On Tuesday, October 29, 278 national, regional, and state-based organizations delivered a letter urging House and Senate farm bill conferees to reattach basic conservation requirements to federal subsidies for crop insurance, and to include a nationwide Sodsaver provision in the final farm bill conference report. The letter comes as farm bill conference begins with conferees’ opening […]
Farm Bill
Growing Connections Between Local Farms and Schools
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its first-ever census of Farm to School activities of school districts across the country, with promising results. The census revealed a rising rate of school district participation in Farm to School programs, reflecting the growing popularity of local foods in the United States. According to the […]
House and Senate members urge support for beginning farmers in farm bill negotiations
As House and Senate farm bill conferees prepare for their first official public meeting next Wednesday, a group of bipartisan Representatives and Senators delivered two “Dear Colleague” letters to House and Senate leadership earlier today. Thanks to the leadership of Representatives Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Chris Gibson (R-NY), and Chris Collins (R-NY) in the House and […]
NSAC Writes to Conferees on Key Priorities for 2013 Farm Bill
As the House and Senate head to conference on the farm bill, NSAC sent out a letter to conferees highlighting our key priorities for the conference committee. The letter calls on conferees to adopt key reforms to the farm safety net, preserve critical conservation programs, and provide continued support to a host of innovative programs […]
What’s at Stake? Organic Farmers
Last fall, Congress allowed the Farm Bill to expire without a new bill to take its place. Instead, Congressional leaders cobbled together a temporary extension on New Year’s Eve that shut down a number of innovative programs indefinitely. As of today, Congress, has once again allowed the farm bill to expire, and these programs are […]
Budget Conference and What It Means for Food and Agriculture Policy
Late on Wednesday, October 16, Congress passed a bill to fund the government through January 15 and raise the debt limit until February 7. The bill ends a partial government shutdown that lasted 16 days, and averts a default that could have occurred had the U.S. debt limit been reached. However, because the deal is […]
Senators Weigh In on Livestock and Poultry Market Fairness
Eight Senators today sent a letter to Senate Agriculture Leadership signaling their strong objection to language contained in the House version of the Farm Bill that would severely restrict the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ability to ensure fair and competitive livestock and poultry markets under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Co-authored by Senators Jon […]
New Awards Support Innovative Local and Regional Food Initiatives
A recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund of its financial and technical assistance awards includes CDFI recipients who plan to focus their efforts on improving both healthy food access and local and regional food systems. Of a total of $172 million in CDFI Fund awards to 191 organizations, 10 awards totaling […]
House Votes to Go to Conference with Senate on Farm Bill, Supports Crop Insurance Reform
Saturday Update: The House this morning completed its actions to move on to conference with the Senate to fashion the final version of the new, five-year farm bill. There will be 13 Republican and 10 Democratic conferees: Republicans – from the Agriculture Committee, Frank Lucas (OK), Mike Rogers (AL), Randy Neugebauer (TX), Michael Conaway (TX), […]
Groups urge Congress to support beginning farmers in Farm Bill conference
As the House and Senate inch closer to entering official negotiations over what should be in a final farm bill, 138 organizations signed onto a letter that was delivered this week which urges House and Senate agriculture leaders to support beginning farmers in any farm bill conference negotiations. This letter was spearheaded by the Land […]
What’s At Stake? Local Foods and Renewable Energy
Last fall, Congress allowed the farm bill to expire without a new bill to take its place. Instead, Congressional leaders cobbled together an awful and temporary extension of the old farm bill on New Year’s Eve that shut down a number of innovative programs indefinitely. As of October 1, Congress has once again allowed the […]
GAO Report: Reforms Needed to Prevent Farm Program Waste and Abuse
Today, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that highlights the ongoing, serious problems that exist in USDA’s implementation and enforcement of the farm bill’s payment limits for commodity production subsidies. The report reaffirms earlier GAO findings that USDA lacks a measurable standard for determining eligibility criteria, and these loopholes allow […]
How Farmland Conservation is Failing New Farmers
The National Young Farmers Coalition, an NSAC member, released a report this week that reveals how current farmland conservation practices are failing working farmers and new farming opportunity. Farmland Conservation 2.0: How Land Trusts Can Protect America’s Working Farms surveyed 200 land trust leaders from across the United States and found that one-quarter of land […]
What’s at Stake? The Next Generation of Farmers
Last fall, Congress allowed the farm bill to expire without a new bill to take its place. Instead, Congressional leaders cobbled together an awful and temporary extension of the old farm bill on New Year’s Eve that shut down a number of innovative programs indefinitely. As of October 1, Congress has once again allowed the […]
Now, More Than Ever: Groups Urge Full and Fair Farm Bill
At midnight this morning, after months of Congressional inaction, the Farm Bill expired – with no replacement in sight. Back in July, we reported that 240 organizations called on Congress to complete its work on a full and fair farm bill. As of today, 410 organizations from across America have signed that joint statement, uniting […]
The Farm Bill Expires, Again.
