The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) invested billions of dollars in working lands conservation programs, making more money available to all farmers and for all conservation activities. This post looks at what this means for farmers hoping to implement CSAF practices as well as other conservation activities…. Read More →
Conservation, Energy & Environment
More Money Out the Door! Farm Bill and IRA Funding Available Through Conservation Innovation Grants
USDA NRCS announced the availability of $65 million for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This funding is split into two separate opportunities: $50 million for CIG On Farm Trials and $15 million for CIG Classic. Half of the funding for the On Farm Trials competition was provided through the historic Inflation Reduction Act. This post provides details on both programs and how to apply before the October 30, 2023 deadline…. Read More →
On IRA’s One Year Anniversary, the Top 5 Things to Know About the Historic Investment in Climate-Friendly Agriculture
Just over a year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA invested nearly $20 billion in climate-friendly agriculture practices. As an organization that represents small and midsized-farmers across the nation, it is difficult to overstate the transformative potential of this funding to support all farmers in building vibrant and productive farms that can contribute to a climate-resilient future. As Congress inches toward Farm Bill reauthorization, this post highlights 5 key things to know about the IRA’s $20 billion investment in climate-friendly agriculture. … Read More →
COWS Act Aims to Boost Dairy Profitability and Sustainability
Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced the Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act. Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) introduced a companion bill in the House (H.R. 4327).The COWS Act would establish a new federal program aiming to improve economic viability and sustainability for the dairy and livestock industry…. Read More →
Agricultural Diversification: Practice and Policy
On the eve of the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization, this post drills down into the potential shape of a diversified U.S. agricultural landscape and the policies that are most closely aligned with incentivizing its creation. This post focuses on policies most directly shaping on-farm landscape diversity…. Read More →
Waste and Water Woes
This guest post by Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, (IATP), discusses how popular conservation programs should focus on small-scale and sustainable farms, not industrial-scale farms…. Read More →
Comment: More Than Fifty Food, Farm, and Conservation Organizations Call on Congressional Appropriators to Protect Agriculture Research
A letter was sent on behalf of more than 50 food, farm, conservation, and rural organizations to Congressional Appropriators on June 9, 2023, urging them to protect publicly funded agriculture research, especially funding for USDA’s innovative climate change research.
Who Benefits? A Look at the Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities Preliminary Awards
In February 2022, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) first announced details of its Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities (PCSC). The PCSC is a centerpiece of the Biden Administration’s strategy to help farmers and ranchers address climate change. In late 2022 USDA announced further details about projects, and more recently debuted the Partnerships Network. As the PCSC ramps up in earnest, now is an important moment to take stock of where the program stands and gauge its future promise. … Read More →
Bipartisan Agrivoltaics Bill Introduced in Senate
On May 31, 2023, Senators Heinrich (D-NM) and Braun (R-IN) introduced the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023 (S. 1778). Featuring a proposal first outlined in the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), the bill provides for the Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) to jointly focus on advancing research on agrivoltaics and demonstrations of the value of such systems…. Read More →
The Country’s Largest Climate Change Planning Effort Needs Input from Agricultural Organizations
This guest blog post, authored by Jeanne Merrill, policy consultant representing NSAC on the US EPA’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee, discusses the states and municipalities participating in developing Climate Pollution Reduction Plans under the new Inflation Reduction Act-funded program. This is the first federal program of its kind to support the comprehensive development and implementation of plans aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions…. Read More →
Grazing Lands Awards Bolster Sustainable Conservation Practices
Last month, USDA NRCS announced awards for 49 new projects under the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). This post gives an overview of the most recent round of cooperative agreements and makes the case for why continuing to fund the GLCI is critical to ensure that all farmers and ranchers with grazing operations can access the resources they need to implement conservation on the land…. Read More →
Release: Farmer Letter in Support of Agriculture Resilience Act Delivered to Bill Sponsor Representative Pingree
NSAC delivered to Representative Pingree (D-ME) a letter in support of the Agriculture Resilience Act. Signed by over 1,000 farmers from 48 states and Puerto Rico, the letter outlines the fundamental threat that climate change presents to agriculture. However, it also points to the ways in which agriculture offers solutions to climate change. … Read More →
