FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Releases 2018 Farm Bill Platform Washington, DC, October 24, 2017 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released its comprehensive 2018 Farm Bill policy platform, An Agenda for the 2018 Farm Bill. NSAC has been a leader in […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
$5 Million Available for Farm to School Grant Projects
America’s family farmers are planting, harvesting, and selling fresh, healthy produce year-round. They’ve got the farming thing down; but barriers exist that often prevent them from reaching new and expanding markets for their products, including customers that might be in the same town or state. One way the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hopes to […]
Harvesting Local Food Opportunities
For family farmers, fall is one of the busiest times of the year. While farmers are keeping busy harvesting their fields, food and farm advocates have been occupied with their own bumper crop of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program announcements. In fact, in the past two weeks, USDA awarded approximately $40 million in grants […]
Value-Added Producer Grant Program Webinar Will Help Producers Apply for USDA Funds
Editor’s Note: Click here to watch a recording of the webinar, and here to download the powerpoint presentation. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Value-Added Producer Grant Program Webinar Will Help Producers Apply for USDA Funds National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and USDA Will Co-Host the Online Training Washington, DC, October 9, […]
Clock Ticking On FY 2018 Appropriations
The end of the fiscal year (September 30) has come and gone, and with fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding levels extended through December 8, the time Congress has to negotiate final spending levels for FY 2018 is quickly running out. There is a lot on the line in this appropriations package for farmers and consumers […]
RELEASE: Local FARMS Act Will Make Farm to Fork Investments in American Communities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Local FARMS Act Will Make Farm to Fork Investments in American Communities National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Praises Bipartisan Effort Washington, DC, October 4, 2017 – Today, a bipartisan coalition led by principal bill authors Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Chellie Pingree […]
$21 Million Announced for Projects that Connect Families to Healthy Food
Editor’s Note: USDA’s NIFA will host a free informational webinar for interested applicants on Oct. 19, 2016 at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. An archived version will be available on NIFA’s FINI webpage following the webinar. A $21 million infusion of funds through the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives (FINI) Program will help families in need […]
$8.6 Million Available for Community Food Projects
Roughly one out of every eight Americans was food insecure (meaning that at times these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members) in 2016, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). Of those households, slightly less than […]
RELEASE: “Farmers’ Guide” Will Help Producers Navigate VAPG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net “Farmers’ Guide” Will Help Producers Navigate Value-Added Producer Grant Program National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Releases Newly Updated Resource Washington, DC, September 11, 2017 – Following months of consternation by farmers and advocacy groups alike, on Monday, August 28, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally announced […]
Bipartisan Coalition Revives Farm to School Act
Farm to school programs are making a big impact on the farmers, students and the communities they serve. According to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2015 Farm to School Census, purchases made by schools during the 2013-2014 school year added up to nearly $800 million spent on local food – and that means that […]
RELEASE: Bipartisan Congressional Group Introduce Farm to School Act of 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Maximillian Merrill National Farm to School Network 919-606-0526, maximillian@farmtoschool.org Bipartisan Congressional Group Introduce Farm to School Act of 2017 Food and farm groups tout the legislation’s positive impact on American children and producers Washington, DC, September 7, 2017 – Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) […]
$18 million Available for Value-Added Agriculture
Editor’s note: Following the publication of this blog post, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) will publish its updated Farmers’ Guide to Applying for the Value-Added Producer Grant Program. The Guide is a free resource that walks farmers through the program’s application requirements, including a step-by-step description of the application and ranking processes. Producing fresh, […]
$16.8 Million Awarded to Increase Access to Healthy Food
Millions of Americans struggle each day to access fresh, nutritious food. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) bridges that gap for many lower-income families across the country, connecting them with healthy foods in their supermarkets and at local farmers’ markets. Making healthy purchases at farmers markets has become a particularly desirable option over the last […]
Say Cheese! NSAC Hosts 2017 Summer Meeting in Madison, WI
This summer, farm and food advocates have more on their minds than just vacation planning and sweet corn picking. Even though the current farm bill doesn’t expire until next September, the content of the 2018 Farm Bill is already being debated in the halls of Congress, on the farm, and in homes across the country. […]
Federal Reserve Puts Its Money on Regional Food Systems
The Federal Reserve, better known for setting the nation’s monetary policy than promoting locally-grown produce, released a book this week celebrating the growing local and regional farm and food sectors as key drivers of economic and community development. Harvesting Opportunity: The Power of Regional Food System Investments to Transform Communities, produced by the Federal Reserve […]
Senate Appropriators Prioritize Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
Following closely on the heels of the House Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee’s funding bill, which was approved by the full House Appropriations Committee last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced its agriculture appropriations funding measure for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The Senate bill moved quickly through the Subcommittee and full Committee approval process, with just […]
The Numbers Behind the Farm Bill: A Little-Known Factor for the Fate of Sustainable Ag Programs
Editor’s Note: This is the third of a four-part series explaining the background budget information that will be used to craft the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. In this post we look in more detail at the smaller, more innovative programs that receive direct farm bill funding but will need to have their funding renewed in […]
Organics, Specialty Crops, and Local Food on Display in Senate Hearing
A large organic specialty crop producer, a conventional potato farmer, an organic grain company business executive, a food hub operator, and an animal agriculture advocate enter a room… No, this is not the set-up to a cheesy joke, but the incredible diversity of American agriculture that was on display this week as the Senate […]
RFA Roundup: Deadline Reminders and New Funding Opportunities
Many program application deadlines are quickly approaching, so if you are a farmer, rancher, non-profit organization, university or other eligible entity and are interested in securing some federal support, make sure you get your application in on time! As part of our ongoing efforts to help farmers and advocates stay up to date with federal […]
House Appropriations Bill Largely Rejects President’s Proposed Cuts to Agriculture Programs
“Dead on arrival” is what many in Congress called the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request – which included a discretionary funding cut of 21 percent ($47 billion over 10 years) to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) – when it was released earlier this year. This week’s FY 2018 funding bill from the House […]
$7 Million Available to Increase Competitiveness of Specialty Crops
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Specialty Crop Multistate Program (SCMP), a component of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Approximately $7 million will be available to fund projects from state departments of agriculture on a competitive basis, which will in […]
Farmers: Make Sure You Are Counted, Participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture!
Are you a young farmer, beginning farmer, or a farmer who has never participated in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture before? USDA is gearing up NOW for their 2017 Census of Agriculture, which will be sent out at the end of this year. If you have never filled out a census, […]
Farm to School Grant Awards Will Fund 65 Projects Nationwide
Farm to school projects started in a small number of communities as a way to support healthy eating, connect children to farming, and expand market opportunities for farmers. Today, as interest in “farm to fork” eating has grown, so too has interest in farm to school programs, which can now be found in urban, suburban, […]
Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts Would Spell Disaster for Rural America
The outcry from farmers, farm and food groups, and Members of Congress came swiftly this week following the release of President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget proposal. The nation got its initial preview of the Administration’s priorities this March in an outline budget document termed “the skinny budget”. This week the full proposal, which […]