National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Supporting the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.

Budget and Appropriations

Riders in the Night: Harmful Provisions in the House Spending Bill

Funding for USDA and three other federal departments is set to expire at midnight March 1, absent congressional approval of a FY24 appropriations bill, or an extension of current funding. Amidst final-hour congressional negotiations to fend off a shutdown, several policy “riders” have emerged as sticking points in reaching a deal on agriculture spending in particular. This post examines several proposed policy riders as Congress seeks to conclude FY24 appropriations negotiations…. Read More →

Sowing Seeds of Impact: NSAC’s Year in Review and Vision for 2024

It has been a long, unusual year for federal policy, and the implications for sustainable agriculture and food systems policy have been unmistakable. In our latest blog post, NSAC highlights all that we achieved in 2023 towards building a more sustainable, equitable transformations in the food and farming system…. Read More →

Release: Senate Advances Agriculture Appropriations Bill

Today, the Senate passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 “minibus” appropriations package, which includes discretionary funding for agriculture and food access programs such as Conservation Technical Assistance and the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program, among others. “Minibus” refers to a small package of different appropriations bills, which in this case consists of Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration. … Read More →

What the Expiration, and Likely Extension, of the 2018 Farm Bill Means for Food and Agriculture

On October 1, 2023, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 – more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill – expired. Thankfully, in recent days Congress has begun to turn its attention toward a much-needed extension of the 2018 Farm Bill. Yet until an extension is passed, many essential programs will continue to be impacted. This blog post takes a deep dive into the current and potential future impacts of the expired bill, examining which programs are stranded, and what it means for food and agriculture…. Read More →

What’s At Stake: Appropriations, Shutdown, and Farm Bill

Last week, both the House and Senate were back in session after more than a month of Congressional recess. As of today, Congress has one week – just 4 session days – until the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 on September 30. This post looks at where things stand across all of these moving pieces as Congress enters a crucial week of fiscal negotiations that will undoubtedly impact on federal food and farm policy…. Read More →

Correcting the Record: The IRA Made More Money Available for All Conservation Work

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) invested billions of dollars in working lands conservation programs, making more money available to all farmers and for all conservation activities. This post looks at what this means for farmers hoping to implement CSAF practices as well as other conservation activities…. Read More →

On IRA’s One Year Anniversary, the Top 5 Things to Know About the Historic Investment in Climate-Friendly Agriculture

Just over a year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA invested nearly $20 billion in climate-friendly agriculture practices. As an organization that represents small and midsized-farmers across the nation, it is difficult to overstate the transformative potential of this funding to support all farmers in building vibrant and productive farms that can contribute to a climate-resilient future. As Congress inches toward Farm Bill reauthorization, this post highlights 5 key things to know about the IRA’s $20 billion investment in climate-friendly agriculture. … Read More →

A Deep Dive on the Senate’s FY2024 Appropriations Bill

On June 22, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in what has become a rare occurrence – unanimous, bipartisan approval. The Senate’s approval of the agriculture bill stood in stark contrast to what transpired in the House Appropriations Committee just a week earlier – an eight plus hour partisan slog that resulted in approval of the House’s FY2024 Agriculture spending bill along party lines. In this post, NSAC takes a closer look at the bill. … Read More →

Comment: NSAC Urges Support for Key FY2024 Agricultural Program Spending as Senate Appropriators Respond to House Cuts

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) commented on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal year 2024 Agriculture appropriations bill, noting that in the shadow of a debt-ceiling deal that put tremendous strain on discretionary spending, Senate Appropriators have crafted a Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Agriculture bill that – while not perfect – is an important bipartisan response to the House’s deep and unnecessary cuts…. Read More →

What the debt-ceiling deal means for food and agriculture

Over Memorial Day weekend, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) struck a “tentative” deal intended to avoid a catastrophic default on the United States’ debt. In the days since the initial announcement, more details about the deal – now known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, H.R. 3746 – have continued to emerge. As of posting, Congress is expected to pass H.R. 3746 without amendment before June 5, when the Treasury Department would have “insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations.” In this post, NSAC examines several major components of the deal to better understand these impacts, including annual appropriations and the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization. … Read More →

