and mitigation research for agriculture by $90 million over the next four years, bringing the total USDA research dollars to addressing that priority to over $320 million in four years.

In response to the announcement, NSAC member Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released this statement on research priorities for climate change.

Forest Emissions Deal:  On Wednesday, December 16, the US announced it will contribute $1 billion of a total $3.5 billion 3-year, 6-country deal to slow deforestation in developing countries.  Known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), the aim of the new pact is to help finance more aggressive forestry management plans in the face of the continuing loss of 13 million hectares of forests each year.  USDA’s Forest Service will participate along with US AID.

DULY NOTED

New Manual on Crop Rotations and Organic Farming:  The Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service with funding through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program released its new manual, Crop Rotations on Organic Farms:  A Planning Manual.  The manual has in-depth information about the applications and attributes of a wide range of crop rotations in different cropping systems and field conditions.  For ordering information or to download a free copy, click here.

Show NSAC the Love! Last chance to show your appreciation for the timely news and critical analysis brought to you each week by NSAC staff in the shape of the Weekly Update!  Thank you and see you in 2010!

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Weekly Update – December 7-11, 2009

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Support the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition!

Each week the NSAC staff attend hearings and mark-ups and sift through the Federal Register, agency notices from the USDA and EPA, and Capitol Hill updates to bring you the most up-to-the-minute information about federal farm, food, and environmental policy along with critical, expert analysis.  The finished product is the NSAC Weekly Update.  We provide this service to you because we know you need information to meaningfully engage in the policy-making process to ultimately bring change to our farms, rural communities, public markets, and dinner tables.

If you have found the information in the NSAC Weekly Update useful, the analysis compelling, we ask you to support our work by making a donation today!

Thank you!
NSAC Staff

LAST WEEK

Women Farmer Bill:  On Thursday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Equality for Women Farmers Act to attempt to bring justice to the estimated 43,000 woman farmers who have been discriminatorily denied more than $4.6 billion in farm loans and loan servicing from USDA over the years.  The bill is co-sponsored by Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA).  The bill includes provisions to notify those who may be potential claimants for discrimination from 1981 to the present and a process to resolve the cases with financial awards when discrimination is found, remedial measures prohibiting USDA from foreclosing on women farmers who are eligible claimants and automatic approval of loans to claimants unless USDA can prove that the loan does not meet lending criteria, and mandates a GAO audit of FSA farm loans and benefit programs to ensure that the Agency will collect the data necessary to ensure there will not be discrimination in the future.

NSAC Hosts Webinar on Climate Change and Agriculture:  Last Tuesday, NSAC presented a webinar on climate change and agriculture featuring presentations from Jeff Schahczenski of the NSAC member group National Center for Appropriate Technology and Jeanne Merrill of the California Climate Action Network, as well as NSAC senior staff members Martha Noble and Ferd Hoefner.  If you are interested in the presentation powerpoints, please email Aimee Witteman. awitteman@sustainableagriculture.net NSAC’s policy position paper on climate change and sustainable agriculture is here.

USDA NEWS

Help for Small Meat Plants:  On Monday, December 7, USDA announced its new Food Safety and Inspection Service small meat plant help desk.  Small plant operators and state and local regulatory agencies can call 1-877-FSISHelp (1-877-374-7435) between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm EST, Monday through Friday can have their questions about meat, poultry and egg processing regulations answered by FSIS staff.  Customers can also contact the help desk by email at infosource@fsis.usda.gov.  This is part of USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative to support local and regional food systems by reducing the time and expense to small processors of dealing with agency requirements.  Over 90 percent of the 6,000 meat plants inspected by FSIS are small or very small.  The help desk is designed to be a one-stop shop for plant owners and operators seeking information and guidance.

Minority Farmer Project Grants Announced:  On Wednesday, December 9, USDA Deputy Secretary Merrigan was in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to announce the award of $14 million dollars in grant funds to universities, cooperatives and nonprofit organizations to provide training and technical assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers under the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers program (also known as Section 2501).  FY 2009 recipients of project awards include NSAC members Farm to Table, National Center for Appropriate Technology,California FarmLink, and Michigan Food and Farming Systems.  Congratulations also to Rural Coalition, Federation of Southern Coops, Minnesota Food Association, Farmers Legal Action Group, Growing Power and the other NGO recipients as well as the numerous college and university recipients.

Office of Advocacy and Outreach Start-up:  On Wednesday, December 9, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the opening of the Office of Advocacy and Outreach.  NSAC played a key role in helping establish the Office in the 2008 Farm Bill with the goal of improving access to USDA programs for small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and to create cross-cutting agency objectives for increasing the number and viability of these farmer populations.

In his announcement on Wednesday, Vilsack said Terry D’Addio has been appointed the interim director for the Office of Advocacy and Outreach and that additional staffing announcements would still be made this month.  Prior to a recent assignment helping to resolve civil rights cases at USDA, D’Addio served as program manager for the Resource Conservation and Development Program at NRCS.

