House Appropriations Committee fails to remove the anti-farmer provision that limits USDA’s ability to ensure fair and transparent markets for contract livestock producers… Read More →
Farm Bill
USDA Announces Funding for New Conservation Partnership Program
Partnership opportunities available for organizations and farmers through the new Regional Conservation Partnership Program… Read More →
House Subcommittee Passes 2015 Agriculture Funding Bill
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed a bill to fund USDA and FDA programs in 2015… Read More →
Local and Regional Food Marketing Funding Available
Apply now! $30 million in grants are available for local and regional food marketing projects… Read More →
Secretary Vilsack Provides Update on Farm Bill Implementation to Senate Committee
On May 7, 2014 the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing to discuss the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) progress in implementing the 2014 Farm Bill. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was the sole witness. He again stressed that the agency is working as swiftly as possible to roll out key farm bill programs. […]
Funding Available for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects
On Monday, May 5, 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of grants and guaranteed loans for eligible farms and other rural businesses under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for fiscal year 2014. Applicants can also apply for a combination grant and guaranteed loan. Under this Notice of Funding […]
Regional Strategies for Rural Development
On May 1, 2014, the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation held a hearing entitled The Importance of Regional Strategies in Rural Economic Development. Chaired by Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), the hearing addressed Farm Bill changes encouraging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development to prioritize regional approaches to rural […]
Conservation Easement Funding Deadline Announced
Act Now: Deadline for Conservation Easement Funding Approaching Quickly… Read More →
Guest Post: Disaster Assistance Program Sign-up Begins
Editor’s Note: We want to thank James Robinson of the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI) for this guest post on disaster assistance programs that were restored in the 2014 Farm Bill. RAFI works to cultivate markets, policies, and communities that sustain thriving, socially just, and environmentally sound family farms. As RAFI’s Research and Policy Associate, […]
New Local Food Procurement Guide for School Nutrition Programs
Last week, the Farm to School Program of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published Procuring Local Food for Child Nutrition Programs, a guide to help K-12 schools operating one or more Child Nutrition Programs with identifying and procuring locally grown and produced food for use at school cafeterias. Using examples from school districts, State agencies, […]
Secretary Vilsack Reports to House Agriculture Committee on Farm Bill Implementation
At a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed questions concerning the department’s implementation of key farm bill provisions and role in supporting rural economies. That same day, USDA released a Farm Bill Implementation Progress Report outlining the actions that the agency has taken since enactment of the law, and […]
Senate Bill Would Limit Crop Insurance Premium Subsidies
Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced a bill (S. 2201) that would place a hard limit on crop insurance premium subsidies. The bipartisan bill would limit payments to $70,000 per farm per year and is estimated to save over $1 billion over the next ten years. Crop insurance premium subsidies are […]
New Targeted Conservation Partnership Projects Coming Soon
The recently enacted 2014 Farm Bill includes a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). RCPP allows farmers to sign-up for conservation technical and financial assistance through targeted regional or thematic projects that are organized by farm and conservation organizations, state agencies, conservation districts, or others with an interest in partnering with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation […]
Farm Bill Implementation on Beginning Farmer and Rancher Programs Already Underway
Beginning in 2011, NSAC launched a campaign around Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher programs in the Farm Bill, and ultimately helped win on quite a number of issues in the final legislation. The NSAC-championed marker bill, the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act, was championed by members in both chambers, led by Senator […]
2014 Farm Bill Drill Down: Recap and Wrap Up
What does the 2014 Farm Bill mean for sustainable ag? … Read More →
2014 Farm Bill Drilldown: Subsidy Reform and Fair Competition
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. This post discusses the highlights and the missed opportunities for commodity and crop insurance reform and agricultural market competition. Previous “drill down” posts on a wide […]
2014 Farm Bill Drilldown: Sustainable and Organic Research
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. Previous posts in this farm bill series dove into the overall farm bill by the numbers, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer issues, working lands conservation programs, […]
2014 Farm Bill Drilldown: Local and Regional Food Systems, Healthy Food Access, and Rural Development
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. Previous posts in this farm bill series dove into the overall farm bill by the numbers, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer issues, working lands conservation programs, […]
2014 Farm Bill Drill Down: Conservation – Easements, CRP, and Energy
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. Our coverage of the conservation title is divided into three parts: working lands conservation programs; the linkage between conservation and crop insurance; and this one on […]
2014 Farm Bill Drill Down: Conservation – Crop Insurance Linkages
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. Our coverage of the conservation title is divided into three parts: working lands conservation programs; this one on the linkage between conservation and crop insurance; and […]
2014 Farm Bill Drill Down: Conservation – Working Lands Programs
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. Our coverage of the conservation title is divided into three parts: this one on working lands conservation programs; the linkage between conservation and crop insurance; and […]
President Signs New 5-Year Farm Bill
Today on the campus of Michigan State University, President Obama signed the new five-year farm bill into law. He was joined at the signing ceremony by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman (and MSU alumnus) Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. In a speech before signing the bill, the President mentioned that the farm […]
2014 Farm Bill Drill Down: Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a seven-part blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. This, the second post in the series, discusses the highlights and missed opportunities for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. The previous post dove into the […]
2014 Farm Bill Drill Down: The Bill by the Numbers
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a seven-part series here on our blog that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. This first post summarizes the big picture funding decisions reflected in the final bill. Coming posts will look at specific issues within […]