Friday Update — The House will not be taking any votes again until next Wednesday, September 29. A vote on the child nutrition bill will likely occur on Wednesday or Thursday, so there is still time to act! ACTION ALERT September 22, 2010 Urge Your Representative to Move Forward Now on Farm to School Funding […]
NSAC’S Blog
Sustainable Ag Symposium a Success
On Thursday, September 16, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Organic Farming Research Foundation, Farm Foundation, National Academy of Sciences, and USDA sponsored an all-day symposium on the recently published National Research Council report Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. The event, held at the National Press Club, was attended by 125 people, including […]
Legislative Update and Action
One week down, three weeks maximum left to go before the congressional recess prior to the November elections. The Senate this week passed the small business tax cut bill and draft bills and trial balloons are circulating on the big tax cut extension bill, but on the four bills left on the NSAC agenda – […]
Senate Confirms Hagen and Woteki at USDA
On Thursday, September 16th, Senate voted to confirm Elisabeth Hagen as USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety and Catherine Woteki as USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. The appointments are encouraging, not least because the position of Under Secretary for Food Safety has remained unfilled for over a year. Hagen was appointed back […]
Healthy Food Center Announces First-Year Grant Recipients
The Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) Center, administered by the Wallace Center at Winrock International, announced this week the first ten recipients of HUFED grants. The 2008 Farm Bill established the HUFED program to increase food access and economic vitality by stimulating the development of food enterprises in urban and rural areas. According to […]
Freshwater Summit’s Call to Action
On September 15, the participants in The Johnson Foundation’s Freshwater Summit issued a report entitled Charting New Waters: A Call to Action to Address U.S. Freshwater Challenges. Participants in the Summit held earlier this year included businesses, environmental non-profit organizations, a Western farming organization, and government officials, who reviewed the findings of numerous earlier meetings […]
Senate Ag Committee Holds Organic Hearing
On Wednesday, September 15th, the Senate Agriculture Committee gathered for an oversight hearing entitled “The National Organic Law at 20: Sowing Seeds for a Bright Future.” The hearing in part commemorated the 20-year anniversary of the passage of the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA), which standardized organic certification and labeling regulations across the country. Before the […]
USDA Moves to Outlaw Unfair Trade Practices
by Margaret Krome (reprinted from The Capital Times, Madison, WI) When our daughter was little, she loved our drives to southwest Wisconsin, kicking her feet up and down in excitement as we neared one particular farm, where we always saw hogs wallowing in the mud in the low spots. At some times of the year, […]
Food Safety Legislation Heading for the Senate Floor
ACTION ALERT! September 15, 2010 FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION MUST PROTECT FAMILY FARMS, SUSTAINABLE & ORGANIC AGRICULTURE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND URGE THEM TO SUPPORT THE TESTER AMENDMENT The Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) could reach the Senate floor as early as tomorrow. NSAC has been able to win several improvements to the bill […]
USDA Enrolls 4.3 Million Acres in 39th CRP Sign-up
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced today that it will enroll 4.3 million acres of the farmland offered by landowners for the Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) 39th general sign-up. This is the first general sign-up for the CRP since 2006. Over 50,000 landowners submitted bids for CRP contracts, totaling 4.8 million acres. Of the 4.8 […]
ERS Details the Role of Agriculture in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
On Tuesday, September 7, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released a briefing paper discussing the agricultural sector’s role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The brief outlines policy options for encouraging farmers to reduce their GHG emissions. These options include a federal cap-and-trade system to regulate the nationwide burning of fossil fuels; direct incentive payments […]
Reverse Corporate Control Over the Livestock Industry
The recent developments in the livestock industry have highlighted the issue of mega meatpackers and poultry processors controlling the market, leading to price manipulation and unfair trade practices. Despite this issue being overlooked by the USDA in the past, there has been a significant shift in June. The Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) […]
Congress Back for Three Weeks – Time (Barely) for Action
Summer recess has come to a close and Congress returns to Washington next week, with three weeks and less than 12 actual legislative days before the start of the new federal fiscal year on October 1. With a packed agenda – including a small business tax bill, extensions of some or all of the 2001 […]
NSAC Comments on America’s Great Outdoors
At its annual meeting in August, the member organizations of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition developed and adopted a statement on President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative. The NSAC statement calls attention to the critical role played by USDA working agricultural lands conservation programs in advancing the Initiative’s goals. The document has been submitted […]
USDA Invites States to Apply for Organic Certification Cost-Share Programs
On Wednesday, September 8, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a Federal Register notice inviting states to apply for the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program (NOCCSP). As part of the 2008 Farm Bill, NSAC succeeded in securing $22.0 million for the NOCCSP, and these funds will be allocated annually as needed until the next farm […]
USDA Publishes Updated Meat Slaughter Availability Maps
On Monday, August 23, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published an updated set of maps showing the availability of slaughter and processing facilities around the nation. See the full report here. FSIS published the original maps in May (click here to see the full report), but users responded that the maps were difficult […]
USDA Calls for Community Food Project Grant Applications
USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has issued a Request for Applications for the Community Food Project Grants Program (CFP). CFP is a grant program that addresses food insecurity in low income communities by supporting the development of community-based food projects including projects that address nutritional needs by promoting local, food and farm […]
USDA Announces 2010 Recipients of Rural Business Enterprise Grants
On Tuesday, August 31, USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager announced the 61 recipients of its Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program. According to the USDA news release, “the RBEG program helps to finance and facilitate the development of new and existing businesses in rural America. Funds can be used for start-up and working […]
FSA Issues Conservation Loan Rule
On Thursday, September 2, USDA announced the launch of the Conservation Loan program established by the 2008 Farm Bill. Though Congress appropriated money for the loan program in fiscal year 2010, enough to fund $150 million worth of loans, the program has been stymied waiting on the rulemaking. The new interim final rule appears in […]
RMA Drops Surcharge on Some Organic Crops
On Tuesday, August 31, USDA’s Risk Management Agency announced that it would eliminate the 5 percent surcharge imposed on organic producers for certain tree crops and would offer an organic price election for cotton, corn, soybeans and processing tomatoes. NSAC members and allies fought hard to remove unjustified barriers to participation in crop insurance programs […]
Livestock Market Concentration Workshop Held in CO
On Friday, August 27, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, presided over joint USDA and Department of Justice hearings to examine competition in the livestock market. Held in Fort Collins, Colorado, this was the fourth in a series of workshops to discuss market consolidation and market transparency. According to the […]
Farmers Ask for Fair Markets and Contracts
In June, the USDA’s Office of Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards (GIPSA) issued a proposed rule that promises to finally rein in some of the worst anti-competitive abuses of meat packers and impose a measure of contract fairness for poultry producers. Lauded by NSAC and many major farm organizations the rules have the potential to […]
EPA Releases Clean Water Act Strategy
On Friday, August 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft strategy for improving clean water goals. The new draft strategy is open for public comment until September 17. A final strategy is expected before year’s end. Comments may be read and made here. According to the draft, “Despite our best efforts and many […]
National Organic Program News
The August edition of the National Organic Program newsletter features stories on the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program and its new program manager, as well as news on the upcoming National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting in October. The NOP also released news this week on the use of methionine in organic poultry production. […]