Beginning, Minority and Limited Resource Farmer Conservation Report:  Last week, USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report examining the participation and enrollment trends of beginning, limited-resource, and socially disadvantaged operators in conservation programs.  The report compares the conservation costs and resource characteristics and costs by these “targeted” farmers with those of other farmers who participate in conservation programs.

The report finds some evidence to suggest that targeted farmers have different conservation priorities, work on more environmentally sensitive lands, and receive different payment levels than other farmers.  Beginning and limited resource farmers, but not minority farmers, were found to participate in the EQIP program at lower rates then the rest of the farm population.  Average EQIP payments to beginning farmers were found to be  significantly higher than average, while limited resource farmers were significantly lower.  All targeted farmers who enrolled in land retirement programs (CRP and WRP) were found to enroll a higher percentage of their total land, but received smaller per acre payments than the norm.

Mississippi River Basin Initiative Coming Soon:  Last week we reported on the watersheds selected in a 12-state region for the new Mississippi River Basin Initiative through NRCS’ Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI).  The MRBI will support conservation systems to manage nitrogen and phosphorus runoff.

At a briefing this past week, NRCS released a tentative timeline, which calls for the release of a Request for Proposals in late December with a 60-day period following release for project submissions.  Selected projects would be announced in April, with farmer sign-up to follow through early summer.  In addition to the list of watersheds on the MRBI webpage, NRCS also made available at the briefing a list of core and supporting conservation practices approved for the MRBI.

AMA Final Rule:  On Tuesday, December 8, NRCS released the final rule for the conservation portion of the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program.  The AMA provides conservation assistance (including organic conversion), organic certification cost share, and crop insurance subsidies for farmers in the Northeast states plus Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, and Hawaii.  More information on the conservation portion of the program is available here.

EPA NEWS

EPA Finds that Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and Environment:  On Monday, December 7, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its “endangerment” finding and “cause or contribute” finding under the Clean Air Act with respect to greenhouse gases (GHGs), which the U.S. Supreme Court classified as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act in 2007.  EPA found that GHGs threaten public health and welfare and that on-road vehicles contribute to that threat by emitting GHGs.  These findings allow EPA to regulate emissions of six GHGs:  carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perflourocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.  The findings are also a prerequisite to finalizing GHG standards for new light-duty vehicles that EPA proposed earlier this year.  To read more about the findings and to read a pre-publication version of the findings, click here.

FDA NEWS

FDA, FSIS Explore Traceability Options:  On Thursday and Friday, December 10 and 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service held a joint two-day public meeting to discuss food traceability policies.  Several prominent food safety officials spoke at the meeting, including deputy undersecretary for food safety at USDA, Jerold Mande, and Michael Taylor, adviser to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.  In their remarks, both Mande and Taylor said that current food traceability methods are not adequate and do not allow the government to effectively trace tainted food products.

Taylor went further to say that traceability systems should extend from “farm to table,” and that ultimately traceability mechanisms must extend beyond “one up, one down.”   No doubt in response to the position NSAC and other sustainable and organic farm advocates have promoted, Taylor tempered his comments somewhat by adding that the future traceability mechanisms must be scale appropriate and take into consideration the diversified farming systems.

NSAC, along with the National Organic Coalition has been recommending exemptions from traceability requirements in both the House and Senate bills for farmers selling directly to a consumer, restaurant, or grocery store, and was successful in getting that provision into the House bill, HR 2749.  NSAC has also opposed the notion, contained in the House bill, that farmers not selling directly to consumers should be required (and for that matter capable) of meeting farm to table traceability requirements.  The Senate bill (S. 510) would limit farms that do not engage in on-farm processing to “one up, one down.”  NSAC supports limiting traceability requirements for all farms to one up, one down, in addition to the exemption for direct sales.

DULY NOTED

New UCS GMO Report:  This past Wednesday, December 9, NSAC member, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a report on the biotechnology’s inability to improve nitrogen efficiency in agricultural crops.  The UCS report entitled, “No Sure Fix: Prospects for Reducing Nitrogen Fertilizer Pollution Through Genetic Engineering,” assesses the prospects of genetic engineering in solving this critical environmental issue.  Pollution from nitrogen overuse in agriculture is the largest domestic, human-caused source of nitrous oxide, a global warming gas that is nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.  The biotechnology industry has tried to create commercial crops which are able to thrive with less oxygen; however a decade of research has provided no results.  The report also states that traditional plant breeding and practices such as planting cover crops have proven to reduce the overuse of nitrogen fertilizers.

Community Food Enterprises and Local Food Systems Report:  Last week, NSAC member organization the Wallace Center announced a new publication “Community Food Enterprise: Local Success in a Global Marketplace,” produced in cooperation with the Business Alliance for Local Living Communities (BALLE).  The report profiles 24 locally-owned food businesses from around the world and provides detailed analyses of their financial, social, and environmental performance.

