On Thursday, October 21, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a series of measures to expand and develop infrastructure and incentives for the production of biofuels, including a rule to implement the Farm Bill’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). He also called on Congress to extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax which in the near term […]
Rural Development
USDA Economic Research Service Issues Brief on Rural Economy
On Wednesday, October 6, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) updated its briefing page dedicated to Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare. According to ERS, after unprecedented rural growth in the 1990s, rural development has stagnated and even declined in many areas. ERS points to the recent economic recession as the source of lasting troubles in rural […]
37 Programs Will Lose Baseline Funding in 2012 Farm Bill
On September 29, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a new report, “Previewing the Next Farm Bill: Unfunded and Early-Expiring Provisions,” which details the 37 programs that will no longer have baseline funding in the next farm bill cycle. Together, these programs account for $9-10 billion dollars (depending on estimation approach), or 4% of the […]
USDA Announces Rural Cooperative Development Grant Recipients
USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager today announced $8.3 million in grants through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) program to help rural cooperatives expand economic activity in their communities. Grantees included NSAC member organization Farm to Table, Inc., of Santa Fe, NM, which received a grant for a project to improve economic […]
USDA Announces $499 Million in Nationwide Community Facilities Grants
On Wednesday, September 29, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of $499 million in loans and grants to a variety of investments in rural community development across the nation. A total of 280 projects in 44 states, as well as Guam and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, will receive funding. These loans and […]
Congress Extends FY2010 Spending Levels through December 3
Just before midnight this morning, Congress passed a continuing resolution to extend this year’s federal spending levels into fiscal year 2011. The Senate approved the continuing resolution yesterday evening before sending it to the House for a final vote. The House sent the bill to the President early this morning. The continuing resolution will fund […]
Four RBOG Grants Support Local and Regional Food
On Thursday, September 23, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the recipients of USDA’s 2010 Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG), which support regional planning activities to improve economic conditions in rural areas. Out of 27 total funded projects, the program awarded grants to four projects pertaining to local and regional food system development: California Association of […]
Rural Community Development Grants Available
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday the availability of $6.2 million in grant funding through the USDA’s Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) for fiscal year 2011. The RCDI program funds non-profits and other qualifying organizations that provide financial and technical assistance to recipients in rural communities to develop their capacity and ability to undertake economic […]
Over 50 Organizations Express Discontent over RMAP Interim Final Rule
On Thursday, September 23, NSAC and 56 other organizations delivered a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressing concern over USDA’s Interim Final Rule for the Rural Microenterprise Assistance Program (RMAP). The letter was organized by the Center for Rural Affairs. Interim rules for RMAP were published to the Federal Register on May 28, 2010. […]
USDA Publishes Updated Meat Slaughter Availability Maps
On Monday, August 23, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published an updated set of maps showing the availability of slaughter and processing facilities around the nation. See the full report here. FSIS published the original maps in May (click here to see the full report), but users responded that the maps were difficult […]
USDA Announces 2010 Recipients of Rural Business Enterprise Grants
On Tuesday, August 31, USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager announced the 61 recipients of its Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program. According to the USDA news release, “the RBEG program helps to finance and facilitate the development of new and existing businesses in rural America. Funds can be used for start-up and working […]
Letter Supports Reinstatement of Shirley Sherrod
The Rural Coalition has crafted a sign on letter that expressed disappointment in the hasty removal of Shirley Sherrod from her position as USDA State Rural Development Director for Georgia on July 19, 2010. The letter—which went out to the press, the Secretary, the President, and the Attorney General multiple times last week—acknowledges the leadership […]
Senate Deliberates On Rural Development and Energy in the Farm Bill
On Wednesday, July 21, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry convened to hear from several witnesses regarding rural development and the farm bill. The hearing centered on the potential benefits of alternative fuels production and research both for developing rural communities and for strengthening national security. A list of witnesses and a link […]
House Committee Looks at USDA Rural Development
On Tuesday, July 20, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing to assess progress on Rural Development program implementation and hear ideas from the field in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill. USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager emphasized the “five pillars” the agency […]
Revised Chart on FY 2011 Ag Appropriations
With both the House Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee and the full Senate Appropriations Committee now having taken action on their Fiscal Year 2011 agricultural spending bills, NSAC is posting a revised version of its annual agriculture appropriations chart to our website. The chart provides detailed funding level decisions on a program-by-program basis for about 40 USDA […]
Resources and Showcase for Local and Regional Food Systems
This week, as part of the USDA Know Your Farmer Know Your Food initiative, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reported on investments in rural economies through development of local and regional food systems. As Vilsack said, “By connecting farmers and ranchers more closely with consumers of food, we are creating new economic opportunities for producers […]
Senate Committee Adopts Ag Spending Bill
On Thursday, July 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2011 Agricultural Appropriations bill by voice vote. The action on the agriculture bill came after a lengthy partisan debate over the overall discretionary spending levels for the entire government for FY 2011, which concluded with the adoption of Chairman Inouye’s proposed spending allocations. […]
FSA Programs Get USDA Push
USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative recently highlighted Farm Service Agency (FSA) resources that can be used to expand and diversify farm businesses, preserve natural resources critical to future farm income and create links with local and regional food systems. The Farm Storage Facility Loan program was expanded by the 2008 Farm Bill […]
Child Nutrition Bill with Farm to School Begins to Move in House
On Thursday, July 1, the full House Education and Labor Committee held its first hearing on Chairman George Miller’s (D-CA) Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act. Throughout the hearing endorsements for the Farm to School program were loud and clear, both from Committee members and from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The Miller bill includes […]
Vilsack: Farm Bill Should Emphasize Beginning Farmers
A funny thing happened on the way to a Senate Agriculture Committee farm bill hearing to review progress on implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill’s commodity, crop insurance, and disaster assistance programs. As the lead witness at the June 30 hearing, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack did not read a single word or convey a single […]
Rural Coop Development Grants Available
On Friday, June 25, USDA announced the availability of almost $8 million in competitive grant funds through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program (RCDG). The RCDG program is designed to improve the economic conditions in rural areas by funding the establishment or operation of Coop Development Centers that can help start up, expand or improve […]
Farmers Fly to Washington D.C. to Have Their Voices Heard
On June 23rd, 11 farmers from around the country flew to Washington D.C. to have their voices heard. NSAC hosted the Budget and Appropriations “Fly-In” at a critical juncture as the USDA prepares it’s budget proposals for the Fiscal Year 2012 and Congress starts work to finalize 2011 agricultural appropriations. The farmers and NSAC staff […]
Comments Invited on the Value-Added Producer Grant Program
Family farm advocates have an important opportunity to help shape the Value-Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG). USDA has requested comments on the administrative rules that will govern the implementation of this important program. VAPG offers competitive grants to farmers and ranchers developing new farm and food-related business enterprises that boost farm income, create jobs, and increase […]
Farm Aid Economic Stimulus Report
On June 2, the day before USDA’s National Rural Summit, Farm Aid released a new report entitled “Rebuilding America’s Economy with Family Farm-Centered Food Systems.” NSAC’s Ferd Hoefner, Shepherd’s Grain’s Karl Kupers, and Fred Kirschenmann with the Leopold Center joined Farm Aid in a press briefing on the role family farmers and local and regional […]