This morning, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal program dedicated 40 minutes to the work of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Host Libby Casey interviewed NSAC Executive Director Susan Prolman about the growth of the sustainable agriculture movement. The interview is part of a week-long C-SPAN series on food and agriculture. Also appearing this week are Chandler Goule […]
Archives for December 2010
USDA Requests Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program Applications
On Friday, December 23, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a request for applications for FY2011 funding for the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). Congress has yet to appropriate FY2011 funding for FSMIP. AMS program staff, however, decided to issue the notice prior to securing the funding to allow applicants time to leverage funding and […]
Congress Extends FY2010 Budget through March 4, 2011
Late on Tuesday, December 21, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) scheduled to expire on March 4, 2011, which will fund most federal government agencies at the level provided in their FY2010 Appropriations Bills. The Senate voted 79-16 on Sunday, December 19 to amend the House-passed CR (H.R. 3082). The amended CR then went to […]
Congress Sends Food Safety Bill to President’s Desk
On December 21, 2010, the House of Representatives voted 215-144 to pass the Senate version of the Food Safety Modernization Act, with the Tester-Hagan amendment protecting small farms intact. This final vote by the House ends weeks of procedural wrangling, and sends the bill to the President’s desk for enactment. As we reported in a […]
2011 Sign-up for EQIP Organic Initiative
On Monday, December 20, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced $50 million in available funding for the 2011 sign-up of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative. The EQIP Organic Initiative, administered by USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), provides financial and technical assistance to certified organic producers and producers transitioning to organic to […]
Senate Passes Food Safety Bill (Again)
In an unexpected late-night move, the Senate passed the Food Safety Modernization Act – with the Tester-Hagan amendment protecting small farms intact – by voice vote on Sunday, December 19th. The bill is expected to be taken up in the House of Representatives tomorrow. The food safety bill hit a roadblock after passing the Senate […]
ERS Issues New Report on Organic Contracts
On Monday, December 13, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published a new report, “The Role of Contracts in the Organic Supply Chain: 2004 and 2007,” examining the extent and rationale behind contracting in the organic sector. The report, which is based on data collected from nationwide surveys of certified organic processors, manufacturers, and distributors, found […]
Lame Duck Appears Headed for End with No Appropriations or Food Safety Bills
In the early evening on December 16, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled the pending omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2011 when it became clear that no Republicans would vote for it. Earlier in the week, at least five and possibly as many as nine Republicans were indicating privately they would support the […]
USDA Issues Request for Proposals for Chesapeake Bay Watershed CCPI
On Thursday, December 16, USDA issued a special request for proposals for $3.5 million in FY2011 funding under the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) for the Chesapeake Bay Region. The funding will be drawn from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP). Special priority will be given to applications […]
New Republican Agriculture Committee Members Named
On Thursday, December 16, Chairman-elect of the House Agriculture Committee Frank Lucas (R-OK) issued a press release welcoming the 16 new Republican members of the committee. Lucas noted the varied geographic backgrounds of the incoming members, whose home states range from North Carolina to Colorado. “They represent a broad slice of the country and will […]
USDA Releases Farm Emissions Calculator
On Wednesday, December 15, USDA announced the release of an updated and expanded online tool to help producers estimate on-farm carbon emissions and sequestration associated with their farm management practices. The COMET-VR 2.0 calculator, developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, can estimate the carbon sequestration and emission reductions associated with the implementation of conservation […]
Senate Omnibus Appropriations Bill Released
(Updated Version — 12/15/10 — of Original Post) The Senate Appropriations Committee released the long-awaited omnibus, government-wide appropriations bill the afternoon of December 14. The $1.1 trillion bill is a less than two percent increase over FY 2010, $26 billion less than what the Obama Administration requested in February, $18 billion more than the long-term […]
USDA Issues FY11 Request for Proposals for CCPI and AWEP
On Tuesday, December 14, USDA published its FY 2011 Request for Proposals for the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) and the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), both of which are administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Both CCPI and AWEP are partnership programs, through which NRCS partners with Indian tribes, State and local […]
USDA Introduces Online Farm Link Tool for Beginning Farmers
On Monday, December 13, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the release of TIP Net, an online tool to help link retiring farmers who have expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts with beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers who want to buy or rent land for their operations. CRP contracts covering millions of acres of […]
Vilsack Reaffirms “Good Faith” Process for GIPSA Rule
On Monday, December 13, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack held an open meeting reaffirming USDA’s commitment to a “serious” and “good faith” analysis of all comments received on the proposed GIPSA rule in order to produce a “fair, feasible and common-sense rule.” The Secretary gave an an overview of the rulemaking process for the proposed rule, […]
Free USDA Webinar on Specialty Crop Block Grants
On December 16, 2pm EST, USDA will conduct a free webinar on the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The webinar will discuss the purpose of the program, the types of projects the program aims to fund, and how to apply for a grant. According to the webinar announcement, “USDA invites everyone who is currently engaged […]
Tax Cuts Package Likely to Pass Senate
UPDATE: The Senate passed the tax cuts package this morning (Wednesday, December 15) by a vote of 81-19; the House is expected to take up the bill for debate tomorrow. — A controversial package of legislation negotiated by President Obama with Republican legislators, including a 2-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for all income […]
Rep. Frank Lucas Voices Plans for House Agriculture Committee
In an interview with DTN agriculture policy editor Chris Clayton published on Friday, December 10, Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK) outlined his plans as chair of the next House Agriculture Committee. Lucas, who takes over the committee next month, appears determined and hopeful about completing a farm bill for President Obama to sign by mid-2012, just […]
Farmers Speak Out for Fair Competition at DoJ-USDA Workshop
Farmers and ranchers spoke out loudly and clearly about the need for fair competition during the fifth and final US Department of Justice-USDA workshops on Concentration and Regulatory Enforcement in Agriculture on Wednesday, December 8. The focus of this DC workshop was the negative impacts on farmers and ranchers arising from the drastically shrinking number […]
Beginning Farmer Advisory Committee Meeting Next Week in DC
USDA’s Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers will be holding a public meeting next Wednesday and Thursday, December 15th and 16th, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the Secretary of the USDA on the development, administration, and improvement of USDA’s beginning farmer programs. The meeting will […]
House Republicans Overhaul 2011 Work Schedule
On Wednesday, December 8, House Republicans unveiled the 2011 House legislative calendar, which represents a major departure from both the Senate work schedule and the typical House calendar. Under the new calendar, House members will spend one week in their home district following every two weeks in session in Washington, unlike the Senate, which will […]
House Passes Senate Food Safety Bill with FY 11 Appropriations
On Wednesday evening, December 8, the House passed a combined Continuing Resolution-Food Safety bill by a vote of 212-206. All Republicans and 35 Democrats voted no. The Continuing Resolution would fund all government functions for the remainder of the current fiscal year 2011, which ends September 30, 2011. The current short-term Continuing Resolution expires on […]
Take Action: Local and Regional Food at Risk
Action Alert December 8, 2010 Local and Regional Food at Risk Call Your Representative Food Safety Legislation passed by the Senate and to be considered by the House as early as this week is in trouble. Big Ag is out in force, lobbying House members to ditch provisions that are friendly to small and mid-size […]
Cellulosic Ethanol Drops in Renewable Fuel Standard / Dueling Letters on Corn Ethanol Tax Break
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted an updated Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) for 2011 with a low number for cellulosic biofuel — 6.6 million gallons (the equivalent of 6.0 million gallons of ethanol). The RFS2 sets the level for the amount of various biofuel categories that are to be blended into U.S. gasoline in […]