On June 25th, farmers, farm advocates, and agricultural researchers from around the country flew to Washington, DC to share their stories with decision-makers in Congress, the White House, and at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Participants hailed from California, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maine, Kansas, and Georgia. NSAC hosted this fly-in at a critical juncture as […]
Archives for June 2015
Support Growing for Agricultural Research Reform and Investment
Several reports from the past few weeks all point to a growing convergence around promoting reform and increased funding for public sector food and agricultural research. Below is a quick review of the recent reports. In a follow-up blog next week, we will highlight what the emerging agricultural appropriations bills in Congress do and do […]
Climate Change and Agriculture – Week in Review
Climate change has enormous implications for farmers and ranchers across the country, and, this week, several announcements provided new climate change adaptation and mitigation information for agriculture. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) continues to advocate that this critical nexus between climate change and agriculture must be addressed through farm bill conservation programs, sustainable and organic […]
House Hearing Unexpectedly Highlights Farm to School
With Congress just days away from a week-long recess coinciding with Independence Day, the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing on Wednesday, June 24th entitled Child Nutrition Assistance: Looking at the Cost of Compliance for States and Schools. The hearing is one of several that […]
Release: NSAC Comments on AGree’s Agricultural Research Recommendations
Washington, DC, June 24, 2015 — Today, AGree released a new position paper on agricultural research. Entitled Research and Innovation: Strengthening Agricultural Research, the paper is available online at www.foodandagpolicy.org. Below are comments on the research recommendations by Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and a newly appointed AGree Advisor. It […]
Millions Available to Help Connect Retiring Landowners with New Farmers
Access to farmland remains one of the most difficult challenges that new farmers face when looking to start farming. Fortunately, since 2008, there has been a federal incentive program that encourages retiring landowners to sell or lease long term to new and underserved farmers. The Transition Incentives Program (TIP) is an option for farmers and […]
High Tunnels Continue to Serve New Farmers
Jacob and Courtney Cowgill of Prairie Heritage Farm grow fresh vegetables, heritage turkeys, ancient and heritage grains, and lamb in Central Montana. Farming up where the Rocky Mountains meet the plains means that their land is exposed to fierce winds and long winters, presenting unique challenges for their Community Support Agriculture (CSA) and wholesale production in the […]
$17.5 Million Available for Restoration of Wetlands
On Monday, June 22, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of $17.5 million for wetland restoration partnerships with state and local governments, Indian tribes, and non-profit organizations in fiscal year 2015. Proposals must be submitted to NRCS state offices by July 31, 2015. Projects will be funded through the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement […]
Conservation Options Communicated to CRP Contract Holders
On Wednesday, June 17, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) wrote to all Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants with contracts that expire this year to tell them about their options going forward. For the second year in a row, the FSA letter highlighted some excellent conservation choices for farmers and landowners with 10 and 15 year […]
GMO Labeling Hearing Misses the Mark
With GMO labeling a heated issue at the state and federal level, the House Committee of Energy and Commerce hearing on “A National Framework for the Review and Labeling of Biotechnology in Food” drew quite a crowd. The House hearing, on Thursday, June 18, focused on Representative Mike Pompeo’s (R-KS) Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, known as the […]
$16 Million Available for Rural Micro-Enterprise Development in 2015
Very small businesses are the lifeblood of rural America, yet small entrepreneurs often struggle to access credit and business training. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) operates a rural development program — the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) — aimed at addressing this gap. RMAP provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) — […]
2016 Funding Bill Opens Payment Loophole, Cuts Conservation and Renewable Energy
On Thursday, June 18, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed its funding bill for fiscal year (FY) 2016. Overall, the bill provides $20.65 billion in discretionary funding, $175 million less than last year’s enacted level and a whopping $1.1 billion less than the USDA request. The full House Appropriations Committee will now take up the […]
Farm to School Benefits Make Another Appearance at House Hearing
Joint blog post from the National Farm to School Network and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition On Tuesday, June 16th, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing in preparation for the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was the sole witness for this hearing entitled “Child Nutrition Assistance: Are Federal Rules and Regulations Serving the Best […]
USDA Invests $6.7 Million in Rural Energy Projects
On Wednesday, June 10, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an investment of $6.7 million in 544 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects through the farm bill’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP grants and loans help farmers, ranchers, and small business owners reduce energy use and develop and install renewable energy sources. […]
Status of Farm Bill Organic Price Election Mandate
Recently, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) posted a new report on its website outlining progress on developing organic price elections. The report was transmitted to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees in March 2015. The report outlines RMA’s progress on and strategies for establishing organic price elections. In a provision NSAC helped champion, the 2014 […]
Clean Water Rule – NSAC Analysis and Legislative Update
On May 27, 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it had finalized a rule to clarify the scope of the agency’s jurisdiction over “waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act. The rule revises the existing definition of “waters of the US” for purposes of determining which bodies of water are subject […]
Digging into the Nation’s Leading Conservation Program – Part V
Yesterday we examined Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) participation trends for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers as well as organic and transitioning-to-organic farmers across the country. We also looked at the distribution of contracts by funding amount, in order to determine how well CSP is serving farms and ranches of a variety of scales. […]
House Agriculture Committee Examines Implementation of Farm Bill Conservation Programs
On Thursday, June 11, the Conservation Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to examine the implementation of conservation programs by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA is responsible for administering conservation programs authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. These programs include the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental […]
Digging into the Nation’s Leading Conservation Program – Part IV
Yesterday we examined data from the 2014 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) sign-up period in terms of the agricultural landscape, examining the types of land enrolled, crops produced, and livestock raised. Today we break down CSP participant numbers to highlight particular groups of farmers and ranchers enrolled, with a focus on the groups that stand to […]
Most Want Real Farm Subsidy Reform, but Mega-Farms Want More Taxpayer Money
Our Analysis of Public Comments on USDA’s Actively Engaged in Farming Rule The public comment period on USDA’s proposed “Actively Engaged in Farming” rule recently closed. USDA will now sift through more than 80 comments received to write a final rule, that we hope will be with a commitment real reform. The draft rule, while […]
House and Senate Vote to Stop Clean Water Rule and Cut Environmental Funding
On Wednesday, June 10, the House Subcommittee that funds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Interior (DOI) passed its fiscal year (FY) 2016 spending bill, voting to cut EPA funding and include a “policy rider” to stop EPA from administering its Clear Water Rule, also known as the Waters of the United States […]
Digging into the Nation’s Leading Conservation Program – Part III
Yesterday we examined statistics from the 2014 CSP sign-up period to illustrate how enrollment breaks down by state in terms of contracts awarded, acres treated, and funding obligated. To further understand what CSP looks like across the country, today we take a look at 2014 enrollments by the type of land treated, the crops produced, and […]
Digging into the Nation’s Leading Conservation Program – Part II
Yesterday we dug into data from the 2014 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) sign-up period in order to highlight priority resource concerns, conservation activities, and the many ways that CSP participants can provide critical environmental benefits. In this post, we continue to present 2014 sign-up data and also provide some basic information on how CSP influences land management decisions on […]
Digging into the Nation’s Leading Conservation Program – Part I
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is the nation’s largest conservation program by acreage and the only federal farm bill conservation program that requires a commitment to advanced conservation systems to participate. In this week-long blog series (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), we report on the progress that CSP has made in making land stewardship […]