On Thursday morning, March 31, the House Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations held a hearing on Rural Development in Fiscal Year 2012. The hearing started with general remarks from subcommittee members regarding concern about the state of rural America, including a note that USDA Secretary Vilsack previously testified to the Subcommittee that rural America has been […]
Archives for March 2011
Budget Deal in Sight?
According to Vice President Joe Biden, negotiations between the White House and House Republican leadership on Wednesday arrived at an agreement to reduce government spending for FY 2011 to $33 billion below the total for FY 2010 and $73 billion below what President Obama requested for FY 2011. The new number is $3 billion more […]
You’ve Got Mail
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack’s inbox was brimming this week with letters from farmers and advocates for USDA Conservation Programs. Hundreds responded to our action alert calling for letters to the Secretary asking him to stand up for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Wetlands Reserve Program(WRP). As the Obama Administration negotiates with the House over […]
EPA Farm, Ranch & Rural Communities Committee Meets March 29-30
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch & Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC) meets next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 29-30, at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington VA. The 29-member Committee is a Federal Advisory Committee to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, chaired by Dr. Steven Balling with Del Monte Foods. Larry Elworth, the Agricultural Counselor to the […]
More FY 2010 Conservation Program Sign-up Data
The Resource Economics Analysis and Policy (REAP) Division of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently released draft final sign-up data for most USDA conservation programs for fiscal year (FY) 2010. We previously blogged the final FY 2010 sign-up numbers, including state-level data, for the Conservation Stewardship Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Farm and Ranch Lands […]
Chesapeake Bay Conservation Practices Effects Assessment
Last week saw a focus in Washington D.C. on the Chesapeake Bay Region’s water quality and agriculture. On Tuesday, March 15, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) released a report entitled Assessment of the Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Chesapeake Bay Region. The report is one a series of regional assessments […]
House Agriculture Subcommittee Criticizes EPA Action on Chesapeake Bay
Last Wednesday, March 16, the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry of the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on President Obama’s Executive Order for achieving improvements using the Clean Water Act to the water quality in watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay Region. The Order directed EPA to establish a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) […]
Voice of Reason
*Action Alert* You already know that if the House gets its way programs that are building a healthier, more just, and environmentally sustainable food and farming system will get thrown under the bus. But guess what? The Obama Administration appears ready to propose even deeper cuts to conservation programs than the Republican House! Someone has […]
ATTRA Loses Its Funding at Least Temporarily
One very distressing casualty of the continuing series of Continuing Resolutions that are keeping the government open but cutting funding week by week is the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, known as ATTRA. ATTRA’s $2.8 million was cut entirely in H.R. 1, the House-passed full-year Continuing Resolution from mid-February and that proposed program termination was […]
AFRI Grants Awarded to Research Sustainability of Small- and Medium-Sized Farms
USDA recently released the reports on funded Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) projects for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 grant cycle, including research focusing on sustainability of small- and medium-sized farms and rural development and on the economics of markets and development, two of the many AFRI subprograms. For 2011, as we previously reported […]
Congress Passes 3-Week Budget Extension
On Thursday, March 17, the Senate passed a three-week continuing resolution, which extends fiscal year (FY) 2010 federal funding levels until April 8. The House passed companion legislation on Tuesday, March 15, so the bill will now go to the President’s desk for his signature. As we reported in an earlier blog post, the three-week […]
USDA’s First Organic Farming Systems Research Conference
On March 16-18, USDA held its first ever Organic Farming Systems Research Conference to explore the agronomic, economic, ecological, and social dimensions of organic farming. The Conference participants included researchers, policymakers, farmers, ranchers and others interested in sharing information on organic farming systems research and shaping the future of organic research, with an emphasis on […]
FY 2012 NIFA Budget Proposal Increases Funding for Sustainable Agriculture Research
On Wednesday, March 16, 2011, the House Agriculture Appropriations committee held a hearing on the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget for USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) programs, featuring testimony by Dr. Catherine Woteki, USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE). In her written testimony, Dr. Woteki emphasized that although […]
NSAC Submits Comments on Proposed Rule for Farmers’ Market Promotion Program
NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule for the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP). The program, crafted by NSAC as part of the 2002 Farm Bill, strives to improve and expand producer-to-consumer activities including farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, roadside stands, and agritourism. Public comments on the proposed rule are due Monday, March 21. […]
Court Rules Clean Water Act Permits Not Required for CAFOs Likely to Pollute
On Tuesday, March 15, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the lawsuit National Pork Producers Council v. EPA, in which livestock and poultry trade associations challenged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2008 Clean Water Act regulation for Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The plaintiffs included the National Pork Producers Council, […]
House Agriculture Sends Budget Letter
On Tuesday, March 15, the House Committee on Agriculture adopted a letter to the House Committee on the Budget containing recommendations for the fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget cycle. The Agriculture Committee’s recommendations focus on (1) oversight of regulations affecting jobs and the economies of rural communities, and (2) preparations for the 2012 farm bill. […]
Congress Gears Up to Pass Three-Week Budget Extension
On Friday, March 11 the House of Representatives released a draft three-week continuing resolution (CR), which would fund most federal programs at fiscal year (FY) 2010 levels until April 8. Conforming to House Republicans’ pledge to cut $2 billion per week until a long-term FY 2011 CR is passed, the three-week extension would cut $6 […]
Eight Organizations Receive Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program Funds
Last week the USDA announced new awards under the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP). A component of the agency’s Rural Development work since passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, RMAP awards loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs). These MDOs then use their RMAP funds to provide training and technical assistance to and to […]
House Ag Committee Serves Up Bipartisan Criticism of EPA
On Thursday, March 10, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on EPA regulations and agriculture with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson as the sole witness. The tone for the hearing was set earlier in the week when House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) told a meeting of commodity group leaders that Administrator Jackson […]
EIP Analyzes EPA Data on CAFO Emissions
The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released a report in March 2011 analyzing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) emissions. The two year air monitoring survey was jointly sponsored by the EPA and the livestock industry. Results of the survey indicate that air quality near CAFOs may be unsafe for workers […]
USDA Officials Testify on FY12 Budget at Two Congressional Hearings
On Thursday, March 10, top officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) testified at two Congressional hearings, the first held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and the second held by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture. Both hearings focused on the Obama Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget proposal. The House Agriculture […]
Agricultural Research Community Responds to Proposed Budget Cuts
Earlier this week the food and agricultural research community issued appeals to Congress urging that already low funding for USDA-sponsored research, education and extension not be cut. The letters came in response to the House-passed continuing resolution to fund all government functions for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The House bill, H.R. 1, […]
Secretary Vilsack Releases Recovery Act Report
On Wednesday March 9, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the released of the Investments report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The report, entitled The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Working for Rural Communities, shows that the investments are renewing the Nation’s rural areas and providing benefits to the rural […]
USDA to Hold Resource Conservation Act Report Round Tables
USDA is getting ready to submit to Congress a national appraisal of the status of soil, water, and related natural resources on non-Federal land. The appraisal is part of USDA’s implementation of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA), which authorizes USDA to assess the status of the country’s natural resources, evaluate current policies […]