FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 Release: Letter Urges Congressional Leaders to Prioritize Climate Solutions for Agriculture in Budget Reconciliation Washington, D. C., August 25, 2021 – Today the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) along with 62 leading farming, environmental, and rural development organizations, sent a letter to […]
Conservation, Energy & Environment
Unpacking the House Appropriations Committee FY 2022 Agriculture Funding Bill
On June 30th, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Agriculture Spending bill. The full House Appropriations Committee markup and approval followed the Agriculture Subcommittee’s approval of the funding bill on Friday, June 12. The agriculture appropriations bill includes funding for a wide range of farm and food programs, […]
The Case for Next Generation Crop Insurance
Recently, the AGree Economic and Environmental Risk Coalition (AGree E2 Coalition) released a new paper: The Case for Next Generation Crop Insurance. The comprehensive paper reviews mounting scientific evidence for the risk reduction benefits of agricultural conservation practices as well as policy barriers to broad adoption, before proposing recommendations to bring the federal crop insurance […]
Farmers Trapped in Unsustainable Cycle by Biotechnology, Seed Consolidation
A deep dive into the role that corporate consolidation and concentration play in the commoditization and appropriation of seed and farming practices and what this means for farmers. … Read More →
Conservation Buffer and Grasslands Enrollment Opportunities Within CRP
NSCA takes a look at the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP) and the CRP Grasslands Program…. Read More →
President Biden’s First Budget Request and Sustainable Agriculture Priorities
A closer look at President Biden’s First Budget Request and Sustainable Agriculture Priorities…. Read More →
NSAC Report on Climate Solutions for Farmers: Invest in Proven Federal Programs
The climate crisis is reaching a crucial tipping point. The past decade was the hottest on record, rife with extreme weather events and unparalleled natural disasters that highlight economic inequity and expose instability in our food and farming systems. Now more than ever, the urgency of this crisis requires bold steps to build resiliency, responsibly manage […]
New Pandemic Cover Crop Program is a First Step
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), which will offer a $5 per acre premium discount to producers who planted qualifying cover crops during the 2021 crop year and enrolled in eligible federal crop insurance policies. The PCCP is administered by the Risk Management Agency […]
Farmers Virtually Visit the Hill to Advocate for Climate Action
What do you get when you mix a pandemic context, a carbon-conscious group of farmers and advocates, and a critical window for Congressional action on the climate crisis? The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)’s latest Virtual Farmer “Fly-In” on Climate and Agriculture. Bringing farmers to Washington, D.C. to tell their stories to their lawmakers and […]
$15 Million Available for Conservation Innovation Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently announced the availability of $15 million for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This funding is in addition to the $25 million in funding that was previously announced for on-farm trials (a CIG sub-program established under the 2018 Farm Bill). This funding announcement […]
RELEASE: More Than 450 Organizations Urge Congress to Invest $200 Billion in Climate-Focused Agriculture Improvements in the American Jobs Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks, Associate Director of Communications and Development National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 More Than 450 Organizations Urge Congress to Invest $200 Billion in Climate-Focused Agriculture Improvements in the American Jobs Plan Letter to Congressional Leadership Addresses Agriculture, Climate and Infrastructure Needs Washington, DC, May 25, 2021 – Today […]
$25 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR ON-FARM CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS
On April 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the availability of $25 million in funding to advance the adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation practices on agricultural lands. The funding is for on-farm trials, a sub-program of the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. CIGs are designed to support collaboration between NRCS and […]
Regional Conservation Partnership Program: Funding Available and Awards
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced its list of fiscal year (FY) 2021 Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) awards. In addition, USDA announced the availability of up to $75 million for Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFAs) under RCPP. Applications for RCPP AFA will be accepted until May 28, 2021. In this blog post, we […]
RELEASE: Agriculture Resilience Act Delivers Bold Vision for Net Zero Agriculture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Eric Deeble National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Email: edeeble@sustainableagriculture.net Agriculture Resilience Act Delivers Bold Vision for Net Zero Agriculture National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Applauds Trailblazing Climate and Agriculture Bill Washington, DC, April 22, 2021 – Today, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), which […]
COMMENT: Conservation Reserve Program Expanded and Renewed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Eric Deeble, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalitionpress@sustainableagriculture.net COMMENT: NSAC Commends Expansion and Enhancement of Conservation Reserve Program Higher payment rates, new incentives, and a greater focus on climate change mitigation better support farmers and ranchers Washington, DC, April 21, 2021 – In response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement on the changes made to the […]
Guest Post: New Pasa Report Unearths Soil Health Insights
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Franklin Egan, Director of Education at Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, an NSAC member organization. This article originally appeared in March 2021 on Pasa’s blog. Our new report offers fresh insights into how farmers can improve soil stewardship to more effectively protect ecosystems and communities, better withstand severe weather, and […]
Farm Bill Program Addresses the Nation’s Biodiversity and Climate Crises
The Conservation Stewardship Program As our nation’s largest working lands conservation program, the Farm Bill’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), can and should be a boon for wildlife. But cuts in program funding under the previous administration left limited resources that farmers can use to enhance their conservation efforts on the lands they steward. During these […]
The Climate Crisis Needs More Than a Silver Bullet
Energy and momentum to address the climate crisis is building under the Biden-Harris Administration. Many parts of the agriculture sector, previously opposed to climate action, have shifted their stance as agricultural soils come into focus as potentially powerful carbon sinks – and source of profit. Legislators, farm groups, advocates, and corporations have been churning out […]
COMMENT: Agriculture Needs Multifaceted Climate Solutions
Contact: Eric Deeble, Policy Director,National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)edeeble@sustainableagriculture.net Agriculture Needs Multifaceted Climate SolutionsCongress and USDA Should Prioritize Existing Conservation, Agricultural Research, and Rural Economic Development Programs Washington, DC, February 25th, 2021 – This comment was issued on Thursday, February 25, 2021 in response to the hearing “Climate Change and the U.S. Agriculture and Forestry […]
Conservation Reserve Program Signup Extended
For almost 35 years, the farm bill’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has compensated farmers and landowners for taking highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive lands out of crop production and enrolling them instead in conserving practices. Through CRP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pays farmers to set aside land for grass or tree cover […]
Government Funding Bill – Sustainable Agriculture Wins
With the country facing an imminent government shutdown, the President finally signed the $2.3 trillion Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020 on December 28th. This bill includes both badly needed emergency COVID-19 relief aid as well as regular fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations. For more information on the COVID-19 relief aspects of the bill check […]
Top 20 Wins (and Fights!) for Sustainable Agriculture in 2020
The end of the year is just around the corner – and what a year it has been! In these times of pain, uncertainty, reflection, and action, two things are certain: (1) our country and our world as we know it will never quite be the same, and (2) the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) […]
How the Biden-Harris Administration Can Support a More Sustainable and Resilient Food System
NSAC has identified the most pressing issues facing the sustainable agriculture community for the Biden-Harris Administration to prioritize in order to rebuild our food system. At the top of the list are issues like addressing the climate crisis, building a more resilient food supply chain, addressing longstanding issues of racial inequities, strengthening anti-trust enforcement, and scaling up investments in public research…. Read More →
$50 Million Now Available for Rural Renewable Energy Projects
As climate variability increases and energy costs continue to rise, producing on-farm, renewable energy has become an attractive option for many farmers and ranchers. In order to help producers save money and better utilize renewable energy, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provides grants and loans to farmers and rural businesses interested in making […]