The Senate agriculture committee’s version of the 2012 Farm Bill is up for debate by the full Senate this week. This bill made historic gains in some areas of farm program payments: championed by Senate leaders as a “true reform bill,” the bill strengthens the farm safety net, caps commodity payments, and tightens eligibility for […]
Archives for June 2012
Letter Asks Senate for Support of Classical Breeding
Over 50 agricultural businesses and organizations, including NSAC, joined 50 scientists on a letter to the Senate encouraging them to support Senator Tester’s (D-MT) amendment to the Senate Farm Bill. The Tester amendment seeks to enhance research funding for classical plant and animal breeding, sometimes referred to as the “Seeds and Breeds” amendment. Classical breeding […]
House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY2013 Funding Bill
UPDATED: June 18, 2012 On Wednesday, June 6, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY 2013 agriculture appropriations bill. The spending bill covers the majority of the functions of USDA as well as the Food and Drug Administration. In late April, we happily reported that the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2013 agriculture appropriations bill […]
Groups Ask Senate to Limit Crop Insurance Subsidies to Largest Farms
On Thursday, June 7, 2012, Center for Rural Affairs, Environmental Working Group, National Farmers Union, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Oxfam America sent a letter to the Senate regarding federal crop insurance premium subsidies in the 2012 Farm Bill. The federal government currently pays an average of over 60% of crop insurance premiums, and projected […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Reps Deliver Bipartisan Organic Letter
In a bipartisan letter sent June 4, 2012, the House organic caucus co-chairs and two members of the Committee on Agriculture urged the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture to continue investing in organic agriculture in the 2012 Farm Bill. Representatives DeFazio (D-OR), Hanna (R-NY), Kind (D-WI), Ribble (R-WI), Farr (D-CA), and […]
Groups Tell Senate to Protect Rural Development and Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
Today, June 6, NSAC along with nearly 200 organizations sent a letter to the Senate urging them to support measures to support rural development and beginning and minority farmers in the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012. The farm bill that came out of the Senate Agriculture Committee provides no funding for the Rural […]
I think they forgot something.
Dear Supporter, The Senate Agriculture Committee’s version of the 2012 Farm Bill is up for debate by the full Senate this week. But it looks like they forgot to include a few things in the farm bill – like robust funding for rural development and beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer programs. That’s right! Programs that […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Update on Timing of Farm Bill Senate and House Actions
Below we provide our best guess about updates on the timing of the next steps for the farm bill in the Senate and House. Senate Little has changed from what we reported last week in terms of our best guess for the timing of the Senate 2012 Farm Bill floor debate. When the Senate returns […]
EWG Releases Report on Crop Insurance Subsidies by State
On Thursday, May 31, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a report detailing crop insurance subsidies by state. The information, gained through a Freedom of Information Act request, is the largest disclosure of federal crop insurance subsidies to date, and the study examines over 686,000 policies held by over 486,000 farming operations. EWG found that more […]
Representatives Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Native Grassland
On Thursday, May 31, Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Tim Walz (D-MN) introduced bipartisan legislation that would protect our nation’s remaining native prairies and prime grasslands. The Protect Our Prairies Act aims to enact a nationwide “Sodsaver” provision that will tighten farm subsidy program rules to diminish the taxpayer-funded incentive to destroy critical grassland resources. According […]
Over 100 Groups Urge Senators to Support Packer Ban Amendment to Senate Farm Bill
On Thursday, May 31, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition joined a total of 108 organizations on a letter delivered to U.S. Senators urging them to support an amendment that Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) are expected to offer during floor debate on the Senate farm bill. The amendment would ban meatpackers from owning, […]