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Weekly Update – December 7 2009

Monday, December 7th, 2009

LAST WEEK

House Agriculture Committee Hearings on Climate Change Legislation:  Last week, the House Agriculture Committee held two hearings on climate change and agriculture. Wednesday’s hearing focused on economic impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector.  Thursday’s hearing addressed the potential costs and benefits of agricultural offsets in cap and trade schemes in pending climate change legislation.  Written statements from witnesses at both hearings are posted on Committee’s hearing website.

In coordination with the testimony of USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber at Wednesday’s hearing, USDA Secretary held a press conference to announce findings of the USDA’s final analysis of the climate change bill H.R. 2454, approved by the House early this year.  In a nutshell, the USDA analysis found that the farmers’ costs would increase if the House bill were implemented but that the increase would be gradual and would outweighed for many farmers by benefits from offsets and other features in the bill.  USDA will be releasing the analysis soon.

NSAC Submits Further Recommendations on AFRI RFA:  The 2010 Request for Applications (RFA) for USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is expected to be finalized in the next couple of weeks and released in the early new year.  NSAC submitted comments on the 2009 RFA  in September, but several changes have occurred since then, including the launch of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA; formerly the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service), the articulation of new research priorities under NIFA, and a still evolving reorganization into five “institutes.”  Last week, NIFANSAC resubmitted comments on the RFA, including recommendations to integrate sustainability throughout the RFA and building existing and new programs to further sustainable agriculture research.  For more information, contact Ariane Lotti. alotti@sustainableagriculture.net

Policy Briefing on Antibiotic Resistance:  The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future sponsored a Capitol Hill briefing on antibiotic resistance last Wednesday, December 2.  Medical and public health experts presented.  Congresswoman Louise Slaughter gave the opening remarks, and asked for support on her legislation H.R. 1549, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act.  The legislation proposes the phase-out of antibiotics given to livestock and poultry for non-therapeutic purposes.

Approximately 70% of the antibiotics produced in the U.S end up in animal feed to promote growth in cattle, hogs and poultry, and to compensate for unsanitary housing conditions.  This practice inadvertently promotes the reproduction of antibiotic-resistant strains, which reaches humans through air and soil, but most often through eating the food animals which were treated with antibiotics.

According to panelists, there are currently more deaths resulting from antibiotic resistant bacterial infections than from HIV-AIDS.  Of the 2 million Americans who contract bacterial infections which are antibiotic resistant, 90,000 will die annually.  The panelists also discussed simple actions animal producers could take, such as better ventilation, the sanitizing of animal houses, and better animal husbandry, which could reduce or eliminate the need for antibiotics.

Future Trends in Animal Agriculture Presentation Hosted by USDA:   Deputy Secretary Megan, Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-CT), and Rep. David Scott (D-GA) were among the speakers at the USDA sponsored event, Future Trends in Animal Agriculture, which took place on Wednesday, December 2. Panelists looked ahead to the year 2030 to discuss what animal agriculture will look like and what is should look like.  The discussion covered issues such as industrialized animal production, animal welfare, and the challenge of the feeding a rapidly growing population.  Several speakers presented evidence that more and more consumers are concerned about animal welfare and are willing to pay more for animal products coming from a humane environment.

USDA NEWS

GIPSA Final Regulation on Poultry Contracts Issued:  On Thursday, a final rule governing poultry production contracts between poultry growers and poultry processors was issued.  Additional information on the rule is posted on the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration website. www.gipsa.usda.gov . The rule will take effect on January 4, 2010.

New protections for contract poultry farmers include:

A key supporter of the new rules, NSAC member RAFI-USA, noted in a press release that the rules increase fairness, transparency and good business practices and are a positive step in redressing the imbalance in power between contract poultry growers and poultry processors.

Conservation Stewardship Program Sign-Up Update:  USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service continues to work through the large-volume of applications for the 2009 iteration of the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).  Contracts are expected to be finalized by January.

Of the 33 million acres worth of applications that came through the door, producers completed the Conservation Measurement Tool (CMT) and were determined eligible on approximately 21 million acres.  Of the 21 million acres, 12.8 million acres will be enrolled, with decisions based on producers with the highest ranking scores in the CMT.

NRCS is currently calculating the final payment rates for crop, pasture, and range land.  Those rates will then be multiplied by each farmers point total, by land use, from the CMT.

The major ranking process for 2010 sign-ups was originally scheduled for January, but will now almost certainly be delayed by several months as the 2009 contract process is completed.  We expect there to be an NRCS announcement in the New Year outlining the 2010 process and explaining program improvements for the 2010 sign-up.  Both 2009 and 2010 awardees will receive their first CSP payments in October 2010.

NRCS Selects Watersheds for the Mississippi River Basin Initiative:  On November 23, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the 41 watersheds selected to participate in the 12-state Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI).  The Initiative is administered through the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), with additional resources available from the Conservation Innovation Grant Program and the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program.  The focus is control of nutrient and sediment runoff from agricultural land in the ten states the border the Mississippi River and Ohio and Indiana, with a goal of improving water quality in the Mississippi River Basin and helping to reduce the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.  The selected watersheds cover 42 million acres.

