Marketing, Food Systems & Rural Development
The surge in consumer demand for organically-produced food and agricultural products from local and regional markets form a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Rising demand for these kinds of foods is an important incentive for farmers and ranchers, but many still face the high cost of transitioning to organic production or live in an area that lacks appropriate processing and distribution infrastructure necessary to enable a local or regional food system to fully emerge.
Federal policies and programs have been slow to respond to this changing market environment, but the 2008 Farm Bill does take some important steps toward better addressing the gaps and needs of producers and organizations who want to supply the growing demand for good food. NSAC and its members are working to ensure that these new programs are properly implemented at the administrative level and funded.
Over half of all new jobs created in the most rural regions of the nation come from small, non-farm business ventures. In addition to providing producers with the resources they need to access markets for organically and regionally-produced foods, non-agriculture job creation is imperative for the survival of rural communities. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is working with its members to help promote rural entrepreneurship and small business success in rural communities. This is part of the larger strategy to revitalize agricultural communities in an equitable manner that provides meaningful employment and gives people a lasting stake in their communities.
Priorities for the Marketing, Food Systems & Rural Development Committee for 2011:
Advance Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiatives, including
• Value-Added Producer Grants
• Farmers Market Promotion Promotion Grants
• Farm to School Grants Program
• Organic Certification Cost Share Program
• Emerging Opportunities for Local-Regional Food System Assistance
Ensure Fair and Effective Food Safety Modernization Act Implementation, including
• Small Farm & Local/Regional Food Issues
• Conservation & Wildlife Issues
• Organic Issues
• Farmer Training Program
For information on NSAC’s appropriations campaign priorities, check out this page.
Action Taken Recently:
- NSAC submitted comments to USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan on the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program in Florida and Michigan, September 29, 2011.
- NSAC signed onto a statement authored by the Campaign for a Renewed Rural Development that outlines Rural Development priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill, September, 2011.
- NSAC submitted recommendations to USDA on how to implement the Farm-to-school Competitive Grants Program, June 23, 2011.
- NSAC submitted comments on the interim final rule for the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, April 25, 2011.
- NSAC submitted comments on the nutrition standards in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, April 13, 2011.
- NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule for the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), March 21, 2011.
- NSAC signed onto a letter from Feeding America to Representatives in support of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, November 11, 2010.
- NSAC submitted comments on the interim rule for the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP), July 27, 2010.
- NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program, June 25, 2010.
- In advance of the 2012 Farm Bill, NSAC hosted two producers to testify before the House Agriculture Subcommittees, July 21, 2010. View the testimony of Van Ayers before the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture and view the testimony of Margaret Smith before the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
- NSAC launched the Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems, April 2010.
- Letters from 41 organizations to House and Senate urging $50 million in mandatory funding for Farm to School in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, May 3, 2010.
- Two-page summary of the $50 million ask for Farm to School from the Farm to School Collaborative (of which NSAC is a member), February, 2010.
- NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule for the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP), November 20, 2009.
- NSAC submitted comments on the interim final rule for the Interstate Shipment of State-Inspected Meats, November 16, 2009
- NSAC submitted comments on the proposed “naturally-raised” meat label claim, November 13, 2009.
- Updated list of USDA State Rural Development Directors, October 27, 2009
- NSAC submitted comments on the interim rule for Rural Development Guaranteed Loans, February 17, 2009.