Next week is a big week for agriculture appropriations. On Tuesday, May 20, both the House and the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees will debate and almost certainly pass their respective agriculture funding bills for fiscal year (FY) 2015. The full Senate Appropriations Committee will then take up the agriculture appropriations bill on Thursday, May 22. […]
Competition & Anti-trust
Livestock Industry Examined by House Agriculture Committee
On April 30, the Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to discuss challenges facing the livestock industry. The most common topics cited were feed costs, drought, animal disease, trade, and the regulatory requirements that impact this sector of the agricultural economy. Panel 1 – Questions for USDA The […]
More 2015 Funding Hearings – Food Safety, Rural Development, and Marketing Programs
This week, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee held hearings on the Obama Administration’s FY 2015 funding requests for three USDA mission areas – Food Safety, Rural Development, and Marketing and Regulatory Programs, which includes the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee also held […]
NSAC, Farmers Partner to Advocate on Sustainable Agriculture Funding
This week, a dozen family farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates from eight states traveled to Washington, DC to share their stories with the members of Congress who will decide on the coming year’s agricultural budget. In meetings Wednesday and Thursday, farmers called upon their legislators to invest in a more sustainable food and farm future […]
What Does the President’s 2015 Budget Mean for Sustainable Agriculture?
President Obama sent his budget proposal for 2015 to Capitol Hill yesterday. The overall spending number in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year (FY) would match the two-year budget deal Congress reached last year, though the President also includes an aspirational $56 billion add-on, which he calls the Opportunity, Growth, and Security (OGS) […]
2014 Farm Bill Drilldown: Subsidy Reform and Fair Competition
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. This post discusses the highlights and the missed opportunities for commodity and crop insurance reform and agricultural market competition. Previous “drill down” posts on a wide […]
What is in the 2014 Farm Bill For Sustainable Farms and Food Systems?
At the start of this long and twisted farm bill reauthorization process, NSAC released an ambitious farm bill platform with the goal of expanding opportunities for family farmers to produce good food, sustain the environment, and contribute to vibrant communities. Reflecting input from sustainable and organic farmers, rural and urban communities, and food entrepreneurs, the […]
Congress Outlines 2014 Funding Package
Update: Both the House and Senate passed the omnibus package this week, and the President is expected to sign the bill shortly. For a detailed breakdown of the funding levels provided in the bill, see our updated appropriations chart. On Monday, January 13, House and Senate appropriators released the text of the fiscal year (FY) 2014 […]
NSAC Delivers 2014 Sustainable Agriculture Funding Requests
On Tuesday, December 17, NSAC delivered a letter to members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, urging them to support sustainable agriculture priorities in the final fiscal year 2014 appropriations legislation. The Committees are currently working to finalize legislation that would fund the government for the rest of FY 2014. Both Committees passed their […]
Senators Weigh In on Livestock and Poultry Market Fairness
Eight Senators today sent a letter to Senate Agriculture Leadership signaling their strong objection to language contained in the House version of the Farm Bill that would severely restrict the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ability to ensure fair and competitive livestock and poultry markets under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Co-authored by Senators Jon […]
House Passes Bill to Slash Government Funding and Repeal Affordable Care Act
Update: On Friday, September 20, the House passed its short-term continuing appropriations resolution, 230-189. Two Democrats voted Aye on the bill, while one Republican voted against the bill. Click here for the full roll call vote. On Thursday, September 19, the House of Representatives passed a rule to govern debate on a short-term continuing appropriations […]
House Committee Releases Bill to Fund Government into December
Late on Tuesday, September 10, the House Appropriations Committee released a draft of its continuing appropriations resolution (CR) for the first two and a half months of fiscal year (FY) 2014. With few exceptions, the bill would fund programs until December 15 at the levels provided in the final FY 2013 CR. Despite the House […]
Groups Urge Ag Leaders to Reject Restrictive House Language Regarding Fair Markets and Contracts
Today, NSAC joined over 140 farm, consumer, faith, and rural organizations in a letter urging House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders to reject a provision in the House-passed farm bill that severely restricts the USDA’s ability to address anti-competitive and unfair business practices in the livestock and poultry sectors. A version of this letter was […]
New Wrinkles in Smithfield Sale
The proposed sale of US pork processing giant Smithfield Foods to Chinese food company Shuanghui is receiving new scrutiny from investors and Senators. As we noted when the deal was proposed back in May, this potential purchase raises concerns of further consolidation in the US pork industry. Smithfield already controls nearly a third of the […]
Conservation, Rural Development, and Fair Markets & Contracts – Groups Weigh In on Farm Bill
This week NSAC signed onto letters to Congress concerning conservation, rural development, and fair competition provisions of the House and Senate farm bills, ahead of what could still possibly be an August replete with Agriculture Committee staff meetings to begin to work out the details of a final farm bill. Conservation NSAC was one of […]
Smithfield Merger Scrutinized in Senate Hearing
The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing yesterday, entitled, “Smithfield and Beyond: Examining Foreign Purchases of American Food Companies” to evaluate the proposed purchase of Smithfield Foods by the Shuanghui Group, a Chinese-based conglomerate. If finalized, this acquisition would be the largest purchase of a U.S. corporation by a Chinese company. In advance of the […]
Senators Raise Food Safety, Security Concerns About Smithfield Purchase
Yesterday, Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Thad Cochran (R-MS), ranking member of the Committee, delivered a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury that laid out concerns with the proposed purchase of Smithfield Foods by a Chinese-based conglomerate – the Shuanghui Group. Smithfield Farms is the world’s largest producer and […]
House Rules Committee Kills Key Farm Bill Amendments
Very early on the morning of Wednesday, June 19, the House Rules Committee decided upon which amendments members of the House of Representatives will vote on during House considering of the 2013 Farm Bill today, tomorrow, and perhaps into next week. The final list includes 103 amendments, but excludes several of the most important amendments […]
House Committee Passes 2014 Agriculture Funding Bill
Today, the House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2014 agricultural appropriations bill, which the House Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee passed on June 5. The bill sets discretionary funding at $19.5 billion, which is $1.3 billion below the FY 2013 enacted level, but is roughly equal to the FY2013 level minus the cuts imposed by […]
Smithfield Buyout Raises Fair Competition Concerns
A bid by Shuanghui International, also known as Shineway, to purchase Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion became national news this week. Shuanghui is the majority shareholder of China’s largest meat processor and, according to the Wall Street Journal, sources most of its products from private farmers – a practice that has been scrutinized in China […]
USDA Publishes Country of Origin Labeling Final Rule
On Thursday, May 23, the USDA published the final rule amending the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations in the Federal Register. A pdf version of the final rule is available here. COOL was originally enacted in the 2002 Farm Bill and required retailers to notify customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. […]
House Subcommittee Debates 2014 Farm and Food Funding
Over the last two weeks, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee held a series of hearings to examine the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s and the Food and Drug Administration’s budget requests for fiscal year (FY) 2014. We previously posted about the first Subcommittee hearing of the year, which featured Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and the second […]
Secretary Vilsack Promotes Cover Crops, Local Foods, Contract Fairness during House Hearing
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies today to discuss his agency’s FY 2014 budget requests. The Subcommittee will consider USDA’s requests as it writes its funding bill for the year. Conservation, Drought, and Crop Insurance Early in the hearing, Subcommittee […]
Final 2013 Funding Bill Clears Congress
On Thursday, March 21, the House of Representatives voted 318-109 to adopt the Senate-passed continuing appropriations resolution, which will fund federal programs through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2013. The House did not make any changes to the bill, as amended and passed by the Senate yesterday by a vote of 73-26. Conservation Stewardship […]