The next step is the selection of smaller watershed projects through a competitive process under CCPI.  NRCS assistance will be leveraged with contributions from project partners, expanding the capacity available to improve water quality throughout the Basin.

Three requests for project proposals will be announced in the next several weeks, including one for CCPI.  Funding for CCPI projects will come from NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program and Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program.  Two other requests for proposals will fund projects through the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program and Conservation Innovation Grants.

Additional information about the Initiative is posted on the MRBI overview webpage.

BCAP Run Amok:  DTN farm reporter Chris Clayton this week spilled the beans on the hemorrhaging of taxpayer dollars to support standard operating procedures for the paper industry.  In his Market News blog from Wednesday, December 2, Clayton reports that the White House has approved a USDA request to spend $514 million before the end of March to subsidize the burning of wood waste for energy under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).

When BCAP was passed as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, it was estimated to cost $70 million in total over the life of the 5-year bill and was to be aimed primarily at paying farmers to experiment with second generation biomass energy crops.  The new crop portion of BCAP is being delayed while the Farm Service Agency contracts out an Environmental Impact Study (EIS).  Meanwhile, payments for the collection and harvest of crop residues and wood waste, arguably far more ripe for an EIS than planting perennials, are being sent out the door to 285 facilities nationwide at a taxpayer-scam rate nearly 150 times greater than estimated by Congress in passing the Farm Bill.

The only good news in this travesty is the expectation by USDA and the White House that a rule to implement BCAP will be issued next spring.  Hopefully the rule will reign in the program and return it to its important original mission.

Recovery Bill Biorefinery Project Awards Announced:  On Friday, December 4, USDA Secretary Vilsack and DOE Secretary Chu announced the selection of 19 projects to receive $564 million from the economic recovery bill under the Farm Bill’s Biorefinery Assistance Program.  The pilot and commercial projects are intended to help lay the foundation for biofuels and biopower industries.

Changes in Research Grant Program Application Requirements:  Individuals interested in applying to any of the following National Institute of Food and Agriculture Programs should follow the directions in the Grants.gov Application Guide linked with the funding opportunity rather than the directions in the Request for Applications (RFA) for the “R&R Other Project Information Form”:  Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, Specialty Crop Research Initiative, Regional Integrated Pest Management, Extension IPM, or the Potato Breeding programs.  The guidelines have been changed and are not reflected in the current RFAs.

EPA NEWS

EPA Delaying Decision on Petition to Increase Ethanol “Blend Wall”:  On Monday, November 30, the EPA informed Growth Energy by letter that the agency is delaying until mid-June a final decision on a petition to increase the allowable blend limit of ethanol with gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent.  Growth Energy is an advocacy group representing ethanol production companies, which contend that the “blend wall” is preventing expansion of U.S. ethanol production.

In the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Congress called for the production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022, including up to 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol.  EPA acknowledged that meeting that mandate will require a higher blend of ethanol in gasoline, but the agency must also meet requirements under the Clean Air Act to ensure that engines are not damaged and air pollution limits exceeded when ethanol blends higher than 10 percent are used.

EPA wrote that the Department of Energy has not yet completed long-term tests using the 15 percent blend in 19 vehicles.  Tests to date show that engines and emission systems of new model vehicles, manufactured after 2001, may be able to use the 15 percent blend without damage.  EPA also needs to address new labels and warnings for older cars, lawn mowers, boat engines and other vehicles and equipment which can be damaged by the use of a higher ethanol blend.  The petition is opposed by some environmental groups, oil refiners, small engine manufacturers and numerous food manufacturers

WTO NEWS

WTO Panel to Consider Challenge to mCOOL:  On November 19, the World Trade authorized a dispute settlement panel to hear the challenge of Canada and Mexico to U.S. implementation of the mandatory country-of-origin labeling (mCOOL) provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill.  Previous consultations among the U.S., Canada and Mexico did not resolve the dispute.  Cattle and hog producers in Canada and Mexico, as well as many U.S. meatpackers, opposed the mCOOL regulations which do not allow a product to be labeled as a U.S. product if the cow or hog was raised in Canada or Mexico.  In October, in response to Canada’s request for a dispute settlement panel, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk issued a statement noting, “Countries have agreed since long before the existence of the WTO that country of origin labeling is a legitimate policy.  It is common for other countries to require that goods be labeled as to their origin.”

DULY NOTED

Global Gaps on “Meet the Farmer TV”:  NSAC participant Steve Warshawer, a New Mexico farmer, part of La Montanita Cooperative grocery chain, and food safety coordinator for the Good Food Network, appeared this week on Meet the Farmer TV to talk about Global GAPs (Good Agricultural Practices) food safety standards.  Meet the Farmer TV, based in Virginia, features weekly shows on local food systems from “the farm to the plate.”  Watch Steve here.

