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 […]
Conservation, Energy & Environment
Conservation Innovation Grants Awarded
On Tuesday, September 10, USDA announced 33 new Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) awards totaling $13.3 million. Conservation Innovation Grants leverage multi-stakeholder partnerships to address a variety of natural resource concerns on agricultural land. These projects help to transfer technology to address critical resource concerns. Grantees must match 50 percent of the funds provided by the […]
Land Stewardship Project Report Assesses Conservation Stewardship Program in Minnesota
The Land Stewardship Project just released a comprehensive report addressing the Conservation Stewardship Program in Minnesota. The report analyzes participation in the program county-by-county and makes recommendations to improve the program at the state and national level. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a comprehensive working-lands program that provides financial and technical assistance to farmers […]
Groups Sue EPA After Agency Pulls Clean Water Act Enforcement
On Wednesday, August 28, five non-profit organizations sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision to withdraw a proposed rule that would require concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to report basic information to the Agency. EPA withdrew the proposed rule in July 2012 amidst strong opposition from several livestock industry trade associations. EPA proposed […]
Progress on Enforcing Farm Payment Income Limits, But More Reform Needed
In light of record high farm incomes, increased scrutiny of federal spending, and the ongoing farm bill reauthorization process, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last week on the USDA process for assessing whether a farmer is eligible, based on their adjusted gross income (AGI) level, to receive commodity or conservation program payments. […]
USDA Assessment of Conservation in Lower Mississippi Basin
On Tuesday, August 27, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the release of the report, Assessment of the Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Lower Mississippi River Basin. The report is a comprehensive look at the effects of NRCS conservation practices on the approximately 105,000 square miles that the basin covers. The Lower […]
Crop Insurance Proposal to Lower Premiums for Good Stewardship
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently launched an online tool that shows extreme weather-related crop loss by state and county. The risk of crop loss from these weather events, like droughts and floods, can be mitigated through sustainable soil management practices like cover crops, crop rotations, and conservation tillage. NRDC is proposing that insurance […]
Rural Energy Awards Announced
The USDA has announced investments of more than $21 million in grant and loan funding through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The REAP program makes grants and loans available to farmers and businesses for energy conservation and renewable energy production purposes. REAP also funds energy audits and feasibility studies, as well as energy […]
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 […]
EPA Takes Steps to Regulate Feedlot Pollution
Late last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took two steps toward preventing illegal pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, also known as CAFOs. First, the Agency issued a criminal enforcement alert indicating that it will aggressively prosecute owners and operators of CAFOs who “knowingly or negligently discharge pollutants from a point source (such […]
Conservation Reserve Program Sign-Up Results
On Monday, July 22, USDA announced it is awarding new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts for 1.7 million acres starting on October 1. There are currently 26.9 million acres enrolled in the program, but on October 1, 3.3 million acres are scheduled to leave the reserve. Hence with today’s additions, it brings the total to […]
Representatives Introduce Pollinator Protection Bill
On Tuesday, July 16, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced the Saving America’s Pollinators Act of 2013, which aims to reverse steep declines in bee populations by temporarily suspending the use of certain pesticides. According to Rep. Blumenauer’s press release, the bill “suspends certain uses of neonicotinoids, a particular type of […]
New USDA Guidelines on Crop Insurance and Cover Crops
Guest Post by Dr. Rob Myers In late June, new guidelines were released by USDA pertaining to cover crop management and crop insurance. The new guidelines came about as a result of concerns expressed by many farmers who had difficulty terminating (killing) their cover crops by USDA-specified calendar dates, especially when weather conditions prevented field […]
New USDA/SARE Survey Shows Benefits of Cover Crops
This month, USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program published the results of a nationwide survey that assesses the benefits, challenges, yield impacts, and scale of adoption of cover crops. The SARE program worked with the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) to survey more than 750 farmers who have grown cover crops across 36 states. […]
Legislation Introduced to Restrict Antibiotics in Livestock
Late last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to limit the use of antibiotics in livestock production. If enacted, the “Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act of 2013” would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to restrict the use of antibiotics critical to human health in livestock production unless they are used to treat clinically diagnosable […]
U.S. Tax Court: Federal Self-Employment Tax Applies to Non-Farmer’s CRP Payment
A June 18, 2013 ruling by the U.S. Tax Court on the taxation of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments may have a significant impact on the decision of landowners to enroll land in the CRP. Prior to the ruling in Morehouse v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the prevailing view was that a CRP payment is […]
House Farm Bill Moving Toward Conclusion
On Wednesday, June 19, the House of Representatives passed the rule governing debate on the farm bill and began debate on scores of amendments. The rule governing the debate and specifying which amendments would and would not be debated and voted on, was approved by a primarily party line vote of 239-177, with 15 Democrats […]
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 […]
USDA Secretary Vilsack Highlights Cover Crop and Climate Change Solutions
Yesterday, speaking at the National Press Club, USDA Secretary Vilsack addressed the present and future challenges in agriculture brought on by our changing climate – challenges “new and different than anything we’ve ever tackled.” The Secretary recognized the unique regional challenges that farmers and ranchers are experiencing around the country – extreme precipitation in the […]
House Subcommittee Passes 2014 Agriculture Funding Bill
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee yesterday approved its fiscal year (FY) 2014 agriculture appropriations bill by voice vote. The bill sets discretionary spending at $19.5 billion, which is $1.3 billion below the FY 2013 enacted level but roughly equal to the FY 2013 enacted level minus sequestration (across-the-board budget cuts imposed in FY 2013 following […]
Conservation Organizations Oppose Appropriations Cuts to Conservation
On Tuesday, June 4, more than 25 national conservation organizations delivered a letter to House Appropriators opposing the practice of cutting mandatory conservation program funding in annual appropriations bills. Mandatory conservation spending falls under the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees, in this case, the Agriculture Committees. Yet, year after year, recent annual appropriations bills limit conservation […]
NRCS Seeks New Acres for Wetlands and Grassland Reserve Programs
On Wednesday, May 29, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that it is seeking new applications for enrollment in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) in fiscal year 2013. Both programs allow for continuous enrollment throughout the year, and NRCS has been receiving enrollment applications since January. However, until […]
More Time and More Funding for Farm Energy Grants and Loans
USDA has announced that the deadline for applying for FY2013 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants, loans, and feasibility studies has been extended to May 31, 2013. The deadline is extended because USDA has additional funds provided for in the FY2013 Appropriations. In the announcement of the extension, USDA indicated it would issue another […]
Representatives Introduce Bill to Improve Farm Bill Conservation Programs
Today, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with eleven additional cosponsors, introduced a bill to improve current farm conservation programs. The Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act (H.R. 1890) aims to help farmers and ranchers improve their environmental performance and reward them for the conservation benefits they produce. The other cosponsors of the bill are Representatives […]