On Friday, September 17th, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan announced the awards made under this year’s Specialty Crop Block Grant program. The grants to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops are made in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
Four RBOG Grants Support Local and Regional Food
On Thursday, September 23, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the recipients of USDA’s 2010 Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG), which support regional planning activities to improve economic conditions in rural areas. Out of 27 total funded projects, the program awarded grants to four projects pertaining to local and regional food system development: California Association of […]
Photos: Michelle Obama and UN Spouses Visit Stone Barns Center
First Lady Michelle Obama treated the spouses of world leaders participating in the UN General Assembly to a local, organic luncheon at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, an NSAC member group (see last week’s post). The 31 “first spouses,” representing a diversity of countries including Cameroon, Estonia, Gabon, Norway, Panama and Sierra […]
Rural Community Development Grants Available
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday the availability of $6.2 million in grant funding through the USDA’s Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) for fiscal year 2011. The RCDI program funds non-profits and other qualifying organizations that provide financial and technical assistance to recipients in rural communities to develop their capacity and ability to undertake economic […]
Over 50 Organizations Express Discontent over RMAP Interim Final Rule
On Thursday, September 23, NSAC and 56 other organizations delivered a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressing concern over USDA’s Interim Final Rule for the Rural Microenterprise Assistance Program (RMAP). The letter was organized by the Center for Rural Affairs. Interim rules for RMAP were published to the Federal Register on May 28, 2010. […]
Michelle Obama to Host “First Spouses” at Stone Barns Center
First Lady Michelle Obama will host a Farm-to-Table luncheon this Friday, September 24, for the spouses of world leaders participating in this week’s UN General Assembly at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, an NSAC member group. The Center is a non-profit working farm and education center in Pocantico Hills, NY, dedicated to […]
Last Opportunity for a Better School Lunch
Friday Update — The House will not be taking any votes again until next Wednesday, September 29. A vote on the child nutrition bill will likely occur on Wednesday or Thursday, so there is still time to act! ACTION ALERT September 22, 2010 Urge Your Representative to Move Forward Now on Farm to School Funding […]
Sustainable Ag Symposium a Success
On Thursday, September 16, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Organic Farming Research Foundation, Farm Foundation, National Academy of Sciences, and USDA sponsored an all-day symposium on the recently published National Research Council report Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. The event, held at the National Press Club, was attended by 125 people, including […]
Legislative Update and Action
One week down, three weeks maximum left to go before the congressional recess prior to the November elections. The Senate this week passed the small business tax cut bill and draft bills and trial balloons are circulating on the big tax cut extension bill, but on the four bills left on the NSAC agenda – […]
Healthy Food Center Announces First-Year Grant Recipients
The Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) Center, administered by the Wallace Center at Winrock International, announced this week the first ten recipients of HUFED grants. The 2008 Farm Bill established the HUFED program to increase food access and economic vitality by stimulating the development of food enterprises in urban and rural areas. According to […]
Congress Back for Three Weeks – Time (Barely) for Action
Summer recess has come to a close and Congress returns to Washington next week, with three weeks and less than 12 actual legislative days before the start of the new federal fiscal year on October 1. With a packed agenda – including a small business tax bill, extensions of some or all of the 2001 […]
USDA Publishes Updated Meat Slaughter Availability Maps
On Monday, August 23, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published an updated set of maps showing the availability of slaughter and processing facilities around the nation. See the full report here. FSIS published the original maps in May (click here to see the full report), but users responded that the maps were difficult […]
USDA Calls for Community Food Project Grant Applications
USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has issued a Request for Applications for the Community Food Project Grants Program (CFP). CFP is a grant program that addresses food insecurity in low income communities by supporting the development of community-based food projects including projects that address nutritional needs by promoting local, food and farm […]
USDA Announces 2010 Recipients of Rural Business Enterprise Grants
On Tuesday, August 31, USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager announced the 61 recipients of its Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program. According to the USDA news release, “the RBEG program helps to finance and facilitate the development of new and existing businesses in rural America. Funds can be used for start-up and working […]
FSA Issues Conservation Loan Rule
On Thursday, September 2, USDA announced the launch of the Conservation Loan program established by the 2008 Farm Bill. Though Congress appropriated money for the loan program in fiscal year 2010, enough to fund $150 million worth of loans, the program has been stymied waiting on the rulemaking. The new interim final rule appears in […]
Livestock Market Concentration Workshop Held in CO
On Friday, August 27, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, presided over joint USDA and Department of Justice hearings to examine competition in the livestock market. Held in Fort Collins, Colorado, this was the fourth in a series of workshops to discuss market consolidation and market transparency. According to the […]
Farmers Ask for Fair Markets and Contracts
In June, the USDA’s Office of Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards (GIPSA) issued a proposed rule that promises to finally rein in some of the worst anti-competitive abuses of meat packers and impose a measure of contract fairness for poultry producers. Lauded by NSAC and many major farm organizations the rules have the potential to […]
Revised Senate Food Safety Bill Includes Important Amendments
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a copy of the “manager’s amendment” to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) which is, in essence, the bill as reported out of the HELP Committee late last year as modified by a long and arduous set of negotiations that have taken place […]
Senate Passes Child Nutrition Bill
On Thursday, August 5, the Senate passed a child nutrition program re-authorization bill by unanimous consent. The bill provides a 6-cent per meal increase in school lunch reimbursements, expands school meal eligibility, and establishes stronger nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools. It also includes $40 million in mandatory funding for the Farm to […]
Farmers Markets Week and New Resources
Farmers markets improve access to the freshest possible fruits and vegetables while providing direct market farmers with an important source of income. To celebrate the bountiful services they provide, the USDA has declared August 1-7, 2010 as National Farmers Market Week. As USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack declared, “farmers markets play a key role in developing […]
Take Advantage of the Summer Congressional Recess
ACTION ALERT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SUMMER CONGRESSIONAL RECESS TO TELL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES TO SUPPORT USDA’S PROPOSED RULES FOR FAIR PLAY IN LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY MARKETS You don’t have to go all the way to Washington DC to meet with your Congressman, Senators or their staff. Five times a year your legislators come […]
Know Your Farmer Blog and Agency Guides
USDA programs can often seem enigmatic and confusing. Many farmers, rural development and conservation groups in need of financial or technical assistance are often either unaware of what USDA programs exist, or lack access to the assistance they seek. The USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative seeks to remedy this disconnect by strengthening […]
USDA Interim Rule for the Conservation Reserve Program
On Wednesday, July 28, USDA issued an interim rule to implement provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which were not implemented under two previously issued CRP interim rules. The interim rule is effective immediately. USDA is taking public comments on the interim rule, due by September 27, 2010, that […]
USDA Extends Comment Period for GIPSA Proposed Rules
Bowing to pressure from a group of large-scale livestock and poultry packers and processors and House Agriculture Committee members who are aligned with them, USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) announced on July 26 that it is extending the public comment period on proposed rules for the Packers & Stockyards Act by 90 days. […]