Editor’s Note: This blog post is the third and final post in a three-part blog series by NSAC Policy Intern Noah McDonald, which examines how the Farm Bill can take steps to advance racial equity within the food system. The first post discussed the historical context and foundations for racial inequities with the food system. […]
Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs
Hundreds of Groups Support the American Prairies Conservation Act
Earlier this month, roughly 200 conservation, agriculture, wildlife, taxpayer and sportsmen organizations signed on to a letter of support for the American Prairies Conservation Act (S. 1913, H.R. 3939), introduced by Senators John Thune (R-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Tim Walz (D-MN). This […]
RELEASE: New Legislation Will Expand Access to Crop Insurance and Commitment to Conservation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Bill Expands Access to Crop Insurance, Commitment to Conservation NSAC supports effort to modernize crop insurance program Washington, DC, January 19, 2018 – Today, Representative Rick Nolan (D-MN), Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee’s General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, introduced […]
CBO Report Provides Roadmap to Crop Insurance Modernization
In December, right before Christmas, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) quietly released a bombshell report revealing what many agriculture policy analysts have long known – that modernizing the federal crop insurance program wouldn’t spell disaster, but rather savings and improvements. For example, the report found that by introducing a $50,000 cap on crop insurance premium […]
Welcome Back Congress: New Year, Long To-Do List
Less than two weeks into the new year, and Congress already has an incredibly full plate. Both the House and Senate return to work this week (the Senate has officially been back since last week), and will need to immediately dig in their massive to-do lists, not least of which include finalizing fiscal year (FY) […]
How Farm Subsidies Encourage the Big to Get Bigger
A recent pair of reports from the Economic Research Service (ERS) confirms that federal subsidies to farms are increasingly going to larger and larger farms, thus supporting the cycle of the big getting bigger. Fewer and bigger farms mean less money circulating in local economies, fewer farm jobs in rural areas, and fewer opportunities for […]
A Small Step Toward Crop Insurance Modernization: Modifying the Prevented Planting Policy
For years, one presidential budget after the next has proposed modernizing our federal crop insurance program. Historically, those proposals have fallen by the wayside; but this week the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) made a small but significant step forward by updating the crop insurance program’s “prevented planting” policy. Prevented planting […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Crop Insurance Modernization
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill, which provides a comprehensive vision for a more sustainable farm and food system. This is the sixth and final post in a multipart series that breaks down NSAC’s policy priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill. […]
Iowa Cover Crop Initiative Offers “Good Farmer Discount” on Crop Insurance
Editor’s Note: This blog is a guest post written by Ann Y. Robinson, Agriculture Policy Director for the Iowa Environmental Council, an NSAC member organization. Cover crops are catching on in Iowa. Over the last decade, farmers in the state have significantly increased the acreage of cover crops; as of 2016 an estimated 600,000 acres […]
Farmers Answer the “Call to Farms”
Last week, farmers from across the nation descended upon Washington, DC for NSAC’s first 2018 Farm Bill “fly-in”. NSAC’s farmer fly-ins provide farmers and farm/food advocates with the opportunity to speak with directly with decision makers in Congress about the issues that most affect their lives, businesses, and communities. On November 8th, NSAC held our […]
RMA Grants Expand Awareness of Risk Management Opportunities
Last week, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced projects funded through two programs that help educate farmers about how to mitigate production, financial, and other forms of risk on their farms. These grants were awarded through the Risk Management Education Partnership Program and the Risk Management Program in Targeted States. Farm risk can take many […]
The Federal Crop Insurance Program: Status and Sustainability
Editor’s Note: This is a guest blog written by Jeff Schahczenski, an agricultural and natural resource economist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program (ATTRA). A substantial update to his 2012 ATTRA publication, Crop Insurance Options for Specialty, Diversified, and Organic Farmers, will be available this December. Federal […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: A Comprehensive Approach to Food and Farm Policy
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill. NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for over 30 years, and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving […]
RELEASE: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Releases 2018 Farm Bill Platform
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Releases 2018 Farm Bill Platform Washington, DC, October 24, 2017 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its comprehensive 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill. NSAC has been a leader in […]
Clock Ticking On FY 2018 Appropriations
The end of the fiscal year (September 30) has come and gone, and with fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding levels extended through December 8, the time Congress has to negotiate final spending levels for FY 2018 is quickly running out. There is a lot on the line in this appropriations package for farmers and consumers […]
Celebrating 40 Years of Family Farm Policy
Forty years ago, on September 29, 1977, the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (that year’s farm bill) became law. Today, we at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) join other food and farm groups across the nation who are celebrating the inclusion in the 1977 Farm Bill of the Food Stamp Act, which became […]
Federal Crop Insurance Program Delivery Can Be Improved Without Endangering Safety Net
For years, proponents of the status quo have rebuffed calls for modernization of the federal crop insurance program, claiming that any significant updates could cause the whole program to collapse. Like any good safety net, however, the program was never really that fragile. One of the challenges for those pushing for the program to become […]
Say Cheese! NSAC Hosts 2017 Summer Meeting in Madison, WI
This summer, farm and food advocates have more on their minds than just vacation planning and sweet corn picking. Even though the current farm bill doesn’t expire until next September, the content of the 2018 Farm Bill is already being debated in the halls of Congress, on the farm, and in homes across the country. […]
Conservation Compliance is a Key Thread in Farm Safety Net
In order to be eligible for most federal farm programs, including the taxpayer subsidized federal crop insurance program, farmers whose land includes highly erodible areas or wetlands must adhere to specific conservation requirements. These requirements, known collectively as conservation compliance, are in place to ensure that our shared natural resources have a minimum level of […]
Senate Agriculture Committee Tackles Farm Bill Heavy Hitters: Commodities, Credit, and Crop Insurance
Yesterday, Senate Agriculture Committee hunkered down for an epic farm bill hearing, during which 17 witnesses gave testimony on three of the bill’s most significant titles – the Commodity Title (Title I), Credit Title (Title V), and Risk Management Title (Title XI). Witnesses at the hearing included representatives from commodity groups, banks, general farm organizations, […]
Senate Appropriators Prioritize Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
Following closely on the heels of the House Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee’s funding bill, which was approved by the full House Appropriations Committee last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced its agriculture appropriations funding measure for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The Senate bill moved quickly through the Subcommittee and full Committee approval process, with just […]
House Makes Improvements, but Agriculture Appropriations Bill Still a Work in Progress
On July 12, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee advanced their agriculture appropriations funding measure for fiscal year (FY) 2018, which was drafted originally by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. This appropriations bill funds the major programs and functions of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Food and […]
The Numbers Behind the Farm Bill: the Commodity and Conservation Titles
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a four-part series explaining the background budget information that will be used to craft the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. In this post we look in more detail at the commodity and conservation titles of the farm bill. In part three will focus on programs that will need to have […]
The Numbers Behind the Farm Bill: What the New CBO Baseline Means for the 2018 Farm Bill
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a four-part series of blog examining the funding outlook for the 2018 Farm Bill. In an effort to simplify the complex subject of farm bill funding, we will present these blogs in FAQ format. Part two of this series will answer questions related to agricultural spending in the […]