September 8, 2020
USDA recently announced over $290 million in research grant funding through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – including funding for research on plant breeding, local and regional food systems, beginning farmers, farmers of color, and the impact of COVID-19 on our farmers and the food supply chain.
September 3, 2020
After decades of research, cover crops have been widely shown to be beneficial to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines. However, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain – including start-up costs and the amount of time before benefits are seen.
July 16, 2020
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth blog in a series focusing on specific provisions included in the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA) introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) in February 2020. The ARA represents the first comprehensive piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives addressing climate change and agriculture. Read blogs one, two, three, […]
April 23, 2020
The nation’s food system and agriculture supply chains have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant impacts are being felt across the entire food and agriculture sector including the reduction in operation of restaurants, farmers markets, processing and packaging facilities, to name a few. Farmers and ranchers have voiced the strong need for intervention to […]
April 16, 2020
Organic farmers have seen tremendous growth in the organic sector as demand continues to rise. Despite this market opportunity, organic and transitioning organic farmers still face numerous challenges. Research, like that funded through the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) program spearheaded by the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), is being conducted to help […]
April 7, 2020
After decades of research, cover crops have been widely shown to be beneficial to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines. However, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain – including start-up costs and the amount of time before benefits are seen. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education […]
April 2, 2020
Federal funding for food and agriculture public research has stagnated for decades, declining in real terms even while other federal agencies have seen their budgets trend steadily upward and even while China has long since overtaken the US as the major public investor in the sector. Yet, our food and agricultural system is a key […]
March 4, 2020
Editor’s Note: As the COVID-19 situation progresses, we will continue to update this blog with the latest available information on deadline extensions. Additionally, you can find information on administrative flexibilities issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) here. This is a key reference for anyone currently working under an active federal grant. The memo […]
February 27, 2020
This is the first year small farms will be inspected if they fall under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. Fortunately, there are a number of exceptional FSMA training programs that were recently funded by the Food Safety Outreach Program (FSOP) that will assist farmers trying to navigate the complex rules. The […]
February 6, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana KovalcikNational Sustainable Agriculture CoalitionP: 202-547-5754, E: rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Sets 2020 Policy Priorities Washington, DC, February 4, 2020 – Last week, representatives from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s (NSAC) 130+ member organizations voted on a final set of policy and funding priorities to guide the Coalition’s work through 2020. “This collaborative priority […]