Yesterday, Tuesday April 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced over seven million dollars in funding to support research on the profitability of small and medium-sized family farms, including their potential role in building local and regional systems. This announcement came amidst a flurry of other USDA news and program announcements […]
Research, Education & Extension
Conservation and Consumer Interests Again Excluded from Ag Research Advisory Board
After a lengthy nomination process, USDA announced yesterday the appointment of eight new members to serve on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board. The NAREEE Advisory Board advises the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA’s research agencies, and land-grant colleges and universities on agricultural research, extension, education, and economics policies and priorities. […]
House and Senate Consider USDA Funding Requests
The House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees held a total of four hearings this week to examine the Obama Administration’s FY 2015 Budget Request. The House Subcommittee heard testimony from the heads of two USDA mission areas—Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services (FNS), and Research, Education and Economics (REE)—as well as the Food and Drug Administration […]
NSAC, Farmers Partner to Advocate on Sustainable Agriculture Funding
This week, a dozen family farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates from eight states traveled to Washington, DC to share their stories with the members of Congress who will decide on the coming year’s agricultural budget. In meetings Wednesday and Thursday, farmers called upon their legislators to invest in a more sustainable food and farm future […]
Sustainable Farming Research Innovations Highlighted
Following up on its award winning report published for 2011 and 2012, USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has released its latest biennial report highlighting a variety of research projects that have been funded over the last two years that are helping to advance sustainable farming. The SARE program is administered through four […]
Funding Once Again Available for Organic Research!!
After a year-long hiatus, NSAC is pleased to report that the cornerstone organic research program is once again up and running — with $20 million in funding to award in 2014!! Yesterday, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released its 2014 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI). OREI […]
Spring 2014 National Organic Standards Board Meeting Announced
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced its next National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting set for April 29-May 2, 2014, in San Antonio, TX. The meeting is open to the public, and interested parties can submit comments prior to the meeting. The NOSB meets twice annually to discuss allowed and prohibited substances in organic production, […]
What Does the President’s 2015 Budget Mean for Sustainable Agriculture?
President Obama sent his budget proposal for 2015 to Capitol Hill yesterday. The overall spending number in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year (FY) would match the two-year budget deal Congress reached last year, though the President also includes an aspirational $56 billion add-on, which he calls the Opportunity, Growth, and Security (OGS) […]
2014 Farm Bill Drilldown: Sustainable and Organic Research
With the 2014 Farm Bill recently signed into law, NSAC is doing a blog series that delves into the details of the bill for sustainable food and farming systems. Previous posts in this farm bill series dove into the overall farm bill by the numbers, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer issues, working lands conservation programs, […]
Organic Transitions Research Funding Available
The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has announced the release of its FY2014 Organic Transitions Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Program (ORG) Request for Applications (RFA). The overall goal of the Organic Transitions program is to support the development and implementation of research, extension and higher education programs to improve the competitiveness of […]
What is in the 2014 Farm Bill For Sustainable Farms and Food Systems?
At the start of this long and twisted farm bill reauthorization process, NSAC released an ambitious farm bill platform with the goal of expanding opportunities for family farmers to produce good food, sustain the environment, and contribute to vibrant communities. Reflecting input from sustainable and organic farmers, rural and urban communities, and food entrepreneurs, the […]
Congress Outlines 2014 Funding Package
Update: Both the House and Senate passed the omnibus package this week, and the President is expected to sign the bill shortly. For a detailed breakdown of the funding levels provided in the bill, see our updated appropriations chart. On Monday, January 13, House and Senate appropriators released the text of the fiscal year (FY) 2014 […]
Research and Extension Funding Available through AFRI
Two days before Christmas, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture released a new Request for Applications (RFA) for research, education, and extension grants for “foundational programs” within the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. At least $82 million will be available, and quite possibly a bit more once agricultural appropriations for 2014 are finalized by […]
USDA extends “coexistence” comment period
On Tuesday, December 31, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to extend a public comment period by 60 days to March 4, 2014 to allow for additional input on “how agricultural coexistence in the United States can be strengthened.” More specifically, USDA seeks comments to help further agricultural coexistence by identifying “ways to […]
NSAC Delivers 2014 Sustainable Agriculture Funding Requests
On Tuesday, December 17, NSAC delivered a letter to members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, urging them to support sustainable agriculture priorities in the final fiscal year 2014 appropriations legislation. The Committees are currently working to finalize legislation that would fund the government for the rest of FY 2014. Both Committees passed their […]
New Organic Farming Research Awards
This week, USDA announced $3 million in funding for research, education, and extension projects that aim to improve the competitiveness of the organic producers and those who are adopting organic practices on their farms. These awards were made as part of the most recent round of awards for the Integrated Organic Transitions Program (ORG) — a national competitive […]
New Study Finds Health Benefits for Organic Milk
A new study has found that grass-fed, organic milk contains higher levels of health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids than milk from cows raised conventionally. Researchers suggested that substituting full-fat organic milk for milk from conventionally raised cows could help people meaningfully improve the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in their diets and promote cardiovascular […]
Farmer Knows Best
Since 1987, ATTRA – the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service – has provided education and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, researchers, and other organizations and individuals involved in sustainable agriculture across the United States. Their wide range of educational resources include hundreds of publications, an archive of webinars and informational videos, a free telephone helpline, […]
House Members Advocate for Organic Agriculture in the Farm Bill
A bipartisan group of Representatives delivered a “Dear Colleague” letter to House leadership on Friday September 27th, calling for House farm bill conferees to support key programs for organic agriculture in any upcoming negotiations. Thanks to the leadership of Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Sam Farr (D-CA), and Ron Kind (D-WI) , as well […]
SARE Celebrates 25 Years!
As NSAC celebrates its 25th anniversary (see here) , so does the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. This is not a coincidence. Authorizing and winning funding for SARE was the first major NSAC campaign. SARE was the first USDA program dedicated to sustainable agriculture and remains the keystone program. Yesterday, SARE issued […]
New USDA Guidelines on Crop Insurance and Cover Crops
Guest Post by Dr. Rob Myers In late June, new guidelines were released by USDA pertaining to cover crop management and crop insurance. The new guidelines came about as a result of concerns expressed by many farmers who had difficulty terminating (killing) their cover crops by USDA-specified calendar dates, especially when weather conditions prevented field […]
SARE’s Biennial Report Wins Top Writing Awards from ACE
This guest post is by SARE Outreach for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). SARE’s mission is to advance – to the whole of American agriculture – innovations that improve profitability, stewardship and qualify of life […]
AGree Publishes NSAC Paper on Reorienting Federal Research
AGree, an initiative to address critical challenges facing the food and agricultural system through long-term, collaborative engagement, recently published a compilation of five papers addressing reforms to the U.S. public sector agricultural research, including one submitted by NSAC. Earlier last year, AGree had solicited papers that provided ideas and innovations on how to strengthen the […]
House Subcommittee Passes 2014 Agriculture Funding Bill
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee yesterday approved its fiscal year (FY) 2014 agriculture appropriations bill by voice vote. The bill sets discretionary spending at $19.5 billion, which is $1.3 billion below the FY 2013 enacted level but roughly equal to the FY 2013 enacted level minus sequestration (across-the-board budget cuts imposed in FY 2013 following […]