On Wednesday March 9, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the released of the Investments report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The report, entitled The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Working for Rural Communities, shows that the investments are renewing the Nation’s rural areas and providing benefits to the rural […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
GIPSA Briefings in House and Senate
On February 28, 2011, briefings on the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule were held in both the Senate and House. Chandler Goule of the National Farmers Union moderated a panel of producers in favor of the rule: Mike Weaver, a contract poultry producer in West Virginia for Pilgrim’s Pride; Dan Hodges, […]
ERS Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America
USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) recently released the Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America data set. The tool, an interactive mapping application, provides spatial information (national to county-level) of socioeconomic factors on four broad categories of : People— county demographic profiles including age, race/ethnicity, education, migration and immigration, household size and family composition (from the from […]
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 […]
Organic Seed Alliance Releases “State of Organic Seed” Report
On February 16, 2011, the Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) released a survey-based report entitled State of Organic Seed: Advancing the Viability and Integrity of Organic Seed Systems. The report serves as the first comprehensive analysis of the organic seed sector. Although the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) requires the use of organic seed when commercially […]
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 […]
Obama USDA Budget Proposal a Mixed Bag
On Monday, February 14, President Obama submitted his budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. For sustainable agriculture interests, the budget proposal is a mixed bag, with big cuts to farm bill conservation programs, though mostly good news on discretionary spending accounts. Mandatory Farm Bill Spending President Obama’s proposed budget calls for deep, […]
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 […]
UCS Releases Report on Climate Impact of Pasture Beef
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has released “Raising the Steaks: Global Warming and Pasture-Raised Beef Production in the U.S.,” a report on reducing the climate impact of the U.S. beef industry. The UCS report focuses on pastured beef and makes recommendations for reducing the overall climate impact of pastured animals, first by reducing emissions […]
New ‘FoodCorps’ Program Recruiting “Next Generation of Food Leaders”
FoodCorps, a new national service program focused on addressing childhood obesity through building healthy school food infrastructure, will begin accepting applications for 2011-2012 service members early next week. FoodCorps is looking to recruit young adults for a yearlong term of public service beginning in mid-August 2011. The new program, an offshoot of Americorps, will work […]
New Tool for Farmers Market Managers
The Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) and the Wallace Center at Winrock International, with support from USDA Risk Management Agency, released the “Market Manager & Organizer FAQ” in January 2011. The FAQ list works as an online guide to aid current and prospective farmers market managers and organizers looking to develop, expand, and improve their organizations. This […]
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 […]
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 […]
Wal-Mart Announces Healthy Food Campaign
On Thursday, January 20, Wal-Mart executives joined First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, D.C. to announce the launch of a new five-year initiative to provide Wal-Mart customers with healthier, more affordable food options. The industry giant plans to reduce the prices of its fruits and vegetables and lower the amount of fats, sugars and salts […]
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 […]
House Agriculture Committee Re-Organizes
As often happens following elections that shift the party in the majority, the new Republican leadership of the House Agriculture Committee reorganized the panel’s subcommittees. As we previously have reported, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) is the new Chair of the Full Committee, and former Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has been named Vice Chair. There are […]
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 Provides Update on Seasonal High Tunnel Pilot
On January 7, 2011, USDA released the latest results of its Seasonal High Tunnel Pilot Program, launched by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in December of 2009. As of early January 2011, USDA had distributed more than $13 million for the construction of 2,422 high tunnels in 43 states. The USDA press release includes […]
USDA Releases New School Lunch Nutrition Standards
On Thursday, January 13, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published revised nutrition requirements for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs in the Federal Register. The proposed changes, which are based on the recommendations in this 2009 report from the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine, would increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]