On Thursday, December 2, the US House of Representatives passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, otherwise known as the Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) bill, by a vote of 264 to 157. Since the bill is identical to the one passed by the Senate in August, it will now be sent to President Obama for his […]
Archives for December 2010
DoJ-USDA Workshop on Farmer & Rancher Margins
The fifth and final Department of Justice/USDA workshop on concentration and competition issues in agriculture will be held in Washington D.C. on December 8, 2010. These five workshops are intended to examine in detail the impacts on U.S farmers and ranchers as fewer and larger corporations have gained control of markets for agricultural inputs and […]
USDA Releases FY11 RFA for Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative
On November 30, 2010, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released the FY 2011 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), USDA’s flagship competitive grants program for organic agriculture research, education, and extension. Applications are due February 10, 2011. This year, OREI anticipates that $19 million will […]
Deficit Commission Releases Final Report
On Wednesday, December 1, the White House National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its final report detailing a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit. The report, entitled “The Moment of Truth,” calls for significant reductions in agricultural spending. The Commission recommends $15 billion in gross reductions in mandatory agriculture programs from 2012 through […]
NRCS Issues FY11 RFA for Conservation Innovation Grants
On Tuesday, November 30, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) issued the Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) request for applications for program funding for FY 2011. NRCS anticipates that $25 million will be available in FY 2011. While the request for applications will not be published in the Federal Register, you can download it here from […]
Healthy Food Financing Initiative Introduced in House, Senate
On Tuesday, November 30, Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) introduced bills (S 3986/HR 6462) in the Senate and House, respectively, that would establish the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) within the USDA. Nine Senators and five Representatives joined as original co-sponsors. The HFFI program would improve access to healthy food in underserved […]