The Strengthening Local Processing Act (SLPA) is the most comprehensive meat processing bill around, with specific provisions that address competition, demand for local products, and access to value added services in the meat processing sector. Led by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jim Baird (R-IN), this comprehensive solution to some of the greatest barriers facing independent and small-scale producers and processors has garnered strong bipartisan support, in both the House and Senate. … Read More →
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From Commodification to Conservation: Restoring Agrobiodiversity Through Seed Breeding – Part II:
This post is the second in a two-part series about seed breeding. It explores the impacts of consolidation and concentration of seed breeding on farmers and our food systems and offers policy recommendations for democratic seed breeding system…. 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 →
More Than $27 Million in Grants Awarded to Support Historically Underserved Farmers
USDA announced over $27 million in grants to 41 organizations across the country for outreach and technical assistance to underserved and veteran farmers and ranchers. The Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program, more commonly known as the “2501 Program,” and administered by USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE), helps to ensure that historically underserved producers have equitable access to the information, programs, and opportunities that will help them to find success in agriculture…. Read More →
Building Resilience Through the Conservation Stewardship Program
A key question in the 2023 farm bill reauthorization is whether Congress will approve a bill that builds climate resilience for farmers whose livelihoods depend on it. USDA’s Conservation Stewardship Program is perhaps the single most ready-made tool for farmers to voluntarily tackle climate change. This post examines how CSP’s unique design creates greater conservation benefits than other approaches and how spending within the program shows a record of delivering support to producers ready to implement climate friendly practices on their farms…. Read More →
From Commodification to Conservation: Restoring Agrobiodiversity Through Seed Breeding – Part I:
This post is the first in a two-part series about seed breeding. It explores the history of seed breeding in the US, the impacts of consolidation and concentration of seed breeding on farmers and our food systems, and what a more democratic seed breeding system might look like. … Read More →
New but Mighty Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
Earlier this summer the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUIAP) announced a series of new investments that build on their short but impactful history since their inaugural awards in 2020. … 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 →
More Money Out the Door! Farm Bill and IRA Funding Available Through Conservation Innovation Grants
USDA NRCS announced the availability of $65 million for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This funding is split into two separate opportunities: $50 million for CIG On Farm Trials and $15 million for CIG Classic. Half of the funding for the On Farm Trials competition was provided through the historic Inflation Reduction Act. This post provides details on both programs and how to apply before the October 30, 2023 deadline…. Read More →
Farm, Taxpayer, Conservation Groups Agree: Don’t Raise Reference Prices
Groups at the Summit on the Future of Farm Subsidies agreed Congress must oppose increasing reference prices and curb unlimited insurance subsidies…. Read More →
Regional Centers Promote Business Development and Stronger Supply Chains
USDA AMS recently announced the selection of the twelve new Regional Food Business Centers. In this post, NSAC details the structure, regional considerations and anticipated national impact of these Centers in strengthening local and regional food systems and supply chains. … 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 →
NSAC Heads to the Rockies – A Summer Meeting Recap
This year’s NSAC Summer Meeting was held last week in sunny (although unusually rainy) Boulder, Colorado. More than 100 members and NSAC staff from across the country gathered at the foothills of the Rockies to re-energize and strategize ahead of the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization. Summer Meeting is one of two annual opportunities when NSAC’s nearly 150 member organizations come together in person to discuss the Coalition’s policy and grassroots priorities for the year. At more than 5,000 feet above sea level and with its endless opportunities for outdoor adventure and good food, Boulder was the perfect backdrop to get down to coalition business. … Read More →
USDA Announces $300 Million in Awards to Support Access to Land, Capital, and Markets for Beginning and Undeserved Farmers
This month, the USDA Farm Service Agency announced more than $300 million in awards to 50 projects focused on increasing underserved farmers and ranchers’ access to land, markets, and capital. This post details some of the projects that were awarded under the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (Increasing Land Access) Program (LCM), which funds cooperative agreements or grants for projects that help move underserved producers from surviving to thriving. … Read More →
Guest Post: USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program Details for Growers
This is a guest post written by our partners at the Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG). On July 7, 2023, the USDA announced the opening of the USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, authorized by Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). The Farmers’ Legal Action Group has published a Brief Farmers’ Guide to USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program, this post outlines key information also available in the free guide…. 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 →
Report illustrates initial success of local food purchasing agreements
In the short time since its inception in 2021, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program has demonstrated its capacity to create economic opportunities for producers, scale regional supply chains, and deliver healthy, culturally relevant food to those in need. The Wallace Center at Winrock International, an NSAC member, recently released a report highlighting the results of initial research that evaluates the preliminary impact of USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program in communities nationwide. … Read More →
Farmers on the Hill: Advocates and Farmers Join in Washington DC to Call for Food and Agriculture System Reform in the 2023 Farm Bill
Last week, NSAC hosted farmers, ranchers, and food system advocates from six states, who collectively attended nearly 20 meetings with Congressional offices and USDA officials, to share their stories and call for stronger, better-funded sustainable agriculture programs in the next farm bill…. Read More →
Waste and Water Woes
This guest post by Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, (IATP), discusses how popular conservation programs should focus on small-scale and sustainable farms, not industrial-scale farms…. Read More →
Who Benefits? A Look at the Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities Preliminary Awards
In February 2022, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) first announced details of its Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities (PCSC). The PCSC is a centerpiece of the Biden Administration’s strategy to help farmers and ranchers address climate change. In late 2022 USDA announced further details about projects, and more recently debuted the Partnerships Network. As the PCSC ramps up in earnest, now is an important moment to take stock of where the program stands and gauge its future promise. … Read More →
Bipartisan Agrivoltaics Bill Introduced in Senate
On May 31, 2023, Senators Heinrich (D-NM) and Braun (R-IN) introduced the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023 (S. 1778). Featuring a proposal first outlined in the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), the bill provides for the Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) to jointly focus on advancing research on agrivoltaics and demonstrations of the value of such systems…. 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 →