The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program or SARE is a farmer driven research and education competitive grants program designed to help advance sustainable agriculture across the whole of American agriculture. North Central, Northeastern, Western, and Southern regional councils — comprised of producers, researchers, educators, and government representatives — individually set SARE policies and make […]
Sustainable Livestock
Farm Aid 2014: Making Policy Connections on North Carolina Farms
Decisions that legislators make in Washington, DC have real impacts on the ground in communities and on farms around the country. On Friday, September 12, 2014, several NSAC staff members toured several farms in and around Raleigh, North Carolina hosted by Farm Aid (an NSAC member) ahead of their 2014 Farm Aid Benefit Concert. The […]
USDA Climate Report Misses Sustainable Systems
On Thursday, July 31, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report, Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity-Scale Inventory, which provides scientific methods for quantifying the changes in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and carbon storage from various land management and conservation activities. The report is designed to aid […]
USDA Webinar on the Grass Fed Program for Small Livestock Operations
On Tuesday, August 5, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) will hold a webinar about the previously announced Grass-Fed Program for Small and Very Small (SVS) Producers. The webinar will be held from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern Time. During the webinar AMS will provide an overview of the USDA […]
Livestock Industry Examined by House Agriculture Committee
On April 30, the Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to discuss challenges facing the livestock industry. The most common topics cited were feed costs, drought, animal disease, trade, and the regulatory requirements that impact this sector of the agricultural economy. Panel 1 – Questions for USDA The […]
New Grass-Fed Beef Option for Small Farms
On April 29, USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) announced the establishment of a new certification option for small grass-fed beef producers. The Grass-Fed Program for Small and Very Small (SVS) Producers is a new offshoot of the Grass-Fed Marketing Claim Standard available under the USDA Process Verified Program (PVP). The new option allows small operations […]