by Kate Fitzgerald NSAC welcomes back Kate Fitzgerald, a farm and food policy consultant, to our pages as a guest blogger. Thanks Kate! USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food blog published the first of two articles on Rural Development’s grant and loan programs that can be used to develop or improve small meat and […]
Archives for July 2011
Livestock Marketing Fairness Act Introduced in House
This week Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Livestock Marketing Fairness Act (H.R. 2631) with Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) as a co-sponsor. The Act is a companion bill to Senate Bill 1026 introduced earlier this year. That bill also had the bipartisan of Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (D-IA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), and Jon […]
Standing up for the Local Food Economy
This summer hundreds of NSAC supporters and members, farmers, and allies took action in support of a proposed rule that could bring millions of dollars in new investment to the local and regional food producers all across this country. The Farm Credit Administration’s (FCA) proposal would require Farm Credit System (FCS) lending institutions to be […]
NSAC Opposes National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement
On Thursday, July 28, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition filed its comments on the proposed National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (NLGMA) with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). NSAC urged USDA to withdraw the proposal. The NLGMA attempts to create a new federal marketing agreement to establish food safety rules that would be agreed to by […]
Senators and Representatives with Farms Blog About Farm Bill
The Congress Blog page of The Hill, a paper and website widely read in federal policy circles, published four blog posts on July 28 by four Republican Senators and Members of Congress who are farmers and maintain interests in farms that are in their families. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) penned “Food and farm bill benefits […]
House Holds Hearing on USDA Research Programs
On Thursday, July 28, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture held an audit hearing on federal research programs administered by USDA. This was the ninth hearing on farm bill programs the Committee has held this year. The Committee heard testimony from top administrators of four agencies that make […]
Conservation Stewardship Program Update – Part I
Note: This is the first of several blog posts that will summarize some initial data we are receiving from USDA on the Conservation Stewardship Program. In January of 2011, the third sign-up period for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) closed and in June National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Dave White reported to the House […]
Senate Holds Specialty Crop and Organic Hearing
On Thursday, July 28, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing to discuss farm bill specialty crop and organic programs. The Committee, led by Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), heard testimony from USDA officials Ann Wright, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and Dr. Catherine Woteki, Under Secretary for Research, […]
House Hearing on Commodity and Disaster Programs
On Wednesday, July 27, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held an audit hearing to examine commodity and farm safety net programs, including crop insurance and disaster assistance. This was the eighth hearing on farm bill programs that the Committee has convened this year. Bruce Nelson, Administrator of the […]
New Biomass Crop Assistance Program Projects Announced
On Tuesday, July 26, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of four new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) projects. BCAP provides funding to farmers and other landowners who enter contracts to establish crops and trees suitable for use as biomass feedstock on land included in biomass project areas. Payments are made for the establishment […]
One Week Until Government Default – Where Things Stand
With one week left until federal borrowing authority is exhausted, House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and President Obama continue to negotiate the details of a number of concurrent proposals to raise the federal debt ceiling and reduce the deficit. Last week, the House passed a plan entitled “Cut, Cap, and Balance” that would have required Congress […]
Regional IPM Centers Request for Applications Released
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced earlier this month that it will begin accepting proposals for the competitive grants program that funds the Regional Integrated Pest Mangement (IPM) Centers. The Request for Applications (RFA) was released on July 14th, and proposals will be accepted through August 19th. The Centers were established in […]
Farmers Come to DC to Talk Budget Priorities
On Wednesday, July 20, ten farmers from across the country converged on Washington, D.C. to speak with USDA officials and legislators about making sustainable agriculture a budget priority. Amidst the current uncertainty about deficit-reduction budget cuts, Congress is finalizing its fiscal year 2012 appropriations, while federal agencies begin preparing their budget requests for fiscal year […]
Hearing on Clean Energy, Biofuels and Rural Development
This week Congress hosted a number of advocates on Capitol Hill for briefings on the state of federal policy supporting the production of biofuels and other energy products from agricultural crops. On Wednesday July 21, the House Agriculture Committee convened a hearing to examine energy and forest programs administered by USDA. Judith Canales, Administrator of the […]
Farm Bill Nutrition Programs Hearing
On Thursday, July 21, the House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture held an audit hearing to examine the Farm Bill’s Nutrition Programs, programs that accounts for over 75 percent of the Agriculture Committee’s budget. USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers nutrition programs, which include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), […]
Financing Measure Could Boost Farm Production in Food Deserts
Guest Post We welcome farm and food consultants Bob Heuer and Patty Cantrell to our page today on a very timely issue. To take action, please see NSAC’s action alert on the proposed Farm Credit System rule and its potential impact on the availability of local foods. Public comments are due Monday. By Bob Heuer […]
Choices Magazine edition highlights Beginning Farmers & Ranchers
Choices Magazine, a publication of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, released a themed edition focused on beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States. Choices Magazine is a a free online quarterly peer-reviewed journal that covers agriculture, the food industry, natural resources, rural communities and environmental issues. The Innovations to Support Beginning Farmer and […]
Eat Locally, Comment Thoughtfully
Is supporting your local farmer by visiting your farmers market, CSA, food coop, or other local food source important to you? Well, this is an exceptional opportunity to make sure your local farmers have the resources they need to continue to grow the local food economy. All you have to do is write a short […]
Top Antitrust Official Christine Varney Leaving Justice Department
Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney has announced that she is leaving the Department of Justice to join a private law firm. Varney took over as the head of the Department’s Antitrust Division in 2009. During 2010, Varney attended the five joint workshops held by DOJ with USDA around the country on Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement […]
House Holds Farm Credit Hearing
On Thursday, July 14, the House Subcommittee on Agriculture Department Operations, Oversight and Credit held an audit hearing to discuss farm loan programs, hearing witness testimony from FSA Administrator Bruce Nelson and Assistant Deputy Administrator Jim Radintz. The hearing was relatively short, ending abruptly when members were notified of an imminent floor vote. Leading the […]
A Hard Week in Congress for Clean Water
On Tuesday, July 12, the House Appropriations Committee approved an appropriations bill for the Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies that would slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s funding by 18-precent. The full House is expected to vote on the bill the week of July 25th. The bill also includes several riders to severely limit […]
Big Ag To Write Food-Safety Rules
Did you hear about this new unnecessary and damaging food safety rule we sent an alert about a few weeks ago? A new rule is being proposed for spinach, lettuce, and cabbage by a “marketing agency” that doesn’t have food safety jurisdiction or staff. But that’s not the worst of it. The most powerful “Big […]
Pigford II Settlement Update
In November 2010, Congress authorized nearly $4.6 billion to fund the settlements in two class-action discrimination lawsuits on behalf of African-American farmers unfairly denied farm credit and Native American tribes whose trust accounts were mismanaged by the Department of Interior. On July 13, 2011, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives issued an excellent press release summarizing […]
USDA Announces New Farm To School Resources
On Tuesday, July 12, USDA announced several new resources for locally-sourced school food initiatives. At the 2011 School Nutrition Association national convention in Nashville, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan addressed 4,500 school nutrition professionals about the Obama administration’s efforts to improve the health and nutrition of school and institutional meals, most notably the […]