ACTION ALERT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SUMMER CONGRESSIONAL RECESS TO TELL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TO SUPPORT USDA’S PROPOSED RULES FOR FAIR PLAY IN LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY MARKETS You don’t have to go all the way to Washington DC to meet with your Congressman, Senators or their staff. Five times a year your legislators come […]
Competition & Anti-trust
USDA Extends Comment Period for GIPSA Proposed Rules
Bowing to pressure from a group of large-scale livestock and poultry packers and processors and House Agriculture Committee members who are aligned with them, USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) announced on July 26 that it is extending the public comment period on proposed rules for the Packers & Stockyards Act by 90 days. […]
Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act Update
The Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act, first enacted in 1999, requires USDA to establish a program of information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, and the products of this livestock. The Act requires that the information, including price and volume information, be provided in a format that can be readily understood by producers; […]
TELL CONGRESS THAT YOU WANT A FAIR DEAL FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS
Farmers and ranchers who raise livestock and poultry need your help to get a fair deal and a level playing field with meat and poultry processors. The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry held a hearing on Tuesday, July 20 that focused on USDA proposed rules to strengthen and clarify the protections for […]
USDA/Department of Justice Hear from Dairy Farmers
On June 25, USDA and the Department of Justice held the third in a series of workshops to hear about the impacts of market concentration and consolidation on farmers and ranchers around the country. The third workshop, held in Madison WI, focused on dairy farmers. In addition to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Assistant […]
NSAC Applauds USDA Proposal for a Fairer Deal for Farmers and Ranchers in Livestock and Poultry Markets
On Thursday, June 18, NSAC issued a press release applauding a proposed regulation, issued by USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), to increase protections for farmers and ranchers in their dealings with packers and processors. The proposed regulation will be published in the Federal Register on June 22 with a 60-day public comment […]
FSIS Announces Public Hearing on Controversial Guidance
On June 4, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a series of public meetings in response to the release of their controversial guidance document back in March on HACCP Systems Validation for small and very small meat and poultry processing facilities. The first public meeting will be held on June 14 from 8:30-1:00 at […]
DOJ/USDA Announce May 21 Workshop on Competition in the Poultry Sector
The Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Agriculture have announced the schedule and panelists for the May 21, 2010 joint workshop on competition and regulatory issues in the poultry sector. The workshop will be held in Normal, Alabama at the Ernest L. Knight Reception Center at Alabama A & M University from 9 am […]
NSAC to host Ag of the Middle Briefing on June 8
Click here to forward on the invitation to colleagues. On June 8, 2010, NSAC, Farm Aid, Organic Valley, and Heifer International US Country Program will host a congressional briefing on Agriculture of the Middle: New Strategies to Support America’s Mid-sized Family Farmers. In recent decades, many mid-sized farmers and ranchers who rely on farming as […]
GE Crop Roundup for April 2010
April was an eventful month for genetically engineered (GE) crops, with release of a National Research Council report and litigation developments, plus a news story on the concern of scientists about Roundup Ready crops, whose use has resulted in the application of massive volumes of glyphosate herbicide to the nation’s farmland. On April 13, Reuter […]
And We’re Off: Farm Bill 2012
Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) described Wednesday’s House Agriculture Committee Hearing on the Farm Bill as “two-and-a-half hours to kick off two-and-a-half years.” The hearing was the first of Committee Chairman Collin Peterson’s (D-MN) meetings to get a head start on planning for the next Farm Bill, scheduled for completion in 2012. Over the past […]
Senators Chide Administration on “Actively Engaged”
A bi-partisan group of Senators sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday criticizing the Administration’s loose interpretation of “active personal management” in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) final rule on farm program payment limitations, released on January 7, 2010. Senators Tim Johnson(D-SD), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John Barrasso (R-WY) […]
Study Supports Crop Insurance Reform
A study by Milliman Inc., released by the USDA last Friday April 2, determined that the return on equity for crop insurers in the Federal Crop Insurance Program was 26.4 percent in 2009, well above the reasonable rate of return for 2009, 10.7 percent. National Crop Insurance Services responded to the study on Monday, criticizing […]
USDA’s Swine Contract Library to Re-Open
On April 2, USDA’s Grain Inspection and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) issued a final rule for its Swine Contract Library, which takes effect on May 3, 2010. The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 required GIPSA to establish and maintain a library of swine marketing contracts for the purchase of hogs between large hog packing […]
Target Date Passes for Black Farmer Settlement
The settlement reached between the government and black farmers denied USDA funding and services included a target date of March 31. That date has now passed, but the issue remains very much alive. The major remaining hurdle is for Congress to find a funding source or “offset” to allow it to provide the additional $1.15 […]
Farmers Seek Justice in the Heartland
We are thrilled to feature this blog post written by Kristina Hubbard, board member of NSAC member group, the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO). Kiki attended the first in a series of hearings sponsored by the USDA and Department of Justice about concentration in the agriculture industry. Kiki is the author of a recent report, […]
USDA Adds Pork to Existing Poultry Loan Rules Aimed at Preventing Contract Abuse
On Thursday, March 11, USDA announced that Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loan policies already in place for contract poultry production will be extended to contract pork operations as well. The aim of the guidance is to try to put an end to the practice of FSA financing new hog or poultry operations in cases […]
Grant Opportunity: Community Outreach and Assistance for Risk Management
Today’s federal register announced the availability of $2.5 million in grants for the Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program and $1.1 million for Commodity Partnerships for Small Agricultural Risk Management Education Sessions. The Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program targets limited resource, socially disadvantaged and other traditionally underserved producers with training, […]
Opportunity for Farmers to Speak About Justice to Power
The U.S. Department of Justice and USDA have announced the agenda for the first in a series of 5 workshops intended to give these agencies and the public in-depth information about the increasing concentration and decreasing competition in the agricultural sector. The workshop will be held March 12 in Ankeny, Iowa. Attendance at all the […]
Pigford: One step closer to closure?
On Thursday USDA and the Justice Department announced a $1.25 billion settlement agreement in a class action brought by African American farmers on outstanding discrimination claims, which were not covered by the 1999 consent agreement in the case Pigford v. Glickman (Pigford I). Under the Pigford I consent agreement, USDA paid 16,000 farmers about $1 […]
A Sustainable Outlook?
By Ariane Lotti USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum is one of the last places where I would expect to hear Wendell Berry quoted, but that’s exactly how Fedele Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appetit Management Company, ended his presentation on the 2010 forum’s distinguished panel about how the company is addressing topics from the “veil of silence” […]
NSAC’s 2010 Policy Priorities
Each year, the NSAC membership engages in a set of discussions within NSAC’s four policy issue committees and then at our annual face-to-face meeting in January about the coming year’s policy priorities. The NSAC Policy Council, made up of formally represented members, makes the final decision about the slate of issues the coalition will together […]
Updated Farm Bill Programs and Grants Page
By Jess Daniel, NSAC Introducing… an updated “quick-guide” to federal programs and grants for farmers, ranchers, food entrepreneurs, and the researchers, educators and community groups who serve them. This chart is a one-stop shop for links to the relevant USDA program websites (where they exist), brief descriptions of programs, and important dates and deadlines. Check […]
Avalos Addresses Family Farm Issues at NSAC Annual Meeting
At the annual meeting of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in Santa Fe this week, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Edward Avalos told the gathered delegates of his desire for USDA to listen to and serve the needs of small and mid-sized farms, including through buy local campaigns, value-added agricultural development, […]