We are delighted to report that the U.S. Senate today passed an amendment to the 2012 Farm Bill providing $150 million in critical funding for rural economic development and new farmer programs. The amendment, introduced and championed by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), was approved on a 55-44 vote, with Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
Small Business Innovation Research Program Accepting Application for Projects
On June 14, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program released this year’s request for applications. SBIR is a division of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This program supports scientific and technological innovation “in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy, one small business at a time.” SBIR’s objectives focus […]
Groups Tell Senate to Protect Rural Development and Beginning and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
Today, June 6, NSAC along with nearly 200 organizations sent a letter to the Senate urging them to support measures to support rural development and beginning and minority farmers in the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012. The farm bill that came out of the Senate Agriculture Committee provides no funding for the Rural […]
Senate Farm Bill Reported and Budget Scores Released; NSAC Analysis
On April 26, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the the 2012 Farm Bill, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, by a vote of 16-5. Exactly four weeks later, on May 24, the Committee actually reported the text of the bill. It is normal for there to be a lag […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Hearing on Commodity and Crop Insurance Subsidies
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a series of farm bill hearings this week to examine commodity and crop insurance programs in advance of writing their version of what will hopefully become the 2012 Farm Bill. The full House Agriculture Committee expects to mark up and vote on a […]
Guest Blog: “Local Foods, Local Profits” Hill Briefings
We want to thank Justin Tatham from NSAC member, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), for his contribution. Justin is the Senior Washington Representative for the Food & Environment program at UCS, specializing in agriculture, food, and farm bill policy. NSAC Policy Associate Helen Dombalis and Farmer Jack Hedin Earlier this week, the Union of […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Holds Specialty Crop and Nutrition Hearing
Tuesday, May 8th, the House Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture held its fourth of eight hearings in preparation for a 2012 Farm Bill. The hearing consisted of two panels, the first of which discussed specialty crop programs and the second, nutrition assistance. Rep. Pingree and Russell Libby Chairwoman Jean Schmidt (R-OH) opened the […]
USDA Announces Funding for SNAP EBT Equipment at Farmers Markets
On Wednesday, May 9, USDA announced $4 million in funding to expand EBT capacity at farmers markets across the U.S. as part of the Agency’s larger mission to improve healthy food access in low-income communities. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, provides benefits to recipients through an Electronic Benefit Transfer […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Research, Education, Extension
Note to Readers — This is the ninth in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. The bill that the Senate Agriculture Committee voted out of committee last week now makes its way to the Senate floor and hopefully will be taken up […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Local Food and Rural Development
Note to Readers — This is the eighth in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act — the proposed name for the 2012 Farm Bill — out of Committee on Thursday, […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Organic Agriculture
Note to Readers — This is the seventh in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. Overall, the bill that was reported out of Committee last Thursday supports key pieces of the suite of unique programs that serve the organic sector. Most of […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Conservation Title
Note to Readers — This is the fourth in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. With respect to conservation issues, previous posts have covered the Conservation Stewardship Program and sodsaver/highly erodible land and wetland conservation. This post covers other conservation title programs. […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Markup – Conservation Stewardship Program
Note to Readers — This is the second in a series of posts on the 2012 Farm Bill reported out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 26. Step Forward, Two Steps Backward for Conservation Stewardship Program First the good news: the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) remains part of the revised conservation title for the 2012 […]
Senate Committee Approves 2013 Agriculture Spending Bill
On Thursday, April 26, while the Senate Agriculture Committee was busy passing their version of the 2012 Farm Bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee was also meeting to approve the Fiscal Year 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill. The spending bill covers the majority of the functions of USDA as well as the Food and Drug Administration. We […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: House Holds Hearing on Rural Development Programs
On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Agriculture Committee held a Rural Development hearing, the first of eight in preparation for the 2012 Farm Bill. Panel witnesses emphasized the importance of continued investment in rural communities and fielded questions concerning consolidation of numerous programs targeting rural development. Both panels touched on the need for investments in water, […]
For Immediate Release: NSAC Comments on Senate Farm Bill Markup and Passage
For Immediate Release April 26, 2012 Contact: Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 NSAC Comments on Senate Farm Bill Markup and Passage Washington, DC – The Senate Agriculture Committee voted a new farm bill out of committee today by a vote of 16-5. The committee bill saves $23 billion over the next ten years according to budget estimates. […]
House Sets Government Funding Allocations
On April 19, we reported that the Senate Appropriations Committee had approved discretionary spending allocations for the coming 2013 fiscal year. The size of the total spending pie, as laid out by the Committee, was completely consistent with the levels set by law in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Today, the House Appropriations Committee […]
Guest Blog: Insuring and Financing Healthy Farms
Editor’s Note: We want to thank Jeffrey O’Hara from NSAC member the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) for his contribution. Dr. O’Hara is an agricultural economist in the Food & Environment Program at UCS; his expertise includes local food systems and community development. Farm policy has historically disregarded whether domestic crop production is aligned with […]
USDA Releases Food Hub Resource Guide
Last Friday, April 20th, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced the launch of USDA’s online food hub resource guide. Food hubs, which can concentrate multiple producers’ processing, distribution, and marketing efforts at a single site, attract local consumers and allow smaller-sized farms to compete in larger markets. The new guide acts a resource for small and […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Draft Farm Bill – Local Food and Rural Development Drilldown
Agricultural policy that bolsters community economic development serves as a cornerstone of NSAC’s advocacy. Within this framework, we support strong Rural Development programs that target small business development and job creation. Similarly, NSAC recognizes the economic opportunities inherent in food produced for local markets and thus urge Congress to address infrastructure and information barriers to […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Draft Farm Bill – Research Drilldown
In sum, the research title of the recently released draft Senate farm bill was not a strong one for sustainable agriculture. NSAC and its member organizations had several proposals for how to strengthen the focus on research that benefits and is relevant for organic and sustainable production systems, contained in our platform, Farming for the […]
Request for Applications for Farm to School Grants
On April 17, USDA announced new funding that aims to provide fresh, healthy food for children in schools across America, and to bolster and sustain local farmers and ranchers. The agency said today that $3.5 million in funding will be available to help local school districts organize and implement Farm to School programs. These critical […]
Path to the 2012 Farm Bill: Senate Writes a Farm Bill
The Senate Agriculture Committee is on track to meet its timeline for marking up a farm bill later this month. Agriculture staffers in the Senate have been meeting throughout the two-week Congressional Easter recess to discuss issues and proposals. The Senate Agriculture Committee leadership is writing a draft of the farm bill – known as […]
Risk Management Education and Outreach Partnerships Program Request for Applications
The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), has announced available funds totaling approximately $3 million for the Risk Management Education and Outreach Partnerships Program. The Risk Management Education and Outreach Partnerships Program is a competitive cooperative partnership agreement program that provides crop insurance education and risk management training. It aims […]