Contact: Greg Fogel, 202-547-5754 USDA Releases New Handbook to Help NRCS Staff Work with Organic and Transitioning-to-Organic Producers Washington, D.C., November 19, 2015 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the release of a new handbook aimed at helping Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) field staff work with organic and transitioning-to-organic producers. In […]
Press Releases
Release: NSAC Comments on Farm to School Grant Awards
Contact: Alyssa Charney; Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 Release: Farm to School Program in Great Demand, Congress Should Respond by Passing the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization Today’s announcement by USDA of the latest round of Farm to School Grant awards demonstrates a pressing need for more support for farm to school, as the demand for programs that […]
RELEASE: NSAC Comments on Produce Rule
FDA released the much-anticipated final rule detailing preventive standards for farms that grow, harvest, pack, or hold covered produce for human consumption. … Read More →
Release: Grant Awards for Value-Added Business Development Announced by USDA
Contact: Ferd Hoefner, Greg Fogel, 202-547-5754 Grant Awards for Value-Added Business Development Announced by USDA Washington, D.C., November 10, 2015 – Vernita Dore, Deputy Under Secretary of Rural Development, announced today that 258 farm businesses from 47 states, Puerto Rico, and the Western Pacific will receive $34 million in grants from the 2015 round of the […]
Release: NSAC Comment on FY 2016 Budget Deal’s Implications for Agriculture
October 27, 2015, Washington, DC – The following are comments from Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director, on the fiscal year 2016 budget deal struck this week. “We are pleased that a budget bargain has been struck, providing impetus to finish the work of funding the government for the fiscal year that has already begun. Two things […]
RELEASE: New Data Shows Organic Farmers Continue to Expand Markets and Increase Sales
Contact: Paul Wolfe or Juli Obudzinski, 202-547-5754 New Data Shows Organic Farmers Continue to Expand Markets and Increase Sales Washington, D.C., September 17 — Today, The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) released results from the 2014 Organic Production Survey. This is the first comprehensive snapshot of organic agriculture since 2008. “This survey is […]
Release: FDA Facilities Rule Contains Significant Improvements, But Concerns Remain Regarding Impacts on Farmers
Washington, DC, September 11, 2015 – On September 10, 2015, FDA released the much-anticipated final rule detailing preventive control standards for facilities producing food for human consumption. Once officially published in the Federal Register – scheduled for September 17, 2015 – the rule will go into effect in sixty days and compliance clocks will start […]
RELEASE: USDA announces that Whole-Farm will be the first universally available crop insurance policy
Contact: Paul Wolfe, 202-547-5754 Washington D.C. August 27, 2015 — Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the expansion of the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) crop insurance policy to every state and every county; making Whole-Farm the first crop insurance policy to be universally available. “NSAC would like to thank Secretary Vilsack and RMA Administrator Willis […]
Release: New Farm Storage Financing Options for Meat, Dairy, and Eggs
Washington, DC, August 18, 2015 – Just weeks after expanding financing options for produce growers, USDA’s Farm Service Agency this week expanded the Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program to provide very low-interest financing to farmers to build or upgrade storage for meat, dairy, and eggs. The FSA notice to its field offices also covers flowers, hops, and […]
NSAC Comment on Senate Appropriations Markup of Farm and Food Spending Bill
Washington, DC, July 16, 2015 – The following is a statement issued by NSAC regarding the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2016 agriculture appropriations bill: “We are thrilled the Senate bill allows the Conservation Stewardship Program to proceed at the level dictated by the 2014 Farm Bill. Rejecting the ill-considered cut in the President’s budget and the […]
Release: NSAC Comments on AGree’s Agricultural Research Recommendations
Washington, DC, June 24, 2015 — Today, AGree released a new position paper on agricultural research. Entitled Research and Innovation: Strengthening Agricultural Research, the paper is available online at www.foodandagpolicy.org. Below are comments on the research recommendations by Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and a newly appointed AGree Advisor. It […]
Release: Assessment Recommends Improvements to National Beginning Farmer & Rancher Grants Program
Contact: Megan Buckingham, Land Stewardship Project, 612-722-6377; Ferd Hoefner, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, 202-547-5754 Minneapolis, Minn., June 3, 2015 — The nation’s leading public training program for assisting beginning farmers and ranchers is more popular than ever, and with some key adjustments could better fulfill Congress’s intent to target public funding to community-based organizations that conduct […]
Release: NSAC Submits Comments on USDA Draft Rule that would continue to allow million dollar subsidy payments to mega-farms