Fair Food Grant:  On Thursday, December 3, USDA Under Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced a cooperative agreement with the Fair Food Network for research into regional and local fresh food markets in Michigan.  Fair Food Network, a Michigan-based organization working to improve access to healthy foods, is directed by Oran Hesterman, formerly with the WK Kellogg Foundation.  The research will include a social marketing plan linking Southeast Michigan small and mid-sized farms with Detroit and other urban markets.  USDA will provide $40,000 to the project.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About… Recovery Aid:  The non-governmental watchdog organization OMB Watch on Thursday, December 3, launched a new online database on all federal spending related to the economic recovery or stimulus bill.  The site has more than 160,000 reports on the $159 billion in contracts, grants, and loans awarded during FY 2009.  The site allows the user to search, sort, analyze, and map, bringing federal spending transparency into the new information age.

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Weekly Update – November 23, 2009

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

ACTION NEEDED

Comments Due Today on the Rural  Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP): Comments are due today, November 23rd, on the proposed rule for the new Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP).  RMAP was created in the 2008 Farm Bill to provide loans and grants to Micro-enterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) that support micro-enterprise development in rural areas.  While the law directs USDA to provide grants to allow development organizations to offer training and technical assistance to micro-entrepreneurs the proposed rule fails to do so.  Training and technical assistance are essential to the success of these new businesses.  An NSAC alert with talking points can be found here. Comments can be submitted here.   The Center for Rural Affiairs is circulating this sign-on comment letter.   To sign on, contact  Steph Larsen at StephL@cfra.org 
 
LAST WEEK

Senate HELP Approves Food Safety Act:  On Wednesday, November 18, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee unanimously approved a revised version of S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act.  Senate floor action is considered likely early next calendar year, though no one is entirely ruling out floor action yet in December.  The House has already passed its companion bill, so once the full Senate takes action the House and Senate will conference to work out the wide ranging differences between the two bills.

A bipartisan, modified version of S. 510 was presented to the Committee early last week by Chairman Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Enzi (R-WY), after having been negotiated under the auspices of Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Gregg (R-NH).  The newly revised version includes several key planks from the NSAC position paper and legislative proposal:

Also in the fresh produce section, FDA is instructed to create rules that:

In the traceability section, the bill was amended to restrict recordkeeping for produce farms (with the exception of produce farms that also have processing facilities) to information about the initial sale to the first purchaser of the crop.

Senators involved in obtaining one or more of these provisions included Harkin, Enzi, Bennet, Bingaman, Brown, Burr, Franken, Merkley, and Sanders.

Many other NSAC proposals were not included in the bill, including:

Only four amendments were accepted during markup, all without debate.  Two were by Senator Burr (R-NC), including one co-sponsored by Senator Bennet (D-CO) to require FDA to do several outreach sessions to farmers and small businesses on the new set of “good agricultural practices” to be developed by FDA.  The other two were by Senator Murkowski (R-AK) on fishery guidance and a food transportation study, who also co-sponsored a Burr amendment on alcohol wholesalers.

Among the amendments introduced but withdrawn were amendments on comprehensive traceability (Sen. Brown), antibiotic resistance (Sen. Reed), country of origin labeling for processed fish (Sen. Murkowski), country of origin labeling for processed food (Sen. Brown, Merkley), infant formula health claims (Sen. Merkley), restitution payments for farmers harmed economically by FDA mistakes (Sen. Hagan), and confidentiality of records provided to FDA (Sen. Roberts).  Some of these amendments may be revisited during floor consideration of the bill.

NSAC’s press release issued immediately following markup can be viewed here.

Growing Safe Food Act Picks Up Additional Sponsors:  The NSAC-endorsed Growing Safe Food Act (S. 2758), introduced by Senator Stabenow (D-MI), was co-sponsored last week by Senator Brown (D-OH) and Casey (D-PA).  The bill, which would establish a national food safety training and technical assistance competitive grants program to be housed at USDA, is also co-sponsored by Senators Bingaman, Boxer, Gillibrand, Leahy, Merkley, and Sanders.  NSAC is urging all Senators to endorse the bill and is pushing for its incorporation into S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, when it comes to the Senate floor.

Child Nutrition Act Discussion Begins:  On Tuesday, November 17, the Senate Agriculture Committee held its first hearing on reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.  New Committee Chair Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) welcomed Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack and a panel of witnesses from Arkansas.  The Child Nutrition Act reauthorizes the National School Lunch and Breakfast, Summer and Afterschool Programs, the Child and Adult Care Program and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. 

Secretary Vilsack said that the Administration’s priorities are to reduce barriers to participation and improve the nutritional quality of food served.  The hearing came a day after USDA published a report reflecting a sharp increase in childhood hunger in the U.S., meaning many more people are now eligible for these programs.

The merits of farm to school programs were mentioned several times by Sen. Lincoln and Secretary Vilsack, who pointed out that buying from local or regional producers increases the taste and nutritional value of the food and does not always mean higher food costs for schools.  Senators Lugar (R-IN) and Grassely (R-IA) commented on a study reporting that 75 percent of American 17 to 24 year olds are unable to serve in the military due to a number of reasons including obesity, making it a national security issue as well as a health concern.

