FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 Release: Letter Urges Congressional Leaders to Prioritize Climate Solutions for Agriculture in Budget Reconciliation Washington, D. C., August 25, 2021 – Today the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) along with 62 leading farming, environmental, and rural development organizations, sent a letter to […]
Budget and Appropriations
Comment: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) responds to Senate Agriculture Appropriations Approval of FY 2022 Bill
For Immediate Release Contact: Laura ZaksNational Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) press@sustainableagriculture.net / Tel: 347.563.6408 Washington, D.C., August 4, 2021 – In response to the markup of the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022” by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following […]
RELEASE: House Adopts Three Significant Amendments to Advance Sustainable Agriculture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 RELEASE: House Adopts Three Significant Amendments to Advance Sustainable Agriculture NSAC urges the passing of the full minibus of Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills Washington, D. C., July 29, 2022 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the adoption of three […]
Unpacking the House Appropriations Committee FY 2022 Agriculture Funding Bill
On June 30th, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Agriculture Spending bill. The full House Appropriations Committee markup and approval followed the Agriculture Subcommittee’s approval of the funding bill on Friday, June 12. The agriculture appropriations bill includes funding for a wide range of farm and food programs, […]
Release: House Appropriations Committee Advance FY 2022 Agriculture Spending Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 House Appropriations Committee Advance FY 2022 Agriculture Spending Bill NSAC applauds House appropriators for advancing FY 2022 spending that invests in critical priorities Washington, D. C., June 30, 2022 – The House Appropriations Committee advanced their agriculture appropriations funding bill for Fiscal […]
President Biden’s First Budget Request and Sustainable Agriculture Priorities
A closer look at President Biden’s First Budget Request and Sustainable Agriculture Priorities…. Read More →
COMMENT: USDA Announces More Than $4 Billion to Strengthen Food System
NSAC responds to today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of plans to invest more than $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains through the Build Back Better initiative…. Read More →
Release: President Announces FY 2022 $6 Trillion Budget Request
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks, Associate Director of Communications and Development National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 President Announces FY 2022 $6 Trillion Budget RequestThe request would significantly increase USDA funding and advance infrastructure and jobs Washington, DC, May 28, 2021 – Today, the Biden-Harris Administration released the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget request. […]
Farmers Care About SARE: NSAC Hosts Virtual Annual Appropriations Fly-in
Every year, NSAC partners with coalition members to organize dozens of farmers and ranchers across the country to share their stories, ideas, and needs with Congressmembers. Marking one year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, NSAC gathered once again this spring to host our third virtual farmer fly-in here (and everywhere) in DC.! Last […]
Government Funding Bill – Sustainable Agriculture Wins
With the country facing an imminent government shutdown, the President finally signed the $2.3 trillion Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020 on December 28th. This bill includes both badly needed emergency COVID-19 relief aid as well as regular fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations. For more information on the COVID-19 relief aspects of the bill check […]
Top 20 Wins (and Fights!) for Sustainable Agriculture in 2020
The end of the year is just around the corner – and what a year it has been! In these times of pain, uncertainty, reflection, and action, two things are certain: (1) our country and our world as we know it will never quite be the same, and (2) the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) […]
Farm to School Projects – $10 million in Grants Available and a New Streamlined Application Option
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the opening of the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Farm to School (F2S) Grant Program request for applications (RFA). Administered by the U.S Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Office of Community Food Systems, the program provides farmers, schools, local government, and healthy food advocates […]
Bare Minimum, Last Minute
Last Wednesday night with only a few hours to spare, Congress did what many observers and advocates for months had been citing as inevitable. They sent an appropriations Continuing Resolution (CR) to the President’s desk that puts off final decisions about Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending until after the November general election. The CR ensures […]
Grassroots Leaders Present Appropriations Asks in Virtual Fly-In
Each summer, NSAC is proud to bring dozens of farmer and rancher voices to Washington, DC for our annual fly-in lobby days. To recognize the importance of this grassroots advocacy work while also protecting the safety of farmer-leaders, we adapted to organize virtually this summer – our second virtual fly-in this year. In July, farmers […]
The Senate is Negotiating Pandemic Aid: What Does it Mean for Farmers and Food Systems?
On Monday, July 27, 2020, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced the highly anticipated HEALS Act. This $1 trillion bill is the Senate Majority proposal for the fourth coronavirus response package (C4), which will serve as the starting point for Senate negotiations. In this post we will examine the farm and food systems provisions of the […]
USDA Programs Support Small Meat Processing Plants
There are a few existing federal programs that could be expanded to further support small, local, and regional meat and poultry processing plants and increase farmers’ access to slaughter and processing options…. Read More →
…But Wait, There’s More! Additional Farmer Stories From NSAC’s First Virtual Fly-In
Editor’s note: This blog post is the second in a two-part series featuring farmer advocates from NSAC’s virtual appropriations fly-in held earlier this spring. Click here to check out the first post, which includes additional fly-in details and an outlook on appropriations amidst COVID-19. At the end of March, NSAC hosted its very first “virtual” […]
Farmers “Call” on Congress to Deliver Appropriations Asks in First Virtual NSAC Fly-In
Editor’s note: This blog is the first of a two-part series featuring farmer advocates from the NSAC virtual appropriations fly-in. Click here for additional farmer stories! Each spring, when visitors normally flock to Washington, DC to see the renowned cherry blossoms, a select set of dedicated advocates are drawn to the nation’s capital for a […]
A Plea for Food and Agriculture Research Funding
Federal funding for food and agriculture public research has stagnated for decades, declining in real terms even while other federal agencies have seen their budgets trend steadily upward and even while China has long since overtaken the US as the major public investor in the sector. Yet, our food and agricultural system is a key […]
The President’s FY 2021 Budget Proposal and Sustainable Agriculture Priorities
Once again President Trump has offered a budget request to Congress that contradicts many of his public statements regarding his Administration’s support for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Like each of the previous budget request proposed by President Trump, the fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget includes substantial cuts to federal food and farm programs. President […]
RELEASE: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Sets 2020 Policy Priorities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana KovalcikNational Sustainable Agriculture CoalitionP: 202-547-5754, E: rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Sets 2020 Policy Priorities Washington, DC, February 4, 2020 – Last week, representatives from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s (NSAC) 130+ member organizations voted on a final set of policy and funding priorities to guide the Coalition’s work through 2020. “This collaborative priority […]
Congress Clears FY 2020 Appropriations Packages
This week, after months of delay, Congress passed a much-anticipated deal to fund the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2020. FY 2020 runs through September 30, 2020. The $1.4 trillion package of discretionary spending bills, which was divided up into two “minibuses”, was finally delivered this week after months of rigorous advocacy […]
COMMENT: FY 2020 “Minibus” Bolsters Farm Bill Wins for Sustainable Agriculture
The final appropriations package builds upon the sustainable agriculture community’s hard-fought farm bill wins and delivers much-needed support to family farmers across the country at a time when good news is increasingly hard to come by. … Read More →
COMMENT: Senate Advances Agriculture Appropriations Bill
Today, the Senate passed on the floor, as part of a four bill “minibus”, the final version of their Agriculture Appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2019…. Read More →