NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule for the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP). The program, crafted by NSAC as part of the 2002 Farm Bill, strives to improve and expand producer-to-consumer activities including farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, roadside stands, and agritourism. Public comments on the proposed rule are due Monday, March 21. […]
Grants and Programs
Eight Organizations Receive Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program Funds
Last week the USDA announced new awards under the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP). A component of the agency’s Rural Development work since passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, RMAP awards loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs). These MDOs then use their RMAP funds to provide training and technical assistance to and to […]
National Beginning Farmer Survey, Have You Participated?
Data on the challenges faced by today’s young and beginning farmers is hard to come by. That’s why the National Young Farmers’ Coalition, in partnership with the Greenhorns and Beginningfarmers.org, is conducting a national survey to understand what’s working for beginning farmers, what’s not, and what policies they’d like to see in the next Farm […]
Comments and Video from Merrigan on VAPG Interim Rule
On Wednesday, February 23, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan held a press conference call regarding today’s release of the interim final rule for the Value-Added Producer Grant program. Calling VAPG “one of my all time favorite programs,” Merrigan spoke about how the grants fund innovation and entrepreneurship among American farmers and ranchers and provide […]
USDA Publishes Interim Rule for Value-Added Producer Grants
In June 2010, the USDA solicited public comments on the proposed rule for implementation of the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. This morning, after months of anticipation, the agency released the interim final rule. Later this morning USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will hold a press call regarding the interim rule for VAPG. With the […]
Organic Certification Cost Share Data Publication
On February 9, USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) published updated financial information on its two organic certification cost-share programs: the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) and National Organic Certification Cost Share Programs (NOCCSP). The publication provides a state-by-state overview of all program activity from fiscal year 2008 through to the present, including data from reports submitted […]
LSP Report Evaluates 2010 BFRDP Awards
On Monday, February 7, the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) issued a report evaluating the 2010 grant allocations through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Project (BFRDP), administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NSAC collaborated on the evaluation and report. The evaluation included a phone survey of […]
Upcoming USDA Program and Grant Deadlines
In case you haven’t kept track of all of the blogs we’ve posted about USDA conservation and competitive grant programs over the past few months, here is a handy summary of the USDA programs with upcoming enrollment or application deadlines: Sign-up Deadlines for USDA Conservation Programs: Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative, administered by USDA’s […]
40th Conservation Reserve Program General Sign-up Announced
On Friday, January 28, USDA announced that a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up will be held from March 14-April 14, 2011. This is the 40th general sign-up for the CRP and the second general sign-up since 2006. Secretary Vilsack made the announcement today at the National Pheasant Fest in Omaha, Nebraska. The last general […]
AFRI Releases RFA for Childhood Obesity Prevention Projects
On Wednesday, January 26, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Childhood Obesity Prevention Challenge Area. AFRI has yet to release FY 2011 RFAs for the remaining four Challenge Areas: climate change, food safety, global food security, and sustainable bioenergy. […]
USDA Publishes Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Final Rule
On Monday, January 24, NRCS published its final rule (FR) for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) in the Federal Register. You can download a pdf version of the final rule here. USDA published its interim final rule (IFR) for public comment on January 16, 2009, and subsequently published an amendment to: Clarify […]
Specialty Crop Webinar Now Available Online
On December 16, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) hosted an interactive webinar on the Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) program, “Grant Opportunity: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Specialty Crops,” which is now archived and available for playback here. The 50-minute webinar, led by SCBG program manager Trista Etzig, discussed the purpose of the program, the types […]
Proposed Rule Issued for Direct Marketing Program
On Wednesday, January 19, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service issued proposed rules for the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP). The FMPP is a competitive grants program that makes federal funds available for projects to establish, expand, and promote farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture, internet sales, agritourism activities, and other direct producer-to-consumer marketing opportunities. The FMPP […]
First 2010 AFRI Awards Announced
USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) dribbled out two announcements last week on 2010 awards under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). AFRI is the largest of several NIFA competitive grants research, education and extension programs. On January 13, a grant award to Oregon State University for childhood obesity prevention in rural […]
CSP Conservation Enhancements and Practices Available for FY 2011 Sign-up
As we reported in a blog post earlier this month, USDA had finalized but not yet released the full list of conservation enhancements and conservation practices available for the FY 2011 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) sign-up. This new information, which includes revisions to environmental benefit scores and the descriptions of the new enhancements, is now […]
USDA Releases First 2011 Request for Applications for AFRI
On Friday, January 7, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released the first of seven 2011 requests for applications (RFA) for the Agriculture, Food and Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program. AFRI is the largest of the NIFA competitive grants programs, which also include smaller specialized programs for sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and […]
CSP 2011 Sign-Up Deadline Extended; New CSP Enhancements Approved and Scored
The application deadline to apply to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for 2011 has just been extended from January 7 until January 21, 2011. The extension will provide a few more weeks for farmers and ranchers to consider whether to submit an application at their local USDA office. While CSP is a continuous […]
USDA Requests Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program Applications
On Friday, December 23, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a request for applications for FY2011 funding for the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). Congress has yet to appropriate FY2011 funding for FSMIP. AMS program staff, however, decided to issue the notice prior to securing the funding to allow applicants time to leverage funding and […]
2011 Sign-up for EQIP Organic Initiative
On Monday, December 20, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced $50 million in available funding for the 2011 sign-up of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative. The EQIP Organic Initiative, administered by USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), provides financial and technical assistance to certified organic producers and producers transitioning to organic to […]
Senate Omnibus Appropriations Bill Released
(Updated Version — 12/15/10 — of Original Post) The Senate Appropriations Committee released the long-awaited omnibus, government-wide appropriations bill the afternoon of December 14. The $1.1 trillion bill is a less than two percent increase over FY 2010, $26 billion less than what the Obama Administration requested in February, $18 billion more than the long-term […]
USDA Issues FY11 Request for Proposals for CCPI and AWEP
On Tuesday, December 14, USDA published its FY 2011 Request for Proposals for the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) and the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), both of which are administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Both CCPI and AWEP are partnership programs, through which NRCS partners with Indian tribes, State and local […]
Free USDA Webinar on Specialty Crop Block Grants
On December 16, 2pm EST, USDA will conduct a free webinar on the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. The webinar will discuss the purpose of the program, the types of projects the program aims to fund, and how to apply for a grant. According to the webinar announcement, “USDA invites everyone who is currently engaged […]
USDA Releases FY11 RFA for Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative
On November 30, 2010, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released the FY 2011 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), USDA’s flagship competitive grants program for organic agriculture research, education, and extension. Applications are due February 10, 2011. This year, OREI anticipates that $19 million will […]
NRCS Issues FY11 RFA for Conservation Innovation Grants
On Tuesday, November 30, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) issued the Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) request for applications for program funding for FY 2011. NRCS anticipates that $25 million will be available in FY 2011. While the request for applications will not be published in the Federal Register, you can download it here from […]