USDA NEWS

NSAC Comments on Interstate Shipment of Meat & Poultry Rule:  On Monday, November 16, NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule of USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) to implement the cooperative federal-state program for the interstate shipment of state-inspected meatestablished in Section 11015 of the 2008 Farm Bill.  Under the program, states can agree with USDA to have an FSIS designated employee coordinate meat and poultry inspections done by state inspectors in small and very small processing establishments.  Eligible establishments are to have, on average, 25 or fewer employees.  NSAC supported this Farm Bill measure with a view to increasing the number of meat and poultry processing facilities available to small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers who want to access interstate markets.

NSAC comments emphasized the need for FSIS to implement a streamlined program with regulatory requirements appropriate to ensure that small or very small processing establishments meet food safety requirements.  Our comments also addressed the need for outreach and training by FSIS, including training on humane methods of animal transport, handling and slaughter.

Organic Research Funds Available:  On Wednesday, November 18, USDA released the 2010Request for Applications (RFA) for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), USDA’s flagship research program dedicated to organic agriculture and an NSAC research priority.  The 2010 RFA includes a new proposal type for eXtension proposals to ensure the transfer of information to farmers and others.  For 2010, approximately $19 million are available through OREI, and the deadline for applications is February 9, 2010.    

Specialty Crop Research & Extension Funding:  On Wednesday, November 18, Secretary Vilsackannounced the award of over $46 million dollars in funding through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). “Specialty crops are an important part of American agriculture, valued at nearly $50 billion every year,” Vilsack said.  The SCRI will fund projects at 20 institutions where investigators will be researching the threats and solutions to issues which effect specialty crop production such as pest and disease control.  The SCRI was established by the 2008 Farm Bill to improve specialty crop production through the study of five issue areas: plant breeding and genetics; pests and disease; improvement to efficiency, production and profitability; new innovations and technology; and improvement to food safety.

Community Food Grant Awards:  USDA announced more than $5 million in Community Food Project (CFP) grants to link producers with low-income consumers and improve local food systems throughout the U.S.  Congratulations to NSAC members Center for Rural Affairs (NE) and Farm to Table (NM) on their new awards. The Center for Rural Affairs received a planning grant to look at access to food in a small remote town that has been without a grocery store for over ten years with an 80 mile round trip to a grocery store.  They will evaluate what local foods are available; determine if a student-run grocery store addresses the need identified; and create a comprehensive plan to ensure longterm food  access to food.  

EPA NEWS

EPA Grants for Environmental Education:  EPA is currently taking applications for Environmental Education Grants from any local education agency, college or university, state education or environmental agency, non-profit organization, or noncommercial educational broadcasting entities.  Applications must be mailed to the EPA offices designated in the application instructions and be postmarked by December 15, 2009. 

The purpose of the grants is to support environmental education projects that enhance the public’s awareness, knowledge, and skills to help people make informed decisions that affect environmental quality.  EPA awards grants each year based on funding appropriated by Congress.  Annual funding for the program ranges between $2 and $3 million.  Most grants will be in the $15,000 to $25,000 range, with a matching requirement of 25% non-federal funding.  Many grants have been awarded to projects that involve agricultural practices affecting water quality, wildlife habitat, air quality and other resources.  Application materials, a comprehensive description of previously funded grants, and other information is posted on the EPA website for the grant program. 

DULY NOTED

ERS Releases Buy-Out, Debt Financing, and Ethanol Reports:  On Monday, November 16, USDA’s Economic Research Service issued a 50-page report on the experience of the peanut and tobacco sectors following the government-sponsored quota buyouts earlier this decade.  The same day, ERS also released a 45-page report with an additional 20 pages of charts on the changing debt financing landscape of the farm and farm business sector.  On Wednesday, November 18, ERS issued a 50-page report on ethanol, including shifts in land use, increases in corn acreage, impacts on meat prices, and environmental impacts from land use change and the use of crop residues for ethanol production.

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Weekly Update November 16, 2009

Monday, November 16th, 2009

TAKE ACTION ON FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION

Please Call Members of the Senate HELP Committee! The Senate Health,  Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to begin markup of the Food Safety Modernization Act (S 510) on November 18.  The Act seeks to decrease foodborne illnesses by strengthening the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety oversight and enforcement–including provisions that would extend authority to on-farm production and processing.  In addition to important food safety advances, the bill unfortunately also poses a serious threat to family farm value added processing, local food systems, and sustainable and organic agriculture.

NSAC has issued this alert with five provisions essential to achieving badly needed reforms to our food safety regulatory system without taking away important markets for small and midsized sustainable and organic farms.  Please circulate the alert to your networks and urge calls Monday and Tuesday this week to HELP committee members.

To learn more on the issue, please see NSAC’s “Food Safety on the Farm” policy brief.

