On Friday, March 27, 29 Senators delivered a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee urging them to oppose cuts to conservation programs in fiscal year (FY) 2016 appropriations legislation. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) led the letter. Among the many other signers was Senate Agriculture Committee […]
Farm Bill
Budget Resolutions Set Stage for Appropriations; Farm Bill Re-Opening Still a Possibility
This week the House and Senate both passed their respective budget resolutions for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The House passed its budget on Wednesday, March 25 while the Senate passed its budget in the wee hours of Friday morning. Budget resolutions provide the blueprint for the appropriations process that will take place in the coming […]
USDA Proposes to Continue Farm Subsidy Abuse
The USDA proposed its “actively engaged in farming” rule defining eligibility for commodity subsidies…. Read More →
House and Senate Budget Committees Advance 2016 Budgets
March 20 – This week the House and Senate Budget Committees each passed their Fiscal Year 2016 budget resolutions on party line votes. Each Committee’s resolution will now go to the floor of the House and Senate for consideration. This will likely take place next week with final passage targeted for the end of the […]
Local Food and Farm to School Funding Available
USDA announced $96.8 million for four programs supporting specialty crop producers, local food entrepreneurs, and farm to school efforts…. Read More →
The Farm Bill Reloaded
The House Budget Committee is expected to markup the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution on Wednesday March 18. The Senate Budget Committee is expected to follow suit the next day…. Read More →
Budget Time on Capitol Hill – Farm Bill to be Re-Opened?
Two recent events on Capitol Hill are colliding in a potentially significant way. First, on March 9, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – the scorekeeper for federal legislators on budgetary matters – issued its budget “baseline” that will be used in decision-making on legislative proposals for the balance of this year, including the annual congressional budget resolution process that is about to begin…. Read More →
Letters Supports CRP Conservation Buffers and Grasslands
Farmers can protect the environment by placing small portions of their farms in permanent vegetation designed to control or intercept soil, nutrients, and pesticides and to slow wind and snow. Often referred to generically as conservation buffers, these targeted environmental practices can be in-field (e.g., contour grass strips), at the edge of fields (e.g., field […]
Sign Up For CSP By Friday, March 13!
The deadline to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for 2015 ends on Friday, March 13! Applications can be submitted to your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office at any time throughout the year, but if you miss the March 13 cutoff, then your application won’t be considered until 2016. What is CSP? […]
Congress Holds Hearings on Farm Bill and USDA Funding
Last week, the House Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations held three hearings to examine the Obama Administration’s budget requests for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees also held hearings. The House Committee held two hearings on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while the Senate Committee held a hearing to examine the […]
Community Food Project Funding Now Available
Approximately $9 million will be available for this funding cycle. Applications are due 5:00pm EST on March 17, 2015…. Read More →
House and Senate Bills Would Eliminate Harvest Price Option Subsidy
On Thursday February 12, Senators Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) teamed with Representative John Duncan (R-TN) to introduce legislation in both the Senate (S.463) and House (H.R.892) to eliminate the subsidy for the Harvest Price Option (HPO) within the federal crop insurance program. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this legislation, if […]
A Closer Look at the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program in 2014
In early September of 2014, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that it had awarded $328 million for 380 wetland, grassland, and farmland conservation easements covering 129,000 acres in the first year of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). At that time, NRCS did not have additional information on the types of easements that […]
Farm and Conservation Organizations Speak Out on Conservation Program Rules
Sixty farm and conservation organizations including many NSAC member and partner organizations joined in a letter to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recommending several changes to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to increase EQIP’s ability to improve sustainability, optimize the program’s cost-effectiveness, better serve organic farmers, and support a shift toward more […]
Got local food? A new report highlights trends
On Thursday, January 29, the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the Trends in U.S. Local and Regional Food Systems: A Report to Congress. Written at the request of Congress as part of the FY 2014 agricultural appropriations bill, the report provides an overview and analysis of the growth, […]
Local Food Grant Application Assistance Workshops
Interested in applying for federal funding to develop, improve, or expand a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA), other direct-to-consumer marketing outlet, or a local and regional food enterprise like a food hub, distributor, aggregator, processor, wholesaler, or shared-use kitchen? Not sure how to get your application started or feeling stuck in the application process? […]
Got CSP Questions? We’ve Got Answers!
The deadline for farmers and ranchers to sign-up for CSP has been extended by USDA until March 13…. Read More →
Sign up now for the Conservation Stewardship Program for 2015
Interested in enrolling in the Conservation Stewardship Program? Submit your application by February 27…. Read More →
USDA Announces $370 Million in Conservation Partnership Awards
Secretary Tom Vilsack announces awards for the recently created Regional Conservation Partnership Program…. Read More →
Farm Bill Changes to Farm Loan Programs Go Final
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has posted a final rule codifying a variety of changes to the farm loan programs as directed by the 2014 Farm Bill. Several of the rule changes were championed by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Tim Walz (D-MN), the lead congressional sponsors […]
Farm and Rural Small Business Energy Grant Deadlines Announced
The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a farm bill energy title program, is open for applicants at any time, but application cut-off dates are announced annually. For 2015, the dates range from February through June, as detailed below and in the Federal Register of December 28, 2014. REAP provides two types of funding assistance […]
USDA Releases Final Environmental Impact Analysis of 2014 Farm Bill Changes to CRP
On Tuesday, December 23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) published a Final Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS) examining the changes made to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through the 2014 Farm Bill. FSA will accept public comments on the final SPEIS through February 15, 2015. NSAC submitted comments on the Draft […]
USDA Extends Comment Period for Conservation Stewardship Program Rules
On Tuesday, December 23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended the comment period on the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Interim Final Rule until January 20. The original 60-day comment period was scheduled to close on January 5, 2015; however, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) concluded that more time is needed “to ensure that the […]
Top 14 of 2014: A Look at This Year’s Key Victories for Sustainable Food and Farming
As 2014 comes to a close, we thought we would take a moment to recognize and celebrate this year’s victories for sustainable food and farming. Among the successes? From new or restored farm bill programs that are up and running, important progress on our campaign priorities, hill visits and hearings, and the release of our […]