Release: NSAC Applauds Support for Working Land Conservation Programs in Senate Subcommittee Hearing
Today, the Senate Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry and Natural Resources held a hearing entitled: “Conservation in the Farm Bill: Making Conservation Work for Farmers and Ranchers.” Witnesses spoke about the importance of federal conservation programs that support soil health and on-farm infrastructure, and that provide streamlined access opportunities to help build future generations of farmers prepared to meet the challenges of climate change…. Read More →
Funding for Rural Energy for America Program Now Available
On March 31, USDA announced that applications for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) funding under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are now open. REAP offers grants and loans for energy audits, the creation of renewable energy systems, and energy efficiency improvements. It serves farmers, rural businesses, state and local governments, tribal governments, universities, rural electric cooperatives, resource conservation and development councils, and electricity providers and transmitters. The REAP programs currently accepting proposals for funding offer assistance only to agricultural producers, small businesses, and electricity retailers, wholesalers, and transmitters…. Read More →
Largest Federally-Funded Climate Change Planning Effort Gets Underway
This guest blog post authored by Jeanne Merrill, policy consultant representing NSAC on U.S. EPA’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee, discusses plans and next steps related to EPA-funded climate planning efforts resulting from the Inflation Reduction Act. … Read More →
Release: Agriculture Resilience Act Delivers Farming’s Solutions to the Climate Crisis
Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-1) and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA) in both the House and Senate. The ARA outlines a farmer-focused, science-based path to agricultural climate mitigation and adaptation. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is proud to endorse this bill which delivers a bold vision for the future of agriculture. The ARA would refocus Farm Bill conservation, research, renewable energy, and rural economic development programs on climate resilience and empower farmers and ranchers eager to drive climate change solutions on the ground…. Read More →
Release: Broad Coalition of Conservation Organizations Endorses Recommendations to Strengthen Conservation in the 2023 Farm Bill
Thirty-one members of the Conservation Coalition, a group of national and regional organizations collaborating on Farm Bill conservation policy and advocacy, delivered a list of comprehensive farm bill priorities to members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees…. Read More →
FARMERS AND ADVOCATES MARCH FOR CLIMATE ACTION IN THE 2023 FARM BILL
With the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization underway, action is necessary to ensure that the biggest piece of food and agriculture legislation in the United States advances farmer-led climate solutions, centers racial justice, and prioritizes communities over corporations. With these central tenets at the core, over 500 farmers and farmer-advocates from 40 US states and 2 territories gathered in Washington, DC last week for the Farmers for Climate: Rally for Resilience. … Read More →
Guest Post: Still Closed Out
This guest post by Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, (IATP), provides an update on the federal conservation agriculture policy landscape since it’s 2021 publication, Closed Out: How U.S. farmers are denied access to conservation programs. … Read More →
Release: Broad Coalition Calls on Congress to Defend Climate Spending in Conservation Programs
Advocates of conservation programs delivered a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership calling for the defense of climate focused conservation spending in the Farm Bill. The letter, signed by 644 organizations, businesses, and farmers, makes clear to Congress that the historic investment in conservation programs made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 must be preserved in the 2023 Farm Bill. The IRA provided sweeping greenhouse gas reductions across sectors including farming. … Read More →
IRA Rollout Begins: Conservation Program Application Dates Change
As of February 13, USDA began enrolling producers in working lands conservation programs using IRA funding. This blog post covers a few points farmers and food and agriculture system professionals need to know about how to access IRA funds in CSP and EQIP, and how these conservation programs will be affected…. Read More →
Release: USDA Announces Implementation Plans for Inflation Reduction Act and Plans Around Western Water
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced plans for the implementation of the agricultural conservation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, an act that provided sweeping greenhouse gas reductions across sectors including farming. NSAC welcomes the Administration’s approach that encompasses both direct greenhouse gas benefits and the many co-benefits that accompany effective conservation practices…. Read More →
Record-High Crop Insurance Subsidies Are Unsustainable
Record-high subsidies to the federal crop insurance program are unsustainable and must be curbed in the 2023 Farm Bill…. Read More →
DON’T HARM CROP INSURANCE, IMPROVE IT!
Barriers in program design and implementation leave small and nonconventional farmers without access to crop insurance…. Read More →