LAST WEEK

Stabenow Introduces Food Safety Training Bill:  Last Tuesday Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Growing Safe Food Act (S. 2758) as a proposed supplement to the food safety legislation now under Senate consideration.  Co-sponsored by Senators Leahy (D-VT), Bingaman (D-NM), Boxer (D-CA), Sanders (I-VT), Gillibrand (D-NY), and Merkley (D-OR) and in close consultation with NSAC, S. 2758 is designed to provide food safety training, education, extension, outreach, and technical assistance and create an information clearinghouse for farms, with a special emphasis on small and medium-sized farms and small-scale processors.  Training would include good agricultural, handling, and manufacturing practices, produce safety standards, risk analysis and preventive control mechanisms, safe packaging and storage, record-keeping, etc.  Run through USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (formerly CSREES), the new program would be coordinated with applied research under the existing National Integrated Food Safety Initiative.

NSAC is urging the Senate HELP Committee to include the Growing Safe Food Act as an addition to the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) it is marking up and voting on this Wednesday.  We hope it will be included in the markup vehicle to be introduced this week by Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA).  If it is not, Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) plans to introduce it as an amendment during markup.

Arkansas Farm to School Conference:  On Thursday, November 12, NSAC’s ED Aimee Witteman attended the Farm to School Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, organized by the National Farm to School Network and hosted by Heifer International.  The day-long event included several workshops on practical questions and advice about getting products grown by family farmers into their area schools, with helpful examples of success provided by the leaders of the New North Florida Cooperative and the Oklahoma Farm to School program.  Other workshops focused on the statewide and national movement to advance Farm to School Programs.

The event concluded with comments from the new Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Arkansas Senator, Blanche Lincoln, who said that the Child Nutrition Act would move early next year and that she promised she would be “a receptive audience on any proposals to expand farm to school efforts.”  She also touched on several of the Rural Development programs that NSAC championed in the 2008 Farm Bill, such as the Value-Added Producer Grant program and the B&I Loan Program, that can help with the production, aggregation, and distribution of good food for school meals.  These programs have also been featured in the USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative.

NSAC Submits “Natural” Meat Label Comments:  NSAC sent summary comments to USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) this week in response to their Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  The natural claim refers to processing, not animal raising, and indicates minimal processing and no artificial ingredients added.  The Bush Administration had issued an early advanced rulemaking in 2006, so this is a second time for the troublesome term.

NSAC urged FSIS to substitute “minimally processed” and “no artifical ingredients adding during processing” for the misnomer “natural” label.  The comments also reiterated our long-standing request to the Obama Administration that it revoke the last minute Bush rule creating a “naturally raised” label claim through USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).  That label claim has been put on hold by the new Administration, though it is not yet cancelled.  The comments also urged emphatically that conflicting policies on animal raising meat label claim standards between FSIS and AMS be brought into unity in support of strong standards that protect the markets created by pioneering sustainable livestock producers.

THIS WEEK

Food Safety Markup Wednesday:  The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is taking a pause from health care legislation this week to take up the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), introduced early this year by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).  Since introduction, the HELP Committee lost its long-time chairman, Senator Ted Kennedy, with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) now taking over the reins.  This will be Harkin’s first bill to report out from his new Committee.

NSAC has submitted detailed and extensive draft amendments to S. 510 to deal with its unintended negative consequences for family farms, alternative food systems, and the environment.  At press time, we expect some of these proposals to be incorporated into the chairman’s “mark” that Harkin will introduce this week for committee consideration on Wednesday.  The mark will be built off of the original S. 510 but will include modifications.

We urge everyone to respond to the Action at the top of this week’s edition, and will provide a full report on the outcome next week.

USDA NEWS

B&I NOFA for Food System Loans:  NSAC learned last week that USDA’s Rural Development Agency is working on a special Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to publicize the availability of Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans (B&I) for enterprises supporting the development of local and regional food systems.  This is very good news — NSAC has been encouraging the agency for months to do more outreach about the new food system emphasis in the program.  The NOFA should appear in the Federal Register before the end of the calendar year.  Any remaining funds that are not used to guarantee food system loans by April 1, 2010 (about $125 million), will be rolled into the general B&I lending pool. B&I local and regional food enterprise loans is one of the programs featured in USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food effort.

DOJ-USDA Listening Sessions on Ag Market Competition and Regulation Announced:  On Friday, Novmeber 13, USDA and the Department of Justice announced the schedule for 2010 joint workshops and listening sessions on agricultural market concentration and competition issues.  The schedule for the workshops is as follows:

March 12, 2010 – Issues of Concern to Farmers – Ankeny, Iowa – focus on seed technology, vertical integration, market transparency and buyer power.

May 21, 2010 – Poultry Industry – Normal, Ala – focus on production contracts in the poultry industry, concentration and buyer power.

June 7, 2010 – Dairy Industry – Madison, Wisc. – focus on concentration, marketplace transparency and vertical integration in the dairy industry.

Aug.  26, 2010 – Livestock Industry – Fort Collins, Colo. – focus on beef, hog and other animal sectors and may include enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act and concentration.

