The Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act, first enacted in 1999, requires USDA to establish a program of information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, and the products of this livestock. The Act requires that the information, including price and volume information, be provided in a format that can be readily understood by producers; […]
Local & Regional Food Systems
Legislative Roundup: Farm Credit Funding Passes, Other Food and Farm Legislation Could Move
[Friday July 30 update to story below — A measure to fund the Pigford II class action settlement between USDA and black farmers is now expected to come to the Senate floor early next week as a stand alone measure. The Food Safety Modernization Act (S 510) is now not expected to be taken up […]
NSAC Sends Letter to White House and Congress Opposing Conservation Cuts
On Wednesday, July 21, NSAC, along with over 70 other farm, conservation, and environmental organizations sent a letter to the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and a letter to President Obama expressing strong opposition to any use of farm bill conservation program funding as an offset to pay for improvements to school meal programs. […]
Ad Calls for Urgent Action on Child Nutrition Bill
On Wednesday, July 21, a full page Feeding America advertisement appeared in CQ Today and Roll Call, two Capitol Hill publications, urging Congress to pass a “robust, well-funded child nutrition bill this summer.” Support for the ad stems from a large and diverse group of organizations, including the Alliance to End Hunger, the American Cancer […]
House Committee Looks at USDA Rural Development
On Tuesday, July 20, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing to assess progress on Rural Development program implementation and hear ideas from the field in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill. USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager emphasized the “five pillars” the agency […]
Resources and Showcase for Local and Regional Food Systems
This week, as part of the USDA Know Your Farmer Know Your Food initiative, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reported on investments in rural economies through development of local and regional food systems. As Vilsack said, “By connecting farmers and ranchers more closely with consumers of food, we are creating new economic opportunities for producers […]
Child Nutrition with Farm to School Passes House Committee
On Thursday, July 15, the House Education and Labor Committee approved the child nutrition reauthorization bill authored by Chairman George Miller (D-CA) (Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act, H.R. 5504) by a vote of 32 -13 with Republicans Todd Platts (PA), Michael Castle (DE), and Vernon Ehlers (MI) joining all of the Democratic members of […]
FSIS Names Advisory Committee on Meat & Poultry Inspection
On Thursday, July 15, USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service announced the reestablishment of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) and the newly appointed members of the committee for 2010-2012. Established in 1971, the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) advises the Secretary of the USDA on federal and […]
FSA Programs Get USDA Push
USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative recently highlighted Farm Service Agency (FSA) resources that can be used to expand and diversify farm businesses, preserve natural resources critical to future farm income and create links with local and regional food systems. The Farm Storage Facility Loan program was expanded by the 2008 Farm Bill […]
Time Running Out for a Healthy School Lunch
ACTION ALERT July 9, 2010 Urge Your Representative to Move Forward Now on Farm to School Funding in the Child Nutrition Bill! If your Congressman sits on the House Education and Labor Committee – See Chart Below – please make a call in support of a healthy school lunch. Time is running short for Congressional re-authorization […]
Farmers Agree, Mr. Vilsack: Farm Bill Should Emphasize Beginning Farmers
By Anna Jones-Crabtree from Vilicus Farm On July 1st, NSAC posted a blog to applaud Secretary Vilsack’s plea to Congress to support beginning farmers and to encourage USDA to walk the talk. Farmers agree. Here is how Anna Jones-Crabtree from Vilicus Farm in Montana responded to our blog: We would not be farming if it […]
Ohio Agrees to Improve Farm Animal Welfare
On Wednesday, June 30, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, the Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohioans for Humane Farms, The Humane Society of the United States, and other parties announced a landmark farm animal welfare agreement. This announcement came on the day that animal welfare activists were poised to submit 500,000 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State […]
Child Nutrition Bill with Farm to School Begins to Move in House
On Thursday, July 1, the full House Education and Labor Committee held its first hearing on Chairman George Miller’s (D-CA) Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act. Throughout the hearing endorsements for the Farm to School program were loud and clear, both from Committee members and from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The Miller bill includes […]
FDA Calls for Comments on Antibiotics Use Guidance
On Monday June 28th, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a draft guidance entitled “The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals,” calling for public comment during the next 60 days. The use of antimicrobials, including antibiotics, whether in people or animals, hastens the development of resistant microbes, including bacteria. […]
Rural Coop Development Grants Available
On Friday, June 25, USDA announced the availability of almost $8 million in competitive grant funds through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program (RCDG). The RCDG program is designed to improve the economic conditions in rural areas by funding the establishment or operation of Coop Development Centers that can help start up, expand or improve […]
June ERS Reports: Opportunities & Constraints to Local and Alternative Production Systems
This June the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published reports identifying the opportunities and constraints facing both local food supply chains and grass-fed livestock production systems. In response to the exploding demand for local foods the ERS published, “Comparing the Size, Structure and Performance of Local and Mainstream Food Supply Chains.” The report looks at […]
NSAC Applauds USDA Proposal for a Fairer Deal for Farmers and Ranchers in Livestock and Poultry Markets
On Thursday, June 18, NSAC issued a press release applauding a proposed regulation, issued by USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), to increase protections for farmers and ranchers in their dealings with packers and processors. The proposed regulation will be published in the Federal Register on June 22 with a 60-day public comment […]
Comments Invited on the Value-Added Producer Grant Program
Family farm advocates have an important opportunity to help shape the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG). USDA has requested comments on the administrative rules that will govern the implementation of this important program. VAPG offers competitive grants to farmers and ranchers developing new farm and food-related business enterprises that boost farm income, create jobs, and increase […]
First FSIS Public Hearing On Controversial Guidance
On June 14, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) held the first of three public meetings to discuss and receive comments on their controversial HACCP Systems Validation Guidance document aimed at small and very-small meat and poultry facilities. View the FSIS Press release here. The guidance document issued in March of 2010 is intended […]
NSAC USDA and Hill Briefings
“Don’t Stomp on Innovation!” commanded Karl Kupers, co-founder of Shepherd’s Grain, at a Congressional briefing on June 8th 2010. Karl’s assertion came at the end of a full day of briefings with USDA officials and Congressional staffers. Karl and other farmers presented innovative marketing strategies and supply network ideas for mid-sized farmers. They emphasized the […]
House Child Nutrition Bill Includes Farm to School
On Thursday, June 10, House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-CT), and Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) introduced the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010. The bill will become the basic vehicle for House consideration of the five-year reauthorization of […]
Farm Aid Economic Stimulus Report
On June 2, the day before USDA’s National Rural Summit, Farm Aid released a new report entitled “Rebuilding America’s Economy with Family Farm-Centered Food Systems.” NSAC’s Ferd Hoefner, Shepherd’s Grain’s Karl Kupers, and Fred Kirschenmann with the Leopold Center joined Farm Aid in a press briefing on the role family farmers and local and regional […]
Applications Invited for the Rural Microentreprenuer Assistance Program
USDA’s Rural Business – Cooperative Service has issued a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Rural Microentreprenuer Assistance Program (RMAP). Published on Thursday June 3, in conjunction with the National Rural Summit, the NOFA announces the availability of $45.1 million in support for Microenterprise Development Organizations to provide loans and technical assistance and training […]
FSIS Announces Public Hearing on Controversial Guidance
On June 4, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a series of public meetings in response to the release of their controversial guidance document back in March on HACCP Systems Validation for small and very small meat and poultry processing facilities. The first public meeting will be held on June 14 from 8:30-1:00 at […]