The House of Representatives is scheduled to debate and vote on the agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012 on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 14 and 15. The measure will be in front of the House Rules Committee on Monday afternoon. At the Rules Committee, House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member […]
Conservation, Energy & Environment
Council on Environmental Quality Releases National Action Plan
On Thursday, June 2 the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Interagency Climate Change Task Force released a draft National Action Plan for managing freshwater resources in a changing climate. The report can be found on the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) website, along with supporting documents regarding the development of the report. […]
USDA Conservation Innovation Grants Focus on Climate Change
On Wednesday, June 8, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of $17.4 million in FY2011 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) funding for nine large-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects in 24 states. These projects are intended to demonstrate practices and systems which farmers and ranchers can use reduce GHG emissions or sequester carbon. In addition, […]
Pfizer Suspends Use of Poultry Arsenic Drug
The Food and Drug Administration announced on June 8 that a major drug company voluntarily agreed to suspend US sales of an arsenical drug used in poultry production. This step follows an FDA study that found higher levels of arsenic in the livers of chickens treated with 3-Nitro (Roxarsone) than in untreated chickens. Pfizer Inc. […]
USDA Announces $7 Million for Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative for 2011
On Tuesday, June 7, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will award $7 million for 31 projects in 11 states under the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) for fiscal year 2011. CCPI, a program originally conceived by NSAC in 2001, supports special local and regional conservation projects that […]
Proposed FY2012 Food and Agriculture Cuts One Step Closer to Becoming Law
On Tuesday, May 31, the full House Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which was first passed by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee last week. If it were to become law, this bill would make truly massive cuts to conservation, extension, research, renewable energy, and rural development programs. A number […]
Over 50 Groups Deliver Letter Opposing Cuts to Conservation Programs
On Tuesday, May 31, NSAC and more than 50 other organizations delivered a letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee in opposition to the conservation cuts contained in fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill passed by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee last week. The letter was delivered ahead of markup of the FY2012 […]
Sen. Stabenow Holds First 2012 Farm Bill Hearing
On Thursday, May 26, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed members of the Senate Agriculture Committee at the Committee’s first hearing on the 2012 Farm Bill. A second panel of witnesses followed, comprised of former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, Michigan farmer and United Soybean Board founding director Barry Mumby, Dr. Andrew Rosenberg of Conservation International, […]
Lawsuit to Restrict Antibiotic Use in Industrial Animal Production
On Wednesday, May 25, NSAC members the Food Animal Concerns Trust and the Union of Concerned Scientists joined the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Public Citizen in a lawsuit to compel the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to citizen petitions requesting that FDA take action […]
House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY2012 Funding Bill
On Tuesday, March 24, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies passed by voice vote its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which would cut USDA and FDA discretionary programs by 13.4 percent on top of a similar amount in the FY 2011 bill completed last month. […]
House FY2012 Appropriations Bill Would Slash Conservation, Rural Development, and Research Programs
On Monday, May 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies released a draft of its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The Subcommittee will debate, potentially amend, and almost certainly pass the bill on Tuesday during an afternoon markup. Before the bill can become law, […]
Healthy Farms, Healthy People Summit
by NSAC Policy Associate Helen Dombalis A diverse group of over 100 farm, food, and health stakeholders came together in Washington, DC Tuesday and Wednesday for Healthy Farms, Healthy People: A Farm & Food Policy Summit for a Strong America. The summit was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and convened […]
National Genetics Board Being Re-Established
On Monday, May 16, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) published a notice or intent and request for nominations in the Federal Register for the National Genetic Resources Advisory Council. The Council has been dormant but is in the process of being re-established. Its purpose is to formulate recommendations on actions and policies with respect […]
Deadline to Apply for FY 2011 Organic Initiative Support Next Week
The deadline to apply for the Environmental Quality Incentives (EQIP) Organic Initiative Program is coming up fast. USDA has allocated $50 million for the Organic Initiative Program in 2011, which is available for all three of the following: certified organic growers, those transitioning to organic farming systems, and farmers exempt from formal certification.* The Organic […]
Prince Charles, Vilsack, and others explore Future of Food
Just five days after his son William’s wedding that drew millions of viewers, the Prince of Wales keynoted Wednesday’s Future of Food conference at Georgetown University with an impassioned 40 minute talk. Prince Charles, who has farmed “as sustainably as possible” for 26 years, explained why conventional agriculture is simply not sustainable. The “business as […]
Farm Service Agency Makes Good Choice for First BCAP Project
On Thursday, May 5, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced that the first Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project area would cover 30 counties in western Missouri and nine counties in Eastern Kansas, with biomass facilities operated by the Show Me Energy Cooperative as the biomass conversion facilities for the project. About $15 million will be available […]
Senate Bills Take Different Routes to Phase-Out Ethanol Tax Credit
This week saw the introduction of two Senate bills with different routes to phasing out the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) for ethanol blended with gasoline and a tariff and ad valorem tax on imported ethanol, both of which are intended to stimulate ethanol production in the U.S. Last December, Congress approved legislation that […]
AGree?
On Tuesday, May 3, a new federal food, agriculture, and rural development policy initiative was launched by eight major foundations at a press event in DC. The new eight-year project will be aimed at “transforming US food and agriculture policy” with an equal focus on domestic and international impacts. It will be known as “AGree,” […]
Stop Cuts to Conservation
Think this might be a good time to cut spending on soil conservation? Think Again. The New York Times recently reported that higher prices for corn and soy coupled with severe storms fueled by climate change were producing unsustainable levels of soil erosion in Iowa and other Corn Belt states. That same week Congress approved […]
EPA and Army Corps Release New Guidance on Scope of Clean Water Act
On Wednesday, April 27, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers issued a proposed guidance for determining which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. A notice of the release of the proposed guidance will be published in the Federal Register on May 2, which starts a 60-day public comment period on the proposed […]
Congressional Bioenergy Briefing
On Tuesday, April 27, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute hosted a congressional briefing entitled Developing Sustainable Biomass Supplies. Presentation slides and an audio recording of the briefing are posted on the Institute’s website. The briefing began with an overview and update on implementation of the Farm Bill Energy Title programs administered by the Rural […]
Challenge to EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard Regulation
On April 18, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) filed a petition with the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in a challenge to EPA’s 2010 final regulation for changes to the renewable fuel standard program (also known as RFS2). In 2010, NWF had petitioned EPA asking the agency to reconsider the final […]
USDA Releases Assessment of Natural Resources in the United States
On Wednesday, April 27, USDA released a pre-publication copy of its long-awaited 2011 Resource Conservation Act Appraisal. The appraisal, part of USDA’s implementation of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA), assesses the status of soil, water, and related natural resources on non-Federal land and analyzes the effectiveness of current conservation policies and programs. […]
The Atlantic Holds Annual Food Summit in Washington, DC
Earlier this week The Atlantic held its annual Food Summit in Washington, DC. USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan gave the keynote address. Merrigan started by acknowledging that it is an exciting time for people working in the food and farm sectors since Americans are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, how it is […]