On Wednesday, June 30, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and approved the annual spending bill for USDA and FDA for FY 2011. The bill was adopted after a series of ten Republican amendments were defeated on party line votes. The bill as a whole came in at $23.1 billion, about $200 million less […]
Archives for June 2010
USDA/Department of Justice Hear from Dairy Farmers
On June 25, USDA and the Department of Justice held the third in a series of workshops to hear about the impacts of market concentration and consolidation on farmers and ranchers around the country. The third workshop, held in Madison WI, focused on dairy farmers. In addition to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Assistant […]
FDA Calls for Comments on Antibiotics Use Guidance
On Monday June 28th, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a draft guidance entitled “The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals,” calling for public comment during the next 60 days. The use of antimicrobials, including antibiotics, whether in people or animals, hastens the development of resistant microbes, including bacteria. […]
Rural Coop Development Grants Available
On Friday, June 25, USDA announced the availability of almost $8 million in competitive grant funds through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program (RCDG). The RCDG program is designed to improve the economic conditions in rural areas by funding the establishment or operation of Coop Development Centers that can help start up, expand or improve […]
June ERS Reports: Opportunities & Constraints to Local and Alternative Production Systems
This June the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published reports identifying the opportunities and constraints facing both local food supply chains and grass-fed livestock production systems. In response to the exploding demand for local foods the ERS published, “Comparing the Size, Structure and Performance of Local and Mainstream Food Supply Chains.” The report looks at […]
Farmers Fly to Washington D.C. to Have Their Voices Heard
On June 23rd, 11 farmers from around the country flew to Washington D.C. to have their voices heard. NSAC hosted the Budget and Appropriations “Fly-In” at a critical juncture as the USDA prepares it’s budget proposals for the Fiscal Year 2012 and Congress starts work to finalize 2011 agricultural appropriations. The farmers and NSAC staff […]
Food Safety Talks: An Interview with NSAC’s Ferd Hoefner
By Patty Cantrell, Senior Policy Specialist at Michigan Land Institute, a consultant for the National Good Food Food Network & Co-Chair of NSAC’s Marketing, Food Systems and Rural Development Issue Committee As the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on new food safety regulations, the National Good Food Network (NGFN) has posted a series of interviews […]
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in GE Alfalfa Case
On Monday, June 20, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farm. The ruling involved a challenge by the USDA and Monsanto to a federal court decision to impose a permanent and nationwide injunction on the commercial planting of “Roundup Ready” alfalfa, genetically engineered to resist the herbicide glyphosate […]
USDA Issues Assessment of Conservation Practices in Upper Mississippi River
On Wednesday, June 16, USDA announced the release of the report Assessment of the Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The report is a comprehensive look at the effects of NRCS conservation practices on about 190,000 square miles, including the large portions of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin […]
USDA Moves to Restore Competitive Markets and Contract Fairness in Livestock and Poultry Markets
Washington, D.C. June 18, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture released new rules today that propose a host of reforms necessary to help restore competitive markets and contract fairness to livestock and poultry markets. The new rules directed by the 2008 Farm Bill, promise to outlaw preferential pricing, expand producer rights to sue over […]
Controversial House Subcommittee Hearing on Crop Insurance
On June 17, in preparation for the 2012 Farm Bill, the House Agriculture General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee held a hearing on U.S. farm safety net programs. Jim Miller, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services testified along with Jonathan Coppess, Farm Service Agency, and Bill Murphy, Risk Management Agency. You can view […]
NSAC Applauds USDA Proposal for a Fairer Deal for Farmers and Ranchers in Livestock and Poultry Markets
On Thursday, June 18, NSAC issued a press release applauding a proposed regulation, issued by USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), to increase protections for farmers and ranchers in their dealings with packers and processors. The proposed regulation will be published in the Federal Register on June 22 with a 60-day public comment […]
Comments Invited on the Value-Added Producer Grant Program
Family farm advocates have an important opportunity to help shape the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG). USDA has requested comments on the administrative rules that will govern the implementation of this important program. VAPG offers competitive grants to farmers and ranchers developing new farm and food-related business enterprises that boost farm income, create jobs, and increase […]
First FSIS Public Hearing On Controversial Guidance
On June 14, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) held the first of three public meetings to discuss and receive comments on their controversial HACCP Systems Validation Guidance document aimed at small and very-small meat and poultry facilities. View the FSIS Press release here. The guidance document issued in March of 2010 is intended […]
NSAC Issues New Fact Sheet on the Conservation Stewardship Program
NSAC has issued a new five page fact sheet on the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The fact sheet reflects changes to the program made under the final rule issued on June 3, 2010 by USDA as well as other administrative changes affecting the current sign up now under way. Farmers and ranchers wanting to enroll […]
NSAC USDA and Hill Briefings
“Don’t Stomp on Innovation!” commanded Karl Kupers, co-founder of Shepherd’s Grain, at a Congressional briefing on June 8th 2010. Karl’s assertion came at the end of a full day of briefings with USDA officials and Congressional staffers. Karl and other farmers presented innovative marketing strategies and supply network ideas for mid-sized farmers. They emphasized the […]
House Child Nutrition Bill Includes Farm to School
On Thursday, June 10, House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-CT), and Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) introduced the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010. The bill will become the basic vehicle for House consideration of the five-year reauthorization of […]
USDA Seeks Nominations for Research Advisory Board
Today USDA announced that it is seeking nominations for its research advisory board, the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board (NAREEEAB). The 25-member Advisory Board provides recommendations to the Secretary on food and agriculture research, extension, education, and economics. The Board also consults directly with congressional agriculture committees and agricultural appropriations […]
Farm Aid Economic Stimulus Report
On June 2, the day before USDA’s National Rural Summit, Farm Aid released a new report entitled “Rebuilding America’s Economy with Family Farm-Centered Food Systems.” NSAC’s Ferd Hoefner, Shepherd’s Grain’s Karl Kupers, and Fred Kirschenmann with the Leopold Center joined Farm Aid in a press briefing on the role family farmers and local and regional […]
Noble on EPA Ag Advisory Committee
On June 3, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the 29 new members of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee for its 2010-2012 term. We are proud to say that Martha Noble, NSAC Senior Policy Associate, has been renamed to the panel for a second term. Noble is a lawyer and NSAC’s policy specialist on […]
Applications Invited for the Rural Microentreprenuer Assistance Program
USDA’s Rural Business – Cooperative Service has issued a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Rural Microentreprenuer Assistance Program (RMAP). Published on Thursday June 3, in conjunction with the National Rural Summit, the NOFA announces the availability of $45.1 million in support for Microenterprise Development Organizations to provide loans and technical assistance and training […]
NSAC Delivers Research Comments; Opportunity to Comment Still Open
On Wednesday, June 2, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) held a stakeholder listening session on its largest competitive research grants program, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). NSAC’s Policy Director Ferd Hoefner and member organizations, the Organic Farming Research Foundation and the Market Forces, delivered oral remarks. Significantly overhauled, the AFRI […]
FSIS Announces Public Hearing on Controversial Guidance
On June 4, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a series of public meetings in response to the release of their controversial guidance document back in March on HACCP Systems Validation for small and very small meat and poultry processing facilities. The first public meeting will be held on June 14 from 8:30-1:00 at […]
Farm Bill Hearings to Commence In Senate
This Tuesday, June 1, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman, Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) announced that the Committee will begin hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill at the end of this month. The first hearing will be held in Senate Agriculture Committee Room at 9:30am on June 30, 2010 on the topic of “Maintaining Our Domestic Food Supply […]