Today is October 1st. It isn’t Groundhog Day, but it sure feels like it. As of today, the 2008 Farm Bill expires yet again without a comprehensive five-year bill to replace it. Technically, it is the nine-month farm bill extension, included in last year’s fiscal cliff deal, that has expired. The extension, an enormous disappointment, […]
House Members Advocate for Organic Agriculture in the Farm Bill
A bipartisan group of Representatives delivered a “Dear Colleague” letter to House leadership on Friday September 27th, calling for House farm bill conferees to support key programs for organic agriculture in any upcoming negotiations. Thanks to the leadership of Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Sam Farr (D-CA), and Ron Kind (D-WI) , as well […]
Farm Bill Takes Step Forward while Government Funding Bill Uncertain
FARM BILL COUNTDOWN CLOCK Update: On Saturday, September 28, the House approved the rule to allow for debate over the government funding bill without any delays, a rule which also combined the farm-only and nutrition-only farm bills back into a single comprehensive bill. Four Democrats voted yes and four Republicans voted no in what […]
USDA Report Shows Prairie Loss Across Country
A new report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency (FSA) shows that grasslands, woodlands, and other non-cropland are being rapidly converted to cropland across the country. In just one year (2011-2012), nearly 400,000 acres were “broken out” for crop production. We have known for years that prairie acres are being broken […]
What’s at Stake in the Farm Bill?
Our nation’s food and farm policy is on the wrong track – outdated agriculture policies encourage accelerated farm consolidation, freeze out new farmers, deplete natural resources, and limit healthy food access. Over the last two decade, however, federal farm policy has started building a parallel track of policies to foster a long overdue transformation of […]
Some Critical Farm Bill Programs Come to a Screeching Halt in 10 Days
With the House having passed a farm bill nutrition title this week, there is renewed hope that there may yet be a new five-year farm bill this year. There are multiple steps before getting to a final bill, and a number of impacts because of the delayed process in the House. Top among the impacts […]
House Passes Nutrition Bill with Huge SNAP Cuts
The long and very winding road to a new five-year farm bill took the expected new turn today when the House voted 217 to 210 to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (better known as food stamps) by $39 billion over the next decade. The bill includes a prominent proposal to prohibit states from waiving […]
Congressional Dear Colleague Letters Help Push NSAC Priorities
Earlier this week, two “Dear Colleague” letters in support of soil and wetlands conservation and local and regional food systems were delivered to the leaders of the House of Representatives and House Agriculture Committee, in advance of a possible House-Senate conference on the farm bill. Thanks to the leadership of Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and […]
Bill to Slash Food Stamp Funding on House Floor this Week
After a two month-long wait that began with the unprecedented split of the Farm Bill back in July, the House released text of the nutrition title-only Farm Bill (H.R. 3102) yesterday afternoon. The House Rules Committee will debate and approve the rule governing debate and voting on the bill on Wednesday afternoon, with the vote […]