December 3, 2019
What do a dairy farm in Alabama, a hog farm in Georgia, and a farmer-led cooperative in Minnesota have in common? A few things – they’re all farm operations, they all contribute to their local food economies, and in this case, all three have grown their operations through the Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. […]
November 1, 2019
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and National Farm to School Network (NFSN) jointly praised the effort to highlight the important relationship between farmers, schools, and our nation’s children. The organizations, which work closely together to advance federal policies that further farm to school connections and the socioeconomic benefits that those relationships confer, also underscored the opportunity for Senators to further support these efforts by including the Farm to School Act (S. 2026) and the Kids Eat Local Act (S. 1817) in the next Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization (CNR).
October 4, 2019
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Debra Tropp, former Deputy Director, Local Food Research and Development, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Debra retired from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service in January 2019 after 26 years of service. She continues to keep her hand in local and regional food issues through her appointments […]
August 16, 2019
The rising demand for local, niche meat and poultry over the past decade has led to ever-increasing reliance on the country’s few small-scale independent processing plants that operate outside of the broader commodity meat sector. When one of these small plants is shutdown or suspended, therefore, the impact can be resounding. The National Sustainable Agriculture […]
April 24, 2019
As part of our 2018 Farm Bill efforts, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) sought to strengthen programs and policies that support the growth of local food economies and support direct market opportunities for family farmers. One of the most significant achievements of those efforts was the development of the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), […]
April 11, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Agricultural Census Shows Continued Shrinking of Ag in the MiddleNational Sustainable Agriculture Coalition expresses concern about increasing consolidation in agriculture, urges increased investment in Census “bright spots” like growing organic and local food sectors Washington, DC, April 11, 2019 – A new census […]
September 20, 2018
Local and regional food chains have long been part of the social and economic fabric for some American communities. With the American farm economy is in a multi-year downturn and commodity prices at historic lows, interest has peaked and family farmers nationwide are realizing that big economic opportunities can be found close to home. The […]
September 6, 2018
Growing a more just and sustainable food and farm system through the farm bill, a massive package of legislation that is passed roughly every five years, is among the main priorities of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). Congressional negotiators just held their first official public meeting to discuss the nation’s next farm bill, which […]
September 4, 2018
Editor’s Note: The 2014 Farm Bill expires on September 30th. If the next farm bill is not finalized before that date, numerous “tiny but mighty” farm bill programs that support family farmers and food-producing communities will effectively shut down in terms of new funding and grant opportunities for fiscal year 2019. These workhorse programs, which […]
August 20, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Long-term Solutions Needed to Protect Vital Relationship Between Local Farmers, Farmers Markets, and SNAP Customers National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition issues statement on the future of SNAP at farmers markets Washington, DC, August 20, 2018 – In early July, Novo Dia Group, a major […]
