Food safety is always on farmers’ minds, but this year – with the Farm Bill on the horizon and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implementing its new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations – farmers will be closely following federal food safety policy debates. Last week, farmers and food safety advocates came to Washington […]
NSAC’S Blog
RELEASE: President’s Budget Seeks to Undermine Historic Investments in American Agriculture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net President’s Budget Seeks to Undermine Historic Investments in American Agriculture National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Urges Congress to Reject Anti-Farmer Proposals Washington, DC, February 12, 2018 – The President’s FY 2019 budget request, released earlier today, is the most anti-rural, anti-farmer proposal the agriculture community […]
What the Budget Deal Means for American Agriculture
After months of negotiations, the House and Senate have finally reached a two-year budget deal to keep the government running, increase annual discretionary spending caps for defense and non-defense programs ($300 billion), and provide disaster relief ($89 billion). The Senate passed the bill 71-28 around 2am this morning, and the House followed shortly thereafter with […]
RELEASE: Senators Introduce Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Senators Introduce Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018 National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Applauds Senate Support for Organic Research Washington, DC, February 8, 2018 – The Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018, a bipartisan bill that works to increase funding for the Organic Agriculture […]
Regional Conservation Partnership Program: 2018 Awards and Farm Bill Opportunities
Whether we produce food, or just enjoy eating it, we all benefit from farming practices that keep our water, air, and soil clean and healthy. The path to and challenges of sustainability, however, varies greatly from region to region. In order to target resources toward the areas of greatest need and impact in each region, […]
New Resource for Conservation Stewardship Program Applicants
The deadline for those interested in the 2018 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the nation’s largest conservation program, is less than one month away. CSP is a valuable resource for farmers, ranchers, and forest owners interested in increasing the sustainability and long-term profitability of their lands. More than 72 million acres of farmland, ranchland, and forestland […]
NSAC Members Convene in Washington DC to Set 2018 Priorities
Last week, NSAC held its annual Winter Meeting in Washington, DC. This year’s meeting was held at the Kellogg Conference Hotel at Gallaudet University and was generously sponsored by Annie’s Homegrown, Clif Bar, Organic Valley, and Patagonia. Over 100 members representing the majority of NSAC’s 120 member organizations convened over four days in the nation’s […]
Racial Equity in the Farm Bill: Recommendations and Opportunities
Editor’s Note: This blog post is the third and final post in a three-part blog series by NSAC Policy Intern Noah McDonald, which examines how the Farm Bill can take steps to advance racial equity within the food system. The first post discussed the historical context and foundations for racial inequities with the food system. […]
Hundreds of Groups Support the American Prairies Conservation Act
Earlier this month, roughly 200 conservation, agriculture, wildlife, taxpayer and sportsmen organizations signed on to a letter of support for the American Prairies Conservation Act (S. 1913, H.R. 3939), introduced by Senators John Thune (R-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Tim Walz (D-MN). This […]
RELEASE: New Legislation Will Expand Access to Crop Insurance and Commitment to Conservation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Bill Expands Access to Crop Insurance, Commitment to Conservation NSAC supports effort to modernize crop insurance program Washington, DC, January 19, 2018 – Today, Representative Rick Nolan (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee’s General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, introduced […]
RELEASE: Window for 2018 Conservation Stewardship Program Enrollment Opens
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Window for 2018 Conservation Stewardship Program Enrollment Opens National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition urges farmers to apply before the March 2018 deadline Washington, DC, January 18, 2018 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that farmers and ranchers […]
CBO Report Provides Roadmap to Crop Insurance Modernization
In December, right before Christmas, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) quietly released a bombshell report revealing what many agriculture policy analysts have long known – that modernizing the federal crop insurance program wouldn’t spell disaster, but rather savings and improvements. For example, the report found that by introducing a $50,000 cap on crop insurance premium […]
RELEASE: Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act to Strengthen Federal Conservation Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act to Strengthen Federal Conservation Programs National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauds effort by Representatives Faso (R-NY) and Fudge (D-OH) Washington, DC, January 10, 2018 – The Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act, a bipartisan bill introduced today in the […]
Welcome Back Congress: New Year, Long To-Do List
Less than two weeks into the new year, and Congress already has an incredibly full plate. Both the House and Senate return to work this week (the Senate has officially been back since last week), and will need to immediately dig in their massive to-do lists, not least of which include finalizing fiscal year (FY) […]
“Enforcement Discretion” Policy to Enhance Flexibility While FDA Fixes Food Safety Rules
As we enter the first year of compliance under Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new Produce Safety Rule, introduced as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), producers continue to experience frustration and confusion regarding FDA’s distinction between a “farm” and a “facility.” Since the Produce Safety Rule was first introduced, this seemingly innocuous […]
RFA Roundup: Funding Opportunities in the New Year
The New Year may have just started, but there are already many federal funding opportunities available for eligible farmers, ranchers, non-profits, and universities. Several of these opportunities opened last year and have rapidly approaching deadlines. Others have been more recently posted, and you may have missed the Request for Application (RFA) announcement during the end-of-year […]
Deadline Approaching for Value-Added Producer Grant Applications!
Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published in August of 2017 and has been republished to highlight the approaching application deadline: January 24, 2018 for electronic applications and January 31, 2018 for paper applications. To learn more about the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG), please see the blog post below. You can also consult our […]
$17.6 Million Available for Organic Research Funding
After much anticipation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released its Request for Applications (RFA) for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) last week. OREI grants provide crucial support to the organic industry by funding research, education, and extension projects to improve and advance organic agriculture. NIFA estimates there […]
How Farm Subsidies Encourage the Big to Get Bigger
A recent pair of reports from the Economic Research Service (ERS) confirms that federal subsidies to farms are increasingly going to larger and larger farms, thus supporting the cycle of the big getting bigger. Fewer and bigger farms mean less money circulating in local economies, fewer farm jobs in rural areas, and fewer opportunities for […]
USDA Commits $10 Million to Support Conservation Innovation
In the United States, we face very serious environmental issues, including water quality impairment, climate change, soil loss, and the decline of wildlife species. Farmers and ranchers have a critical role to play in addressing these challenges, and many have been using on-farm conservation systems for years. As conservation threats and challenges evolve, however, so […]
PRESS COMMENT – Organic Agriculture, Soil Health, and Sustainable Grazing Prioritized
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Organic Agriculture, Soil Health, and Sustainable Grazing Prioritized in FY 2018 Conservation Innovation Grants Washington, DC, December 18, 2017 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for supporting organic farmers, grazing lands conservation, and soil health opportunities […]
Racial Equity in the Farm Bill: Barriers for Farmers of Color
Editor’s Note: This blog post is the second in a multi-part series by NSAC Policy Intern Noah McDonald that explores how the next Farm Bill can advance racial equity in food and agriculture. The first post in this series focused on the historical context of racial equity and the farm bill and highlighted some […]
Mail Call: Be Sure to Fill Out the 2017 Census of Agriculture!
Last year, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) sent out a call to farmers to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. To those farmers and ranchers who signed up to receive the census – thank you for making sure your business is counted and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has current and accurate […]
A Small Step Toward Crop Insurance Modernization: Modifying the Prevented Planting Policy
For years, one presidential budget after the next has proposed modernizing our federal crop insurance program. Historically, those proposals have fallen by the wayside; but this week the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) made a small but significant step forward by updating the crop insurance program’s “prevented planting” policy. Prevented planting […]