February 12, 2021
This is the first of several blogs which will explore the impacts of consolidation and concentration in the agriculture industry on farmers and the broader food system, as well as a path forward. The blog series is authored by NSAC Policy Fellow Billy Hackett with meaningful contributions by farmers and experts. While the first days […]
December 21, 2020
Editor’s note: as we were preparing this blog for publication, the USDA announced the next round of funding through the program, with a 90 day application window. NSAC will be updating and publishing our farmers guide to applying for the program first thing in the new year. “Value-added” foods and goods are made from raw […]
November 18, 2020
In October, the U.S. The Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the inaugural round of grant awards for the Regional Food Systems Partnership (RFSP) program, providing $9.3 million in competitive grant funding for 23 projects. RFSP supports the formation of public-private partnerships working at the foodshed-level to transform local and regional food […]
November 3, 2020
Like it or not, the laws and policies we enact at the state, local, and federal level all play a critical role in shaping our food and farming system. The climbing and outdoor community has an important role to play in being advocates for the land that sustains us.
October 29, 2020
Beginning farmers and ranchers face a number of unique circumstances and challenges to establish themselves in the industry, and their path has become no easier in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the Economic Research Service (ERS) published a report that found beginning farmers have higher debt-to-asset ratios, are less likely to receive […]
October 14, 2020
Local food systems and direct-to-consumer marketing through farmers markets, farm stands, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) programs have flourished across the country over the past several decades. Once viewed as a fad or niche part of the food sector, local food systems and direct marketing agriculture are now an integral part of American agriculture and […]
September 16, 2020
One of the historic elements of the 2018 Farm Bill was the inclusion of dedicated resources and programs for urban agriculture, for the first time. Urban agriculture gives city residents a chance to purchase healthy foods from farmers not just in their state, but sometimes right in their very own neighborhoods. Urban farms can also […]
June 11, 2020
For better and for worse, farmers know how water flows through their land. When rain falls, it must go somewhere – usually into local streams that eventually flow into larger bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, or the Chesapeake Bay. In recent years, there have been reports of increased […]
June 5, 2020
In May, as the country grappled with an emerging global pandemic and unprecedented demand for food assistance, a national collaboration of organizations working on food systems and healthy food access officially launched the Nutrition Incentive Hub. Funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institute for Food and […]
May 28, 2020
Americans’ interest in knowing more about where, how, and by whom their food is produced has been growing for many years and the coronavirus pandemic has shown new light on the serious shortcomings in our highly concentrated food production system. Along with the rise of the local food movement there has also been a building […]