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Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

Path To The 2018 Farm Bill: Legislative Campaign Update

March 30, 2018

The coming of spring has more than just the bees buzzing; activity on Capitol Hill is also shifting into high gear as the deadline for the 2018 Farm Bill approaches. This week represents perhaps one of the few quiet periods left in the capital as Congress takes a two-week recess back in their districts – […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Grants and Programs, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Nutrition & Food Access, Organic, Research, Education & Extension

Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Omnibus

March 23, 2018

Early this morning, Congress passed a government spending package (the “omnibus appropriations bill”) to fund federal programs through the end of September, which is when the current fiscal year expires. The House passed the package 256-167 on Thursday, the Senate passed the bill 65-32 Friday morning, and the President signed the bill into law that […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Budget and Appropriations, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Food Safety, Grants and Programs, Local & Regional Food Systems, Research, Education & Extension, Rural Development

Farmers Fly-in to Advocate on Farm Bill and Appropriations

March 13, 2018

Capitol Hill was buzzing last week with hundreds of people in town for meetings with their Congress members in advance of the next farm bill and upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations decisions. Among the crowds and long lines were 20 farmers and farm advocates in town for NSAC’s March “farmer fly-in” – grassroots events […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Budget and Appropriations, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Local & Regional Food Systems

President’s Budget Proposal Threatens Food, Farm, and Nutrition Programs

February 15, 2018

The deeply problematic proposals of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget, released on Monday of this week, include devastating cuts to critical farm and food programs. The budget, if enacted, would reduce the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) budget by a whopping 25 percent, from $24 billion to $18 billion. In addition to cutting […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Budget and Appropriations, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Food Safety, Local & Regional Food Systems, Nutrition & Food Access, Organic, Research, Education & Extension, Rural Development

Racial Equity in the Farm Bill: Recommendations and Opportunities

January 31, 2018

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. […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling

Hundreds of Groups Support the American Prairies Conservation Act

January 30, 2018

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill

RELEASE: New Legislation Will Expand Access to Crop Insurance and Commitment to Conservation

January 19, 2018

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Farm Bill, Press Releases

CBO Report Provides Roadmap to Crop Insurance Modernization

January 11, 2018

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Farm Bill

Welcome Back Congress: New Year, Long To-Do List

January 9, 2018

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) […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Food Safety, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Nutrition & Food Access, Organic, Research, Education & Extension

How Farm Subsidies Encourage the Big to Get Bigger

December 21, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

A Small Step Toward Crop Insurance Modernization: Modifying the Prevented Planting Policy

December 13, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Farm Bill

Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Crop Insurance Modernization

December 6, 2017

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. […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Farm Bill

Iowa Cover Crop Initiative Offers “Good Farmer Discount” on Crop Insurance

December 5, 2017

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 ​6​00,000 acres […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment

Farmers Answer the “Call to Farms”

November 16, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Grants and Programs, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Organic, Research, Education & Extension

RMA Grants Expand Awareness of Risk Management Opportunities

November 10, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Grants and Programs, Research, Education & Extension

The Federal Crop Insurance Program: Status and Sustainability

November 3, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: A Comprehensive Approach to Food and Farm Policy

November 1, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Competition & Anti-trust, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Food Safety, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Nutrition & Food Access, Organic, Research, Education & Extension, Rural Development, Sustainable Livestock

RELEASE: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Releases 2018 Farm Bill Platform

October 24, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Local & Regional Food Systems, Nutrition & Food Access, Press Releases, Research, Education & Extension

Clock Ticking On FY 2018 Appropriations

October 6, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Budget and Appropriations, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Food Safety, Grants and Programs, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Research, Education & Extension, Rural Development

Celebrating 40 Years of Family Farm Policy

September 29, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Farm Bill, Nutrition & Food Access

Federal Crop Insurance Program Delivery Can Be Improved Without Endangering Safety Net

August 30, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

Say Cheese! NSAC Hosts 2017 Summer Meeting in Madison, WI

August 14, 2017

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. […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, General Interest, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Research, Education & Extension, Rural Development

Conservation Compliance is a Key Thread in Farm Safety Net

August 2, 2017

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 […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment

Senate Agriculture Committee Tackles Farm Bill Heavy Hitters: Commodities, Credit, and Crop Insurance

July 26, 2017

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, […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill

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