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 […]
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 […]
April 4, 2019
On the heels of the publication of the Request for Applications (RFA) for the the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has also just released this year’s RFA for the Organic Transitions Program (ORG). Like they did with OREI, NIFA has […]
March 29, 2019
Family farmers, researchers, and advocates like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) helped to achieve historic victories for the organic and research communities in the 2018 Farm Bill. Of particular significance was the establishment of permanent, mandatory funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) over the next five years. This funding increase […]
December 12, 2018
Editor’s Note: This is the third post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the final negotiated 2018 Farm Bill, which was released on December 11, 2018 by the leaders of the Farm Bill Conference Committee. Subsequent posts focus on: conservation, research and seed breeding, and crop insurance and commodity subsidies; previous posts focused on local and regional food and beginning/socially disadvantaged […]
December 12, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Cheers Farm Bill WinsApplauds Congress for moving swiftly, urges President to do the same Washington, DC, December 12, 2018 – With less than a month left in the year, Congress has moved forward a bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill and […]