Washington, DC, May 27, 2015 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to undertake a major overhaul of its “actively engaged in farming” draft rule to create fair and effective limitations on the subsidies taxpayers provide to commodity farms. Fair and effective enforcement of the farm bill’s payment […]
Release: Farmers’ Guide to Value-Added Producer Grant Funding, $30 Million Available This Cycle
Washington, DC, May 8, 2015 – In conjunction with today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture inviting applications for funding through the Farm Bill’s Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) Program, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is releasing a new, updated version of its Farmers’ Guide to Value-Added Producer Grant Funding. In addition to the $30 million notice of […]
Release: USDA Proposes to Continue Farm Subsidy Abuse
March 25, 2015, Washington, DC – Yesterday USDA issued the long awaited proposed rule to reform farm subsidy payments. Sadly, the proposed changes to the “actively engaged in farming” rules amount to very little in the way of real reform, missing the best chance yet for President Obama to make good on his number one […]
Release: Farm to School Act of 2015, Connecting Students to Local Food and Farms, Introduced in Congress
Feb. 25, 2015, Washington, D.C. – Today, members of Congress took the first step toward a major win for local economies, farm families and the health of our nation’s children. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Representatives Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Marcia Fudge (D-OH) introduced the bipartisan Farm to School Act of 2015 to […]
Release: Conservation Stewardship Program Sign-Up Extended to March 13
Washington, DC February 23, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the sign-up period for the 2015 edition of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) – the federal farm bill’s largest working lands conservation program. Farmers and ranchers now have two additional weeks – until March 13 – to complete the initial application form. Coinciding […]
Release: New Free Tools Help Farmers, Ranchers Apply for Conservation Stewardship Program Before February 27 Deadline
Washington, DC February 11, 2015 – With a February 27 deadline approaching, farmers and ranchers have only two weeks left to apply to enroll in the federal Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) for 2015. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has released two free resources to help farmers and ranchers nationwide learn how the program works […]
Release: Farmers and the public must act to help improve nation’s largest conservation program
January 13, 2015, Washington, D.C. – The nation’s largest federal conservation program that helps working farmers manage their land sustainably – the Conservation Stewardship Program – is in major need of improvements, says the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, reflecting the views of farmer constituents of their member organizations. Problems with the program are making it […]
Release: NSAC, NCAT and RAFI to Host National Webinar on New Whole Farm Revenue Protection Policy – January 21, 2015
Release: NSAC, NCAT and RAFI to Host National Webinar on New Whole Farm Revenue Protection Policy – January 21, 2015 January 12, 2015, Washington, D.C. — There’s a new crop insurance option now available for diversified farmers – Whole Farm Revenue Insurance – and an upcoming webinar will help farmers understand whether it’s right for them. […]
Release: NSAC Comments on FDA’s Revised Draft Food Safety Rules
December 15, 2014, Washington, DC – The public comment period on the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) supplemental proposed rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) closes today. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and its member organizations led a national effort to analyze and comment on the revised proposed rules so that […]
Release: NSAC Comment on Final FY 15 Budget Bill
December 10, 2014, Washington, DC – Late on December 9, Congress released their final annual appropriations bill to keep the government running for the rest of the fiscal year, and while there is some good news, overall it’s bleak news for sustainable agriculture – complete with drastic cuts to critical conservation programs and anti-farmer policy riders that […]
Release: NSAC Comment on Farm to School Award Announcement and Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization
December 2, 2014, Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $5 million in grants for 82 projects in 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the USDA Farm to School Grant program, which promotes healthy kids through nutritious school meals and snacks incorporating food products from local […]
Release: New Farm Bill Resource Now Available to Help Farmers and Food Advocates Navigate USDA Programs
November 10, 2014, Washington, DC – Today the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) published a comprehensive digital guide to the key federal farm and food programs that support sustainable farm and food systems. The Grassroots Guide to Federal Farm and Food Programs will help farmers and non-profit organizations navigate the numerous farm bill and other […]