Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is previewing some of the major programs and policies that advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The final post in our series, “Path to the […]
Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs
Congress Evaluates Health of Farm Credit System
This week, the House Agriculture Committee held its 14th hearing in a marathon of hearings this month leading up to the Committee’s initial work on the 2018 Farm Bill. The scope of the hearing was to review the health of the Farm Credit System, especially in light of the recent economic downturn in the farm […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Programs with Expiring Funding
Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is previewing some of the major programs and policies that advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The fourth post in our series, “Path to the 2018 […]
Senate Agriculture Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing for USDA Secretary
Since January, the Senate has been holding confirmation hearings for President Trump’s cabinet nominees. On Thursday, March 23, the Senate Agriculture Committee held its confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Sonny Perdue, the last of Trump’s cabinet nominees to be vetted by the Senate. The Committee will soon schedule […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Commodities and Crop Insurance
Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is previewing some of the major programs and policies advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The third post in our series, “Path to the 2018 Farm […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Conservation
Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is previewing some of the major programs and policies advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The second post in our series, “Path to the 2018 Farm […]
Congressional Hearings Kick Off Farm Bill and Appropriations Season
In recent weeks, the debate around the next farm bill – which will be up for reauthorization next year – has begun to gain momentum. The Senate Agriculture Committee held its first field hearing last week in Kansas and yesterday the House Agriculture Committee held its first subcommittee hearing focused on the farm bill, choosing […]
New Guide Simplifies Federal Programs for Farmers
Which U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies have programs that are tailored to meet the needs of diversified farming operations, organic growers, or beginning farmers? What resources are available for small- and mid-sized growers looking to reach expanding regional markets, and where can you find them? For most people, even many farmers and ranchers, the […]
FSA Loans to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Drop in 2016
Editor’s Note: This is the third post of a three-part blog series analyzing the impacts of the Farm Service Agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 direct and guaranteed loan programs. This blog will focus on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and the trends in their loan participation across the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) […]
FSA Loans Remain Popular with Beginning Farmers; Guaranteed Lender Support Falling Behind
Editor’s Note: This is the second post of a three-part blog series detailing the outcomes of fiscal year (FY) 2016 direct and guaranteed loan data. This blog will focus specifically on beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) and their loan participation trends across the U.S. In the early 1990s, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) led […]
Growing Demand for FSA Loans in 2016 Shows Importance of Credit
Editor’s Note: This is the first post of a 3-part analysis of the FSA loan program throughout FY 2016. Click here to see part 2 (on beginning farmers and ranchers) and here for part 3 (on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers). Whether a farmer’s goal is to start up a new operation, expand their farm, […]
How Sustainable Agriculture Advocates Can Take Action in 2017
With a new president and the 115th Congress recently sworn in, farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates around the country have been asking: What does this new Administration and Congress mean for agriculture and food policy? How can we most effectively advocate and continue to make change on the issues that we care about? Here at […]
USDA Microloan Program is a Good Fit for Small Family Farms
America is a nation of family farmers – nearly half of all production comes from small and medium-sized family farms. Like any small business owner, these farmers occasionally need infusions of relatively small amounts of capital to sustain and grow their operations, but often have trouble accessing funds through traditional lenders because of a lack […]
NSAC’s Sweet 16: Top Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in 2016
If some years are rollercoasters, 2016 was more like the tilt-a-whirl – a lot of effort spent to turn just slightly in one direction or another, much spinning in circles, and a headache at the end for your trouble. Despite all the stop and starts, however, the sustainable agriculture community came out of the last […]
Unified Support for Conservation as Good Farming Practice Needed at USDA
Every farmer with crop insurance knows they need to comply with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Good Farming Practices (GFP) standard in order to maintain their coverage. Under guidelines established by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), farmers must undertake all the “generally recognized practices” that will give their crops the best chance to reach […]
Congress Prepares to Pass Funding Extension, Includes Provision to Fill Farm Loan Shortfall
In order to keep the country’s lights on, Congress will need to pass – and the President will need to sign – new appropriations legislation before midnight tonight. Yesterday, the House passed a “continuing resolution” (CR) 326-96, to extend last year’s funding levels for a second time until April 28 (the first CR was passed […]
How Can Agriculture Address the Growing Economic and Environmental Pressures of Climate Change?
The devastating consequences of climate change threaten our natural resources, food security, and the productivity and economic viability of farming operations. Agriculture has an important role to play in helping us mitigate and adapt to climate change, and as we approach a major administrative transition and early discussions around the 2018 Farm Bill, the connection between agriculture […]
More Farmers Are Seeking Risk Management Options That Encourage Crop Diversity
In only its second year on the market, sales of Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) insurance have nearly doubled – from 1,110 policies in 2015 to 2,143 in 2016. This is great news for a relatively new risk-management product still technically in its pilot phase. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) was a major proponent of […]
COMMENT: NSAC Applauds USDA, Congress for Filling Farm Operating Loan Gap
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds USDA and the congressional agriculture appropriators who have answered the call of farmers across the country and allocated up to $185 million in additional lending for direct and guaranteed farm operating loans. Thanks to this reprogramming, nearly 2,000 approved loan applicants […]
Farm Bill Income Cap for Program Payment Eligibility Affects Few Farms
Editors Note: This is a republishing of a recent article by Ron Durst and Robert Williams, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Amber Waves magazine. The use of means tests in federal entitlement programs, using income levels to determine eligibility for funds, is a common –if not controversial– practice. For decades, […]
Upcoming Webinar on the Newly Expanded Farm Storage Facility Loan Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, August 9 at 2:00pm EDT to provide information about the Farm Storage Facility Loan program and the expansions and improvements that have been made to it over the past two years. Register for the webinar here. Farm Storage Facility […]
Have Access Improvements to the Federal Crop Insurance Program Gone Far Enough?
If you’re an onion farmer in Louisiana or a blueberry farmer in Iowa, the answer is most likely – no. The Federal Crop Insurance Program has gone through a host of changes since 2000 (the last time Congress passed a major stand-alone overhaul of the program), including several as part of the 2014 Farm Bill, […]
Farm Service Agency County Committee Members Help Shape Farmer Assistance Programs
The halls of Congress and offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are commonly where the decisions about agricultural policies and programs are made, but they are not the only places. For farmers, ranchers, and the scores of rural community members for whom a trip to Washington D.C. is not feasible, opportunities to get […]
How Well Is the Farm Credit System Serving Young, Beginning, and Small Farmers?
One hundred years after Congress first created the Farm Credit System (FCS), a national network of financial institutions owned by farmers and their cooperatives and focused on providing credit to farmers, FCS remains an important source of capital for young, beginning, and small farmers across the country. Last week, the Farm Credit Administration (the regulatory […]