The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is currently reviewing a set of three rules from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that, if finalized, could easily be an early win for the Trump Administration. USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has been working on the “Farmer Fair Practices” rules with the support of […]
Competition & Anti-trust
Press Release: Representative Chellie Pingree Hosts Poultry Farmers and Advocates for a Capitol Hill Discussion on Contract Agriculture
For Immediate Release: Contact: Michael Pauker, michael.pauker@berlinrosen.com, 646-335-0330 United States Representative Chellie Pingree Hosts Poultry Farmers and Advocates for a Capitol Hill Discussion on Contract Agriculture Attendants will view “Under Contract”, a new documentary on abusive practices in the industry Washington, DC, November 15, 2016 – Contract poultry farmers raise 97% of all chicken consumed in […]
COMMENT: NSAC Applauds USDA for Moving Forward with Farmer Fair Practices Rules
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Wolfe, 202-547-574, pwolfe@sustainableagriculture.net Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-574, fhoefner@sustainableagriculture.net NSAC Applauds USDA for Moving Forward with Farmer Fair Practices Rules Washington, DC, Oct 14, 2016 – We thank Secretary Vilsack for moving forward on the Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) “Farmer Fair Practices Rules”, which were sent today by USDA to the […]
Livestock and Poultry Industry Groups Continue Efforts to Stall USDA Protections for Farmers
Six years ago, powerful corporate livestock and poultry industry groups released a report claiming that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2010 Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule would harm family poultry and livestock producers. In fact, what they were really worried about was interrupting the anti-competitive, vertically integrated livestock and poultry systems that they […]
Senate Questions “Tsunami” of Mergers and Acquisitions in Ag Industries
On Tuesday, September 20, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to probe further into a series of recent proposed mergers and acquisitions in the seed and agricultural industry. The hearing was convened after news of three significant mergers of top agricultural input companies that control 60 percent of the global seed market and 64 […]
Farmers Push for Action on Agriculture Funding Bill
If you want to gain some real insight into agricultural policies, your first stop should be one of America’s 2.1 million farms – a majority of which are small and medium-sized family farms. Though we can’t always get Congress to the farm, we can bring the farm to Congress. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) regularly […]
RELEASE: Poultry Farmer Stands Up for Contract Growers, Delivers Petition on Capitol Hill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Wolfe, 202-547-5754, PWolfe@sustainableagriculture.net Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 FHoefner@sustainableagriculture.net Poultry Farmer Stands Up for Contract Growers, Delivers Petition on Capitol Hill Contract Poultry Farmer Joins Ag and Government Accountability Groups to Deliver 60,000+ Signature Petition to Congress in Support of Rights for Contract Farmers Washington, DC, June 16, 2016 – Nestled […]
A Breakdown of the Senate’s Annual Food and Farm Spending Bill
Each year, Congress debates and makes key decisions about federal funding priorities for all government agencies, programs, and initiatives – including programs and resources that support our nation’s farmers and ranchers. This week marks an important step in that process (known as appropriations), as the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund the U.S. […]
GAO Report Calls for Timeline to Update USDA Biotechnology Regulations
As a growing list of genetically engineered plant and animal crops enter the marketplace with minimal, if any, regulation from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging USDA to set a clear timeline for updating its biotechnology regulations. In a report released on April 14, 2016, GAO cautioned: […]
House Committee Votes to Strip Protections for Contract Farmers
On April 19, the House Appropriations Committee convened to debate and pass the House Agriculture … Read More →
RELEASE: NSAC Comment on Harris Rider (“GIPSA Rider”)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 FHoefner@sustainableagriculture.net NSAC Press Statement on Passage of Harris Amendment We are deeply disturbed by the passage of the Harris amendment to prohibit USDA from protecting farmers as provided by the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 against anticompetitive, deceptive, fraudulent, retaliatory and other abusive business practices by […]
RELEASE: Proposed GIPSA Rider Aims to Silence America’s Contract Farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Wolfe, 202-547-5754, PWolfe@sustainableagriculture.net Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 FHoefner@sustainableagriculture.net Proposed GIPSA Rider Aims to Silence America’s Contract Farmers National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Speaks Out Against Anti-Farmer Maneuver Washington, DC, April 18, 2016 – Family farmers in the contract poultry industry thought their time had finally come. After years of struggling to eke […]
Congressional Appropriators Support a Level Playing Field for Contract Farmers
Yesterday, eight Congressional Appropriators signed on to a letter to United States Agriculture Department (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, thanking him for moving forward with rules to protect contract livestock and poultry producers from unfair and retaliatory practices. The letter, signed by four Senate and four House agriculture appropriators, comes on the heels of Secretary Vilsack’s […]
New USDA Ruling Protects Contract Poultry Growers
During the peak of the Avian Flu (also known as “bird flu) outbreak in 2015, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) wrote about the problems with USDA rules that placed the burden for certain losses on contract growers, paying indemnities only to the integrators (companies that own but don’t raise the animals). At the time, […]
Massive Year-End Funding Bill A Mixed Bag But Includes Significant Wins for Sustainable Agriculture
Final appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2016 will fund programs supporting sustainable agriculture… Read More →
Avian Flu: What About the Contract Poultry Grower?
