January 20, 2010
By Loni Kemp, consultant to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in response to a comment by FSA employee Paul Harte on the article “BCAP Boondoggle” from January 11, 2010. Mr. Harte from USDA is quick to accuse, but the BCAP law is quite clear about where there is discretion that the Farm Service […]
January 19, 2010
In an editorial in today’s Capital Times, Margaret Krome, Policy Director at NSAC member group, the Michael Fields Agriculture Institute, gives her perspective on the two upcoming food safety bills making their way through Congress: “Food safety is a serious concern, and action is needed to protect the nation’s food safety supply. Private food safety […]
January 15, 2010
At the annual meeting of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in Santa Fe this week, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Edward Avalos told the gathered delegates of his desire for USDA to listen to and serve the needs of small and mid-sized farms, including through buy local campaigns, value-added agricultural development, […]
January 11, 2010
By Loni Kemp, consultant to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy While the Biomass Crop Assistance Program designed to help farmers plant new energy crops languishes in administrative limbo—the BCAP that NSAC and others fought so hard for in the 2008 farm bill—the other BCAP has grown into a monster. What started out as […]
January 6, 2010
With the arrival of a new year, NSAC is transitioning its Weekly Update into a blog with regular postings about sustainable agriculture and food policy and politics. We will continue to provide the information normally included in the Weekly Update about Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other goings-on in the sustainable agriculture and […]
December 21, 2009
Support the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition! On your screen right now is the last NSAC Weekly Update of 2009! Don’t miss out on the chance to show your support for NSAC and the Weekly Update with an end-of-the-year tax deductible donation. If you have found the information in the NSAC Weekly Update useful, the analysis […]
December 14, 2009
Support the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition! Each week the NSAC staff attend hearings and mark-ups and sift through the Federal Register, agency notices from the USDA and EPA, and Capitol Hill updates to bring you the most up-to-the-minute information about federal farm, food, and environmental policy along with critical, expert analysis. The finished product is […]
December 7, 2009
LAST WEEK House Agriculture Committee Hearings on Climate Change Legislation: Last week, the House Agriculture Committee held two hearings on climate change and agriculture. Wednesday’s hearing focused on economic impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector. Thursday’s hearing addressed the potential costs and benefits of agricultural offsets in cap and trade schemes in pending […]
December 2, 2009
ACTION NEEDED Comments Due Today on the Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP): Comments are due today, November 23rd, on the proposed rule for the new Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP). RMAP was created in the 2008 Farm Bill to provide loans and grants to Micro-enterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) that support micro-enterprise development in rural areas. While the law directs […]
November 16, 2009
TAKE ACTION ON FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION Please Call Members of the Senate HELP Committee! The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to begin markup of the Food Safety Modernization Act (S 510) on November 18. The Act seeks to decrease foodborne illnesses by strengthening the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety […]