Each year, Congress passes far-reaching funding legislation, known as appropriations legislation, to fund federal programs across the government. This includes many of the programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Wednesday, May 9, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee passed its agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
COMMENT: Progress Toward Building More Sustainable Food System Threatened by Cut
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Progress Toward Building a More Sustainable Food System Threatened by Cuts Attacks on key programs would undermine Congress’ recent progress Washington, DC, May 9, 2018 – The budget and appropriations news released this week, which includes the House’s passage of their FY 2019 […]
RELEASE: USDA Study Shows Value-Added Agriculture Creates Jobs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik or Wes King National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net, wking@sustainableagriculture.net Job Creation through Value-Added Agriculture: An American Success Story New Economic Research Service Report on Value-Added Producer Grants Washington, DC, May 8, 2018 – Yesterday, the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the USDA released a new report assessing the impact of the Value-Added Producer […]
Top Ten Reasons to Reject the House Farm Bill
1. Helps the big get bigger and rich get richer Over the last three decades, American agriculture has become increasingly consolidated. As of 2015, a majority of our food (51 percent) came from farms with over $1 million in annual sales – up 20 percent since 1991. Federal policy has historically contributed to this consolidation […]
Draft House Farm Bill: Local & Regional Food and Rural Development
This is the third post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the draft farm bill released on April 12, 2018 by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX). Other posts in this series focus on: beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, crop insurance and commodity subsidies, research and seed breeding, conservation, and organic agriculture. The bill is expected to be considered […]
RELEASE: Draft Farm Bill Delivers Knock-Out Punch to “Tiny but Mighty” Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Draft Farm Bill Delivers Knock-Out Punch to “Tiny but Mighty” Programs Local/regional food system and rural development programs are among the hardest hit Washington, DC, April 13, 2018 – At a price tag of well over $800 billion dollars, the farm bill wouldn’t be considered by […]
COMMENT: American Agriculture Needs a Strong Farm Bill, Draft House Bill Doesn’t Deliver
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net American Agriculture Needs a Strong Farm Bill, Draft House Bill Doesn’t Deliver National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition urges Congress to develop a bipartisan bill Washington, DC, April 12, 2018 – Today, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) introduced his draft of the 2018 […]
Path To The 2018 Farm Bill: Legislative Campaign Update
The coming of spring has more than just the bees buzzing; activity on Capitol Hill is also shifting into high gear as the deadline for the 2018 Farm Bill approaches. This week represents perhaps one of the few quiet periods left in the capital as Congress takes a two-week recess back in their districts – […]
Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Omnibus
Early this morning, Congress passed a government spending package (the “omnibus appropriations bill”) to fund federal programs through the end of September, which is when the current fiscal year expires. The House passed the package 256-167 on Thursday, the Senate passed the bill 65-32 Friday morning, and the President signed the bill into law that […]
COMMENT: Appropriations Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Appropriations Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in FY 2018 Bill National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition urges Congress to pass omnibus swiftly Washington, DC, March 21, 2018 – “Congress, in particular the members of the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees, have produced an agriculture appropriations […]
Farmers Fly-in to Advocate on Farm Bill and Appropriations
Capitol Hill was buzzing last week with hundreds of people in town for meetings with their Congress members in advance of the next farm bill and upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations decisions. Among the crowds and long lines were 20 farmers and farm advocates in town for NSAC’s March “farmer fly-in” – grassroots events […]
$89 Million in Funding Available to Support Local Food Systems
Editor’s Note: USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is hosting two webinars to help prospective applicants better understand the application process and requirements. The first webinar is on Tuesday March 27 at 2 p.m. ET and will cover how to use Grants.gov. The second webinar will be held the following day, March 28 at 2 p.m. ET and will focus specifically […]
RELEASE: Family Farmers Deliver Farm Bill Priorities to Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Family Farmers Deliver Farm Bill Priorities to Congress National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition brings 20 farmer advocates to Capitol Hill Washington, D.C., March 9, 2018 – With the next farm bill and annual agriculture funding decisions actively being debated, now is the time to amplify the voices of […]
National CSA Day: From Farm Fresh to the Farm Bill
National CSA Day is a great day to get a jumpstart on healthy eating for the year, and it’s also a great day to reflect on how public policy shapes our food system and to learn more about what we can do to make a positive impact. CSA stands for “Community Supported Agriculture” program, and […]
President’s Budget Proposal Threatens Food, Farm, and Nutrition Programs
The deeply problematic proposals of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget, released on Monday of this week, include devastating cuts to critical farm and food programs. The budget, if enacted, would reduce the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) budget by a whopping 25 percent, from $24 billion to $18 billion. In addition to cutting […]
Racial Equity in the Farm Bill: Recommendations and Opportunities
Editor’s Note: This blog post is the third and final post in a three-part blog series by NSAC Policy Intern Noah McDonald, which examines how the Farm Bill can take steps to advance racial equity within the food system. The first post discussed the historical context and foundations for racial inequities with the food system. […]
Welcome Back Congress: New Year, Long To-Do List
Less than two weeks into the new year, and Congress already has an incredibly full plate. Both the House and Senate return to work this week (the Senate has officially been back since last week), and will need to immediately dig in their massive to-do lists, not least of which include finalizing fiscal year (FY) […]
RFA Roundup: Funding Opportunities in the New Year
The New Year may have just started, but there are already many federal funding opportunities available for eligible farmers, ranchers, non-profits, and universities. Several of these opportunities opened last year and have rapidly approaching deadlines. Others have been more recently posted, and you may have missed the Request for Application (RFA) announcement during the end-of-year […]
Deadline Approaching for Value-Added Producer Grant Applications!
Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published in August of 2017 and has been republished to highlight the approaching application deadline: January 24, 2018 for electronic applications and January 31, 2018 for paper applications. To learn more about the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG), please see the blog post below. You can also consult our […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Local and Regional Food Economies
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill, which provides a comprehensive vision for a more sustainable farm and food system based on the recommendations and experience of American family farmers and the organizations that represent them. This […]
Farmers Answer the “Call to Farms”
Last week, farmers from across the nation descended upon Washington, DC for NSAC’s first 2018 Farm Bill “fly-in”. NSAC’s farmer fly-ins provide farmers and farm/food advocates with the opportunity to speak with directly with decision makers in Congress about the issues that most affect their lives, businesses, and communities. On November 8th, NSAC held our […]
RELEASE: Farmers Take the Fight for the Farm Bill to the Capitol
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754 rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Farmers Take The Fight for the Farm Bill to the Capitol National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition leads farmer/advocate fly-in in advance of 2018 Farm Bill Washington, D.C., November 8, 2017 – This week, 20 farmers and farm advocates representing 13 agricultural states flew into Washington D.C. as part […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: A Comprehensive Approach to Food and Farm Policy
Editor’s Note: On October 24, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill. NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for over 30 years, and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving […]
NSAC Members Go for Big Impact in Specialty Crop Block Grant Projects
As peak harvest season starts to wind down for farmers and food producing communities across the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been busy pumping out grant award announcements and application opportunities. Adding to an October already full of great news about local and regional food-focused projects, USDA has recently announced over $60 million […]