The House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees held a total of four hearings this week to examine the Obama Administration’s FY 2015 Budget Request. The House Subcommittee heard testimony from the heads of two USDA mission areas—Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNS), and Research, Education and Economics (REE)—as well as the Food and Drug Administration […]
Archives for March 2014
NSAC, Farmers Partner to Advocate on Sustainable Agriculture Funding
This week, a dozen family farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates from eight states traveled to Washington, DC to share their stories with the members of Congress who will decide on the coming year’s agricultural budget. In meetings Wednesday and Thursday, farmers called upon their legislators to invest in a more sustainable food and farm future […]
Protecting Streams and Wetlands Under the Clean Water Act
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have released a much-anticipated proposed rule to clarify Clean Water Act protections for small streams and wetlands. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauds EPA and the Corps for moving forward with this important rule, which will bolster the Clean Water Act’s legal and […]
Working Together to Bring Healthy Foods to Communities in Need
Guest Blog – Cross posted from the White House Rural Council Blog Editor’s note: The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition played a lead role in helping to organize a recent White House meeting that brought together government agencies, spokespeople for innovative projects from around the country that involved both healthy food access and local and regional food system […]
Rural Poverty Increasing, Especially Among Children
Rural poverty increased significantly in the U.S. following the 2007 recession, especially among children, according to data released earlier this month in the March Supplement of the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey (sponsored by the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Labor Statistics). The 2012 data reveals that the rural poverty […]
Value-Added Producer Grant Program Deadline Extended; Veteran Priority Added
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development retroactively announced that the deadline for applications for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program would be extended by two weeks in order to incorporate a change from the recently enacted 2014 Farm Bill. Coming over one month from the original February 24 deadline for VAPG applications, the […]
Release: USDA Value-Added Producer Grants Deadline Extended with Veteran Priority Included
Release: Value-Added Producer Grants Deadline Extended with Veteran Priority Included Washington, DC, March 25, 2014 – Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency announced a two week extension for grant applications for the Value-Added Producer Grant program. The extension, published in today’s Federal Register, was made necessary by changes to the program included […]
New England Food Policy Report Released
The American Farmland Trust, Conservation Law Foundation, and the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) have released a new report New England Food Policy: Building a Sustainable Food System to advance innovative public policies that support a sustainable food and farming system in New England. New England Food Policy: Building a Sustainable Food System guides […]
New Targeted Conservation Partnership Projects Coming Soon
The recently enacted 2014 Farm Bill includes a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). RCPP allows farmers to sign-up for conservation technical and financial assistance through targeted regional or thematic projects that are organized by farm and conservation organizations, state agencies, conservation districts, or others with an interest in partnering with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation […]
Sustainable Farming Research Innovations Highlighted
Following up on its award winning report published for 2011 and 2012, USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has released its latest biennial report highlighting a variety of research projects that have been funded over the last two years that are helping to advance sustainable farming. The SARE program is administered through four […]
Funding Once Again Available for Organic Research!!
After a year-long hiatus, NSAC is pleased to report that the cornerstone organic research program is once again up and running — with $20 million in funding to award in 2014!! Yesterday, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released its 2014 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI). OREI […]
USDA Secretary Explains 2015 Funding Requests to Congress
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies today to discuss the Department’s FY 2015 Budget Request, which he delivered to Congress earlier this month. The Subcommittee will consider USDA’s requests as it writes its agriculture funding bill for the year. In […]
Guest Blog: New report shows food buyers how regional hubs work
Editor’s Note: We want to thank John Fisk, from NSAC member the Wallace Center, for his contribution. Dr. Fisk is the director of the Wallace Center at Winrock International. He is also a founding board member of the National Food Routes Network, an editorial board member of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, and an active member […]
Environmental Impacts of Produce Safety Regulations
Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) extended the comment period on the scoping process for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that is part of the agency’s process for developing new produce safety regulations. The original deadline for submitting comments on the environmental impact scoping process was November 15, 2013, but FDA extended the […]
Spring 2014 National Organic Standards Board Meeting Announced
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced its next National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting set for April 29-May 2, 2014, in San Antonio, TX. The meeting is open to the public, and interested parties can submit comments prior to the meeting. The NOSB meets twice annually to discuss allowed and prohibited substances in organic production, […]
Expanding Packing and Cold Storage Loan Options for Diversified Farms
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced several changes to the Farm Storage Facility Loan Program that will greatly improve the program’s ability to support diversified producers that sell their produce through localized market channels, such as farmers markets, community supported agriculture (CSAs), and farm-to-institution. Farm Storage Facility Loans are financed through the Farm […]
Release: NSAC Applauds USDA Efforts to Aid Mid-Scale Farms and Regional Agriculture
For Immediate Release March 10, 2014, Washington, DC – Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced several initiatives to assist small and mid-scale farms and local and regional agriculture. Among the highlights were two initiatives — changes to the Farm Storage Facility Loan program and the creation of Whole Farm Diversified Risk Management revenue insurance […]
National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health
Last month, 300 agricultural innovators, experts, and leaders convened in Omaha, Nebraska for the National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. This conference was organized to provide a national forum to discuss moving the dial toward a more sustainable American agricultural system by focusing on improving soil health. Organized by the Sustainable Agriculture Research […]
Farm Bill Implementation on Beginning Farmer and Rancher Programs Already Underway
Beginning in 2011, NSAC launched a campaign around Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher programs in the Farm Bill, and ultimately helped win on quite a number of issues in the final legislation. The NSAC-championed marker bill, the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act, was championed by members in both chambers, led by Senator […]
NSAC Submits Coexistence Comments to USDA
Yesterday, NSAC submitted comments to USDA in response to a request for information about how farmers who raise genetically engineered (GE) crops and those who don’t can better coexist as neighbors. NSAC’s was one of the over 4,000 comments that were submitted on the topic by yesterday’s deadline. The challenges associated with coexistence have significant […]
What Does the President’s 2015 Budget Mean for Sustainable Agriculture?
President Obama sent his budget proposal for 2015 to Capitol Hill yesterday. The overall spending number in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year (FY) would match the two-year budget deal Congress reached last year, though the President also includes an aspirational $56 billion add-on, which he calls the Opportunity, Growth, and Security (OGS) […]
Community Food Projects Grant Program Funding Available for FY 2014
Late last week, the USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) posted a Request for Applications (RFA) for the 2014 round of the Community Food Project Grants Program (CFP). Unfortunately, NIFA posted this to their website without issuing a press release or a Federal Register notice, so there was no way of knowing the RFA had […]