Dec. 8, 2010 – Margins – Washington, D.C. – focus on the discrepancies between the prices received by farmers and the prices paid by consumers.  As a concluding event, discussions from previous workshops will be incorporated into the analysis of agriculture markets nationally.

Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, general expert panels, and break-out panels that will address more narrowly-focused issues.  At each workshop, the public will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.

In addition, USDA and the Department of Justice submit are accepting written comments on these issues until Dec. 31, 2009.  Two paper copies of comments should be addressed to the Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 50 5th Street, NW, Suite 11700, Washington, D.C. 20001.  The electronic version of each comment should be submitted to agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov.

USDA and South Dakota CREP Agreement:  On November 10, USDA Secretary Vilsack and South Dakota Governor Rounds signed a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) agreement to improve water quality in the James River and enhance wildlife habitat in the area.  The CREP is in the prairie pothole region and focuses on restoring wetland hydrology and surrounding upland buffers on about 100,000 acres in the watershed.  Eligible producers must offer a minimum of 40 contiguous or nearly contiguous acres, which may consist of a combination of land offered for enrollment into CREP and adjacent non-CREP acres in order to meet the 40-acre minimum block-size requirement.  The 40-acre minimum requirement may be waived for beginning, limited resource or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.  Producers must also enroll applicable acres in the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Walk-In Area Program for hunting and fishing access.

The total cost of the South Dakota CRP is $161.4 million.  Producers will receive the current weighted-average rental rate for the three predominant soils on the eligible acreage.  Some conservation practices will qualify for additional incentives such as a 20 percent rental rate increase, a Practice Incentive Payment (PIP), and a Signing Incentive Payment (SIP) of $100 per acre.  South Dakota will provide an incentive equal to 40 percent of the weighted-average rental rate for acres enrolled under CREP.  Sign up will begin Nov. 23, 2009 at local country FSA offices.

Due Dates for CFGs, SCRI, IPM:  A reminder that grant applications for the Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program are due by November 19.  For more information, visit the CFP website here or contact the CFP Program Leader, Elizabeth Tuckermanty at etuckermanty@nifa.usda.gov.

Other deadlines for NIFA grants are also approaching, including the Regional Integrated Pest Management Competitive Grants Program which closes on December 17, 2009  and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative which closes on January 14th, 2010 .

Systems Grantwriting Workshop for SARE, OREI, and SCRI:  The national program leaders of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), and the Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) are hosting a one-day workshop on the preparation and management of systems-based grant applications, in partnership with Cornell University.  The workshop is scheduled for December 10, and will also be accessible via web.  The registration deadline is December 3, and there is no registration fee.  For more information, click here.

McEvoy NOSB Presentation Available:  USDA has posted the presentation that the National Organic Program’s (NOP) new Deputy Adminstrator Miles McEvoy made at the November meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in Washington, DC.  McEvoy’s presentation laid out his plan for how to grow NOP, ensure the organic label’s integrity, and implement NOSB recommendations.  The presentation also included rough budget figures, a projected increase in NOP staff from 16 to 31, and a priority on publishing the long-awaited access to pasture rule by early 2010.

EPA NEWS

Nominations Open for EPA Farm, Ranch & Rural Communities Advisory Committee:  EPA has issued a notice that it is taking nominations for membership on the EPA Farm, Ranch & Rural Communities Advisory Committee (FRRCC) until December 31, 2009.  The FRRCC provides independent advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture and rural communities.  Members serve as representatives from academia, industry (e.g., farm groups and allied industries), non-governmental organizations, and state, local, and tribal governments.  People who are actively engaged in farming or ranching are encouraged to apply.  Members will serve for a two-year term, 2010-2011, and will be expected to volunteer about 10-15 hours per month reviewing topics of interest to the EPA Administrator and participating in meetings and conference calls.

Candidates for membership may be nominated by organizations or may nominate themselves.  All nominations must be identified by name, occupation, organization, position, current business address, e-mail address, and daytime telephone number, and must include: (1) A resume detailing relevant experience and professional and educational qualifications of the nominee; and (2) a brief statement (one page or less) describing the nominee’s interest in serving on the Committee.   Nominations should be submitted to:  Alicia Kaiser, Designated Federal Officer, Office of the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (MC 1101A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.  You may also e-mail nominations to: Kaiser.Alicia@epa.gov.

For further information contact Alicia Kaiser at her e-mail address or by phone at (202) 564-7273. Information about Committee actions in 2008-2009 is posted here.

DULY NOTED

“Building Sustainable Places” Now Available:  This week the ATTRA program announced publication of the new Building Sustainable Places book and made it available on their website.

The new publication is an updated version of Building Better Rural Places and is edited by Michael Field Agricultural Institute’s Margaret Krome.  The guide is a collaborative effort of Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, National Center for Appropriate Technology, USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, and other USDA agencies.  NSAC also provided information for the publication.

The guide, written for farmers, entrepreneurs, and community based organizations, includes summaries and important information about federal programs that encourage community development, sustainable land management and production, and value-added and diversified agriculture and forestry.

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