January 9, 2020
Note: This post has been updated to reflect changes made to the FY 2020 Request for Applications which was recently released late 2019. For further details on timing and updated application links, see below. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the FY 2020 Requests for Applications (RFAs) […]
December 20, 2019
This week, after months of delay, Congress passed a much-anticipated deal to fund the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2020. FY 2020 runs through September 30, 2020. The $1.4 trillion package of discretionary spending bills, which was divided up into two “minibuses”, was finally delivered this week after months of rigorous advocacy […]
December 4, 2019
This month, more than 22,000 organic producers are expected to receive in their mailboxes letters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NASS is conducting its 2019 survey of certified or transitioning to certified organic farmers, asking for production, marketing, and transitioning information pertaining to their organic operations. The Organic […]
November 4, 2019
The Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on October 30, 2019 to review the state of organic agriculture from the perspective of the producers. This is the Subcommittee’s second hearing on organic agriculture this year; the first convened to assess the National Organic Program (NOP) in July. Organic […]
October 21, 2019
NCAT’s new report suggests organic farming is no more risky than non-organic farming. The report was funded by a research and education grant from NIFA.
October 9, 2019
Researchers and scientific institutions across the food and farm communities have been on edge as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun the process of relocating the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (and agency staff) to its new headquarters in Kansas City. Even in these early stages, the relocation process has already […]
May 17, 2019
Organic certification under the National Organic Program (NOP) can provide significant benefits to farmers by opening new market opportunities and increasing the takeaway profit for sales; it can also, however, be a prohibitively costly process. For producers and handlers interested in certification who require cost share assistance, the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) is an excellent resource. On May […]
May 14, 2019
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is preparing to survey the nation’s organic farmers in an effort to collect data on acreage, production, and sales for a variety of organic crop and livestock commodities. Earlier this year, NASS announced that it would begin soliciting feedback on its proposal for the 2019 Organic Survey, which the […]
April 19, 2019
Members of Congress headed home this week for a two-week recess, taking a pause from the busy legislative session. In the weeks leading up to recess, Members (as well as food, agriculture, and other advocacy organizations) were rushing to send their complete funding requests for fiscal year (FY) 2020 to the House and Senate Agriculture […]
April 17, 2019
Delayed by the government shutdown, last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the long-awaited 2017 Census of Agriculture. The 2017 Census surveyed nearly three million potential U.S. farms and ranches. Spearheaded by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Census remains the most comprehensive source of agricultural data for state and counties across […]