Following the Money: A Look at the Billions Behind CBO’s Farm Bill Baseline

Every spring, CBO – Congress’s official budgetary scorekeeper – publishes its ten-year projection (or “baseline”) for government spending. CBO’s baseline covers everything funded by the federal government – including farm bill spending. Published most recently on May 12, 2023, CBO’s baseline will be adopted as the official baseline for the 2023 Farm Bill. In this post, NSAC digs into the latest CBO changes to the four largest funding items within the farm bill – Commodity (Title 1), Conservation (Title 2), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, in Title 4), and Crop Insurance (Title 11). It also looks through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, PL 117-169) spending projections included in CBO’s most recent updates…. Read More →

House FY24 Appropriations Draft Undermines Farmers and Food System

Last week, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee released their proposal to fund the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for fiscal year (FY) 2024.  At the Subcommittee markup on May 18, House Agriculture Appropriations Chair Andy Harris (R-MD-01) released the text of the House’s FY 2024 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. … Read More →

Comment: NSAC Responds to House Subcommittee Markup of FY 2024 Agriculture Appropriations Bill

NSAC is deeply disappointed to see the initial draft FY 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. There is no surer way to undermine the success of farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and In its current form, this bill represents a consequential step backward for market access, fair competition, climate resilience, equity, and food security…. Read More →

Farmers, Communities and Congressional Leaders Seek Full Funding for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production

This week, NSAC, together with over seventy organizations and farm businesses, delivered a letter to Congressional Appropriators to urge them to fully fund the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) and the urban agriculture data collection initiative. This request echoed one made by over 50 Senate and House leaders in a separate letter to agriculture appropriators. … Read More →

Release: President Announces Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture Spending

Last week, the Biden-Harris Administration released the summary of the President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), and today released additional details. The proposal for FY24 (October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024) outlines the Administration’s spending priorities for the coming fiscal year and requests $30.1 billion in discretionary funding for USDA, a $3.8 billion or 14% percent increase/decrease from last year’s enacted level. … Read More →

NSAC’s Top 10 of 2022: A Year in Review

The end of a year signifies a time to reflect on all the most important accomplishments and tribulations of the past year. At NSAC, we had the opportunity to celebrate and find new reasons to expand our advocacy to support sustainable agriculture practices, small-scale producers, diversified farming, local food systems, and beginning and underserved farmers and ranchers. This post shares NSAC’s Top 10 accomplishments of 2022. … Read More →

Release: Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Advances

Congress released a $1.7 trillion year-end bipartisan spending package. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 consists of all 12 fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bills. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is encouraged to see Congress taking steps to avoid a continuing resolution with concrete progress toward a bipartisan FY2023 spending bill…. Read More →

Diversified Growing: Farmers Cultivating Community and the Necessity of Federal Funding for Farmer-led Education and Research Programs

Cultivating and substantiating farmer leadership through education and research initiatives is essential to generating an equitable and resilient food and farming system…. Read More →

Release: NSAC Congratulates Senate on Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Passage, Urges Swift House Action 

For Immediate Release Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) press@sustainableagriculture.net / Tel: 347.563.6408 Release: NSAC Congratulates Senate on Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Passage, Urges Swift House Action  Funding Prioritizes Climate Solutions for Agriculture and Includes Key Coalition Priorities Washington, DC, August 7, 2022 – Today the full Senate passed the Inflation Reduction […]

Release: Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Advances FY 2023 Agriculture Spending Bill

Today, the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee publicly released the text of their Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Appropriations bill which provides significant increases in several critical priority areas that will strengthen the resilience of rural communities and bolster sustainable food systems…. Read More →

Release: NSAC Urges Congress to Pass Historic Climate Package

Yesterday, after months of on-and-off negotiations, Senate leaders announced a proposed deal on legislation aimed at advancing key pieces of President Biden’s agenda, including measures to combat climate change. If passed, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 would, among other things, provide approximately $369.75 billion for energy security and climate change programs over the next ten years…. Read More →