On August 15, USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service announced the availability of $14 million in funding for its Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) competitive grants program. The Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) can be found in the August 15, 2012 Federal Register. Applications are due October 15, 2012. Program Basics: VAPG is a competitive grants program that […]
Beginning and Minority Farmers
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Local Food Marker Bill: Where Are We Now?
Last fall, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act to create jobs and spur economic development through food and farms. This bill funds and improves critical programs that create economic opportunities for farmers, support local and regional food systems, and improve food access for all. […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Beginning Farmer Marker Bill: Where Are We Now?
Last fall, Senator Harkin (D-IA) and Representatives Fortenberry (R-NE) and Walz (D-MN) introduced the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act to invest in the next generation of American farmers. This bill funds and improves critical programs that provide training, outreach, and technical assistance for new farmers and ranchers. As a marker bill, it’s not intended […]
Path AWAY from a 2012 Farm Bill: Pending House Extension Dooms Farm Bill Programs
For the past two days we have reported on the surprise move by the House Republican leadership to pull the rug out from under the 2012 Farm Bill. Rather than complete its business by taking the farm bill reported out of the House Agriculture Committee to the floor and then to conference with the Senate-passed […]
House Farm Bill Extension Would Hurt Farmers and Economy, Undermine Conservation Efforts
On Friday, July 27, the House Rules Committee posted the text of a one-year extension to the 2008 Farm Bill. In our earlier post, we noted that we strongly oppose a clean extension of the Farm Bill, given that the bill would allow many critical programs expire. Unfortunately, the bill posted on the Rules Committee […]
“Plain Language” Guide to Farm Service Agency Loans
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has issued a “plain language” guide to applying for FSA loans and FSA loan servicing entitled Your Guide to FSA Loans. USDA was required to issue the guide as a part of the settlement in the case Keepseagle v. Vilsack. This case was a class action lawsuit brought in 1999 by […]
NSAC Comments on FSA Microloan Proposal
On Tuesday, July 24th, the public comment period closed on the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) proposed rule to modify their Farm Operating Loans program to include microloans in order to better address the needs of very small and beginning family farmers. FSA — a USDA agency in charge of federal credit and other agricultural programs — […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: NSAC Assessment of House Committee-Passed Bill
In an earlier post we provided highlights and lowlights of the House Agriculture Committee one-day markup of their version of the 2102 Farm Bill, including a rundown of sustainable agriculture amendments passed and defeated. Here we turn to an assessment of the bill overall. Still to come is a piece discussing possible next steps in […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Agriculture Committee Debates and Passes Its Farm Bill
After a full-day marathon markup that started on Wednesday morning and went into the early hours of Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill by a vote of 35-11. Seven Democrats and four Republicans voted against the bill. The Republicans who voted against the bill did so based on […]
Path to 2012 Farm Bill: House Markup Looms
The House Agriculture Committee will debate and vote on its version of the 2012 Farm Bill tomorrow, Wednesday July 11. It is now widely expected that the House Agriculture Committee “mark-up” of the 2012 Farm Bill will take less than a day, rather than the normal multi-day process. The markup will begin at 10 AM […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Draft House Farm Bill Drilldown
On July 5, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Peterson (D-MN) released their draft farm bill ahead of the House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill markup scheduled for next week beginning Wednesday, July 11. The bill generates $35 billion in savings by cutting over $16 billion from nutrition programs and more than $6 billion […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Draft House Farm Bill Highlights
On July 5, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Peterson (D-MN) released their draft farm bill ahead of the House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill markup scheduled for next week beginning Wednesday, July 11. The bill generates $35 billion in savings by cutting over $16 billion from nutrition programs and more than $6 billion […]
Beginning Farmer Development Program Workshop
On Tuesday July 24, USDA will hold an online workshop for participants and stakeholders of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). The purpose of this workshop is to obtain stakeholder feedback on the last three years of the program for use in the preparation of future Request for Application (RFA), should the program […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Successful Day One of Farm Bill Voting in Senate
We are delighted to report that the U.S. Senate today passed an amendment to the 2012 Farm Bill providing $150 million in critical funding for rural economic development and new farmer programs. The amendment, introduced and championed by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), was approved on a 55-44 vote, with Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) […]
Groups Ask Senate to Support Jobs, Beginning and Disadvantaged Farmers
On June 18, NSAC joined nearly 100 organizations from across the country on a letter which was sent to Senators encouraging them to support socially disadvantaged, beginning, veteran, and limited resource producer programs in the 2012 Farm Bill, which is currently being debated on the Senate floor. The letter was spearheaded by the Rural Coalition and […]
House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY2013 Funding Bill
UPDATED: June 18, 2012 On Wednesday, June 6, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY 2013 agriculture appropriations bill. The spending bill covers the majority of the functions of USDA as well as the Food and Drug Administration. In late April, we happily reported that the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2013 agriculture appropriations bill […]
Groups Tell Senate to Protect Rural Development and Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
Today, June 6, NSAC along with nearly 200 organizations sent a letter to the Senate urging them to support measures to support rural development and beginning and minority farmers in the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012. The farm bill that came out of the Senate Agriculture Committee provides no funding for the Rural […]
Senate Farm Bill Reported and Budget Scores Released; NSAC Analysis
On April 26, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the the 2012 Farm Bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, by a vote of 16-5. Exactly four weeks later, on May 24, the Committee actually reported the text of the bill. It is normal for there to be a lag […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Hearing on Commodity and Crop Insurance Subsidies
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a series of farm bill hearings this week to examine commodity and crop insurance programs in advance of writing their version of what will hopefully become the 2012 Farm Bill. The full House Agriculture Committee expects to mark up and vote on a […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Holds Specialty Crop and Nutrition Hearing
Tuesday, May 8th, the House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture held its fourth of eight hearings in preparation for a 2012 Farm Bill. The hearing consisted of two panels, the first of which discussed specialty crop programs and the second, nutrition assistance. Rep. Pingree and Russell Libby Chairwoman Jean Schmidt (R-OH) opened the […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Credit Hearing
The House Agriculture Subcommittee held a hearing today, Thursday May 10th, to examine federal credit programs as they take up writing the 2012 Farm Bill. In addition to Chairman Fortenberry (R-NE-1) and Ranking Member Fudge (D-OH-11), Reps. King (R-IA-5), Crawford (R-AR-1), Baca (D-CA-43), and Pingree (D-ME-1) were also in attendance. The panel of witnesses were […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Farm State Editorials Call for Re-linking Conservation Compliance and Crop Insurance Subsidy
Changes in the 2012 Farm Bill coming out of the Senate Agriculture Committee are set to expand the role of crop insurance as the single largest crop subsidy. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that federal crop insurance subsidies under current law will total $90 billion over the next decade. The Senate Committee-passed bill further increases […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Research, Education, Extension
Note to Readers — This is the ninth in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. The bill that the Senate Agriculture Committee voted out of committee last week now makes its way to the Senate floor and hopefully will be taken up […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Conservation Title
Note to Readers — This is the fourth in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. With respect to conservation issues, previous posts have covered the Conservation Stewardship Program and sodsaver/highly erodible land and wetland conservation. This post covers other conservation title programs. […]