There has been a lot of talk about the Avian Flu outbreak from the media, including many reports by outlets that don’t often don’t spend much time covering agriculture. They have covered the 34 million birds that have been euthanized and the skyrocketing cost of conventionally produced eggs. What they have not been covering is […]
What’s in the Senate Funding Bill for Sustainable Agriculture?
Pop quiz: What do Frankenfish, Orca Whales, and whole grains all have in common? Answer: They were all part of the amendment process today as the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced their version of next year’s federal funding bill for food, agriculture, and rural development. Read on for our analysis of the Senate funding bill that […]
House Committee Passes USDA-FDA Funding Bill, Rejects Reform Amendments
On Wednesday, July 8, the House Appropriations Committee passed the 2016 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which funds most of the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You can visit our previous post for a full breakdown of the bill as it stood before debate by the full […]
Congresswomen Hold Briefing to Raise Awareness about Anti-Competitive GIPSA Rider
On Wednesday, June 3, Congresswomen Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) held a briefing for congressional staff and press to raise the awareness about the “GIPSA rider” in advance of likely House Agriculture Appropriations Committee action to advance the rider. The GIPSA rider has blocked USDA from finalizing rules of the road for the […]
What’s all the Flapping About: What do HBO’s John Oliver, Chicken Farmers, and Congress have in Common?
There has been a lot of social media buzz lately about a piece on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver about the plight of chicken farmers (note: does contain adult language, please use discretion) who raise birds on behalf of large integrators, aka the chicken companies (Tyson, Pilgrims Pride, Perdue, and JBS) who own […]
Final Budget Bill Guts Conservation Funding and Farmer Protections
Late on December 9, Congress released their final annual appropriations bill to keep the government running for the rest of the fiscal year, and while there is some good news, overall it’s bleak news for sustainable agriculture – complete with drastic cuts to critical conservation programs and anti-farmer policy riders that favor big livestock integrators over actual […]
Congress Extends 2014 Funding Levels through December 11
On Thursday, September 18, the Senate passed a short-term funding extension, known as a “continuing resolution” (CR), to fund the federal government through December 11. The CR extends fiscal year (FY) 2014 funding levels as well as policy provisions known as appropriations “riders.” The House passed this temporary funding measure earlier this week, and the […]
Farm Aid 2014: Making Policy Connections on North Carolina Farms
Decisions that legislators make in Washington, DC have real impacts on the ground in communities and on farms around the country. On Friday, September 12, 2014, several NSAC staff members toured several farms in and around Raleigh, North Carolina hosted by Farm Aid (an NSAC member) ahead of their 2014 Farm Aid Benefit Concert. The […]
4 Important Policy Decisions that Will Impact Farmers, Food, and the Environment in 2015
Taking a look at Congress’ work over the next few months, here are four appropriations decisions that will have a major impact on farmers, food, and the environment…. Read More →