On Wednesday, August 17, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of $11.6 million in FY2011 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants to over 900 agricultural producers and rural small businesses across the country. The grants can be used to finance up to 25-percent of the project costs, not to exceed $500,000 for renewable […]
Rural Development
New Report On Economic Benefits of Local Food Systems
On August 4, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released the report “Market Forces: Creating Jobs through Public Investment in Local and Regional Food Systems” by UCS agricultural economist Jeffrey O’Hara, an analysis of the growth, economic benefits, and challenges to expansion of local and regional food systems. O’Hara also makes policy recommendations to help local […]
Hearing on Clean Energy, Biofuels and Rural Development
This week Congress hosted a number of advocates on Capitol Hill for briefings on the state of federal policy supporting the production of biofuels and other energy products from agricultural crops. On Wednesday July 21, the House Agriculture Committee convened a hearing to examine energy and forest programs administered by USDA. Judith Canales, Administrator of the […]
Choices Magazine edition highlights Beginning Farmers & Ranchers
Choices Magazine, a publication of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, released a themed edition focused on beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States. Choices Magazine is a a free online quarterly peer-reviewed journal that covers agriculture, the food industry, natural resources, rural communities and environmental issues. The Innovations to Support Beginning Farmer and […]
Oklahoma’s Sustainable Agriculture
Last month, NSAC Policy Associate Helen Dombalis traveled to Oklahoma where she explored the state’s many sustainable agriculture endeavors. Policy Advocacy and Research: GIPSA, Conservation, and Beyond – Yukon and Oklahoma City Helen was joined by sustainable agriculture advocate and farmer Kathy Moore of Anichini-Moore Ranch & Farm and co-founder of the Oklahoma Composting Council. […]
Rural Business Opportunity Grants Available
On Friday, July 1, USDA announced the availability of funding for its Rural Business Opportunity Grants program (RBOG). Nonprofit corporations, public bodies, Indian Tribes, and cooperatives whose members are primarily rural residents may apply for up to $50,000 for a project in one state, or for up to $150,000 for a multi-state application. RBOG awards […]
New RMAP and RCDI Awards
Congratulations to National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition member California FarmLink! On Thursday, June 30, USDA announced the recipients of the latest round of awards for its Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) and Rural Community Development Initiative Program (RCDI). California FarmLink is one of six organizations selected to receive RMAP funding to support rural microenterprise. RMAP supports […]
Socially Disadvantaged Producer Coop Grants
On Wednesday, June 29, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service of USDA announced that its Small, Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant Program (formerly known as the Small, Minority Producer Grant Program) will be open for applications until the deadline of August 15, 2011. The full Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) appears in the June 29 edition of the […]
Value-Added Producer Grant NOFA Released – 60 Day Turn Around for Applications
On Tuesday, June 28, USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service will announce that its Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) will be open for applications until the deadline of August 29, 2011. The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) appears in the June 28 edition of the Federal Register. Advocates for the program are delighted the long anticipated […]
Senate Agriculture Committee Explores Program Duplication and Efficiency
On Thursday, June 23, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing with heads of four USDA mission areas to talk about possibilities for streamlining USDA programs, rooting out inefficiencies, and measuring performance. The hearing also touched on ongoing efforts to crack down on fraud and abuse. REAP In one of the harder hitting lines of […]
New Value-Added Grant Cycle to Start Next Week
After many months of delay and anticipation, NSAC is excited to alert our members and readers that the Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) for the Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) is expected to be published in the Federal Register mid-to-late week next week. Since the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 funds were never released […]
White House Announces Rural Development Council
The White House announced Thursday, June 9, the formation of the new White House Rural Council to address challenges facing rural communities and help improve the implementation of the Obama Administration’s rural strategies. The Council will be comprised of Cabinet members from over twenty agencies and offices. “Strong, sustainable rural communities are essential to winning […]
USDA Releases RFA for Rural Development Grant
On Tuesday, June 7, USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service released the Request for Applications (RFA) for its Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) to help rural cooperatives expand economic opportunities in their area. Up to $7.4 million in funds is available for competitive proposals of up to $225,000 per grant. Rural Cooperative Development Grants are made for […]
Will Ideology Trump New Economic Opportunities for Farmers and Rural Communities?
We have previously reported on major funding decisions made by the House Appropriations Committee for the 2012 USDA and FDA budgets (see our Subcommittee markup report and full Committee markup report). While funding programs is the appropriations committees’ function, they also play an important oversight role and at times helps shape policy, particularly through the […]
Proposed FY2012 Food and Agriculture Cuts One Step Closer to Becoming Law
On Tuesday, May 31, the full House Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which was first passed by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee last week. If it were to become law, this bill would make truly massive cuts to conservation, extension, research, renewable energy, and rural development programs. A number […]
Sen. Stabenow Holds First 2012 Farm Bill Hearing
On Thursday, May 26, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed members of the Senate Agriculture Committee at the Committee’s first hearing on the 2012 Farm Bill. A second panel of witnesses followed, comprised of former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, Michigan farmer and United Soybean Board founding director Barry Mumby, Dr. Andrew Rosenberg of Conservation International, […]
House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY2012 Funding Bill
On Tuesday, March 24, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies passed by voice vote its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which would cut USDA and FDA discretionary programs by 13.4 percent on top of a similar amount in the FY 2011 bill completed last month. […]
House FY2012 Appropriations Bill Would Slash Conservation, Rural Development, and Research Programs
On Monday, May 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies released a draft of its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The Subcommittee will debate, potentially amend, and almost certainly pass the bill on Tuesday during an afternoon markup. Before the bill can become law, […]
AGree?
On Tuesday, May 3, a new federal food, agriculture, and rural development policy initiative was launched by eight major foundations at a press event in DC. The new eight-year project will be aimed at “transforming US food and agriculture policy” with an equal focus on domestic and international impacts. It will be known as “AGree,” […]
Comments on the VAPG Interim Final Rule Due Monday
On February 23, the USDA released its interim final rule (IFR) for the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. The public comment period on the rule closes on Monday. NSAC will submit its comments then. We encourage those interested in the program to read on for information regarding the contents of the interim final rule and, […]
REAP Interim Final Rule and Notice of Funding Availability
On Thursday, April 14, USDA issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) which is effective immediately. USDA is taking public comments on the IFR until June 13, 2011. NSAC appreciated the IFR ranking priority for funding to small farms. NSAC also approves of the rule’s extending REAP funding […]
Congress Passes FY 2011 Budget, Cuts Billions from Agriculture
On Thursday, April 14, Congress passed a final 6-month continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. The CR cuts $42 billion relative to FY 2010 levels for non-defense spending, but couples that with a $4 billion increase in defense spending, for a net decrease of approximately $38 […]
Guest Blog: Value-Added Producer Grants in Action
(Editor’s Note: We want to thank Jenny R. Meudt of Pinn-Oak Ridge Farms, LLC in Delavan, Wisconsin, for submitting this post. Meudt was a participant in the recent NSAC farmer DC fly-in. She and other farmers came to DC to encourage Congress to maintain funding for critical sustainable agriculture programs, including the job-creating Value-Added Producer […]
FY 2010 AFRI Awards on Food Systems
Earlier this year, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) posted the Fiscal Year 2010 awards for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). Five of the six AFRI award categories focus on integrated solutions to five “societal challenge areas”: Childhood Obesity Prevention, Climate Change, Food Safety, Global Food Security, and Sustainable Bioenergy. The […]