The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Economic Research Service (ERS) recently released a report on conservation practice adoption, highlighting the fairly low adoption rates for specific practices that play a critical role in mitigating environmental impacts, improving soil health, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report, “Conservation-Practice Adoption Rates Vary Widely by Crop and Region” […]
NSAC’S Blog
Organic Exemption from Checkoff Programs Expanded
The 2014 Farm Bill directed USDA to expand the rule that exempts organic farmers, handlers, and manufacturers from paying into commodity promotion (checkoff) programs to advertise, research, and promote conventional products. Under the old rules based on a 2002 Farm Bill provision, only farms and businesses producing 100 percent organic goods and no conventional goods […]
10 Ways USDA Can Address Climate Change in 2016
The new year presents a final window of opportunity for the Administration to act upon climate change … Read More →
Top 15 Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in 2015
All that we have to be grateful for in 2015, from promoting conservation to empowering beginning farmers… Read More →
Congress Passes Final Funding Bill for 2016
As Washington, D.C. vacates for the holidays, Congress today passed final funding legislation–known as an omnibus appropriations package–to fund the government through September 30, 2016. Read our previous post for a detailed analysis of what the omnibus means for sustainable agriculture and food systems. Early on Friday, December 18, the House passed the omnibus package […]
Massive Year-End Funding Bill A Mixed Bag But Includes Significant Wins for Sustainable Agriculture
Final appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2016 will fund programs supporting sustainable agriculture… Read More →
Final Actively Engaged Rule Preserves Unlimited Subsidies for the Biggest Farms
USDA has released the final rule for implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill’s “actively engaged” provision that governs commodity program payment limitations. This final rule governs the ability of non-family partnerships and joint ventures to qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollar of extra federal subsidy payments. This is one of the last final rules […]
RELEASE: Omnibus A Mixed Bag for Sustainable Agriculture
Contact: Greg Fogel, 202-547-5754 Juli Obudzinski, 202-547-5754 Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 Washington, DC, December 16, 2015 – The omnibus appropriations bill released today increases investments in several programs critical to the sustainability of American farms and ranches, while offering both good news and bad news with respect to proposals to re-open the 2014 Farm Bill. Our […]
RELEASE: USDA Issues Rule to Allow Unlimited Subsidies for Mega Farms
December 15, 2015, Washington, DC – Today USDA preserved access to unlimited subsidies for the biggest commodity farms in the country. The final rule on commodity program payment limitations – making it possible for mega farms to draw over a million dollars annually in taxpayer-funded subsidies – will appear in tomorrow’s Federal Register. In writing the […]
Congress Passes 5-Day Funding Extension to Keep Government Open
On Friday, December 11, Congress passed a five-day extension of the previous 10-week extension of last year’s funding bill in order to keep the government open through midnight on Wednesday, December 16. Other than extending the expiration date, the bill, known in Washington as a Continuing Resolution, or CR, makes no changes to FY 2015 funding […]
$17.5 Million Now Available for Organic Research
Yesterday, December 11th, the United States Department of Agriculture announced the availability of millions of dollars to help solve some of the most pressing challenges facing organic farmers today…. Read More →
United Nations Report Reveals Serious Threats to Soil Health
World Soil Day, celebrated on December 4, marked the end of the United Nations (UN) International Year of Soils, but a new report finds that much more work is necessary to boost soil health across the globe. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils recently published a report that illuminates multiple threats to soil […]
What’s Up with USDA Food Labels? Changes Made to USDA Process Verified Program
This is the first in an occasional series we will be doing to report on some recent and pending changes to USDA food labeling programs. The fate of mandatory GMO labeling may still be unknown, but some companies are already using voluntary non-GMO labels through a third party certification or verification service, such as the U.S Department […]
Representative Pingree Takes on Food Waste
On Monday, December 7, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1) introduced the Food Recovery Act (H.R. 4184) to curb food waste across the entire food system. She publicly announced the bill earlier the same day at the Portland Food Co-op in Portland, Maine. The Food Recovery Act targets food waste in four areas: farms, retail and restaurants, schools and other institutions, […]
Understanding FDA’s New FSMA Rule for Produce Farms – Part 2
This is the second in a multi-part series analyzing FDA’s recently released rule that sets standards for the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption (aka “the Produce Rule”). The first post addressed those farms that may be fully or partially exempt from the Produce Rule. This post provides an overview of […]
Congress Reverses Crop Insurance Reform; Agriculture Appropriations and Nutrition Decisions Loom
Last week, Congress voted to reverse several basic reforms to the federal crop insurance program – reforms that both the House and Senate agreed to as part of a two-year budget deal signed into law by the President back in late October. That budget deal required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to renegotiate its […]
CSP Overhaul Delayed Until 2017
The major overhaul of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) will be delayed one year until the 2017… Read More →
New Paper Explores the Role of Agriculture In Sequestering Carbon
As the climate continues to warm, agriculture has a critical role to play in not just reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, but also in pulling GHG’s out of the atmosphere and storing them in the soil. Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Breakthrough Strategies and Solutions, LLC, jointly published a paper that explores how […]
New Soil Health Institute Will Begin with $20 Million over Ten Years
On Thursday, December 3, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Farm Foundation, NFP announced the creation of a new Soil Health Institute, to be headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The Institute is an offshoot of an ongoing effort known as the Soil Renaissance. According to today’s press release, “The Soil Health Institute’s […]
49th CRP Sign Up Announced as Continuous CRP Enrollments Hit Record High in 2015
On Tuesday, December 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the beginning of the 49th Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign up. The general sign up period will last from December 1, 2015 to February 26, 2016. This month, USDA also celebrates the 30-year anniversary of the program, which Congress created in the 1985 […]
Low Acceptance Rates Reflect Continued Conservation Cuts
Key conservation programs are once again on the chopping block as Congress continues to negotiate funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2016…. Read More →
Understanding FDA’s New FSMA Rule for Produce Farms – Part 1
First in a multi-part series analyzing FDA’s recently released Produce Rule… Read More →
Report Highlights Environmental Challenges of Producing Energy from Corn Stover
Last month, the Natural Resources Defense Council released a new report, authored by longtime NSAC ally, Loni Kemp, that explores the production of ethanol from corn residues, also known as stover. Stover is the byproduct of harvesting corn kernels, and is made up of stalks, husks, cobs, and leaves. Two energy-production companies opened stover-to-ethanol plants […]
The (Un)Coordinated Framework of GE Regulations
Those tuned into the biotechnology regulatory landscape will have noticed quite a few changes and announcements from the federal government lately. Several agencies have been asking for public comments, announcing proposed rules, releasing guidance, and taking other actions related to biotechnology, or genetic engineering (“GE”). The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health […]