The 2024 calendar year ended with a flurry of Congressional activity. In the early morning of December 21, 2024, Congress passed, and the President signed the American Relief Act, averting a government shutdown. Beyond extending government funding, the American Relief Act also included – and excluded – numerous policy provisions that will bring lasting impacts […]
appropriations
2024 Year in Review: Key Wins, Challenges, and What’s Next for Sustainable Agriculture
There’s no such thing as a ‘quiet’ year when it comes to federal food and farm policy, and 2024 proved to be no exception! As the year comes to a close, we are reflecting on the progress we have made toward building a more resilient and equitable farm and food system. Amidst endless delays in […]
FY25 Agriculture Spending Bills: What You Need to Know
On July 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill with unanimous, bipartisan agreement. The Senate Appropriations Committee skipped subcommittee markup this fiscal year, and the full committee’s unanimous approval took less than 10 minutes (59:00 – 1:07:54). This outcome […]
Agriculture Spending Bills Must Address Broad Demand for Research and Conservation Programs
The post highlights the critical need for increased funding in the FY2025 Agriculture Appropriations Act to support research and conservation programs vital for addressing climate challenges and supporting diverse farming operations. The post emphasizes the critical need for funding to support Conservation Technical Assistance, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), and the Office of Urban Agriculture to enhance resilience, profitability, and equitable access across agricultural sectors…. Read More →
CBO’s Farm Bill Baseline, Explained
The Congressional Budget Office releases annual baseline projections for federal agriculture policy, including the farm bill, which significantly influence policy debates and outcomes. The latest projections show a decrease in the ten-year cost of farm bill-related programs, primarily due to a drop in SNAP costs but countered by a substantial increase in the crop insurance program’s expenses. Changes in these projections impact the cost and effectiveness of policy proposals, especially regarding crop insurance reform and commodity programs, while also affecting conservation programs and nutrition assistance, ultimately shaping the direction and scope of future farm bills…. Read More →
Sowing Seeds of Impact: NSAC’s Year in Review and Vision for 2024
It has been a long, unusual year for federal policy, and the implications for sustainable agriculture and food systems policy have been unmistakable. In our latest blog post, NSAC highlights all that we achieved in 2023 towards building a more sustainable, equitable transformations in the food and farming system…. Read More →
What’s At Stake: Appropriations, Shutdown, and Farm Bill
Last week, both the House and Senate were back in session after more than a month of Congressional recess. As of today, Congress has one week – just 4 session days – until the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 on September 30. This post looks at where things stand across all of these moving pieces as Congress enters a crucial week of fiscal negotiations that will undoubtedly impact on federal food and farm policy…. Read More →
Correcting the Record: The IRA Made More Money Available for All Conservation Work
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) invested billions of dollars in working lands conservation programs, making more money available to all farmers and for all conservation activities. This post looks at what this means for farmers hoping to implement CSAF practices as well as other conservation activities…. Read More →
A Deep Dive on the Senate’s FY2024 Appropriations Bill
On June 22, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill in what has become a rare occurrence – unanimous, bipartisan approval. The Senate’s approval of the agriculture bill stood in stark contrast to what transpired in the House Appropriations Committee just a week earlier – an eight plus hour partisan slog that resulted in approval of the House’s FY2024 Agriculture spending bill along party lines. In this post, NSAC takes a closer look at the bill. … Read More →
Comment: NSAC Urges Support for Key FY2024 Agricultural Program Spending as Senate Appropriators Respond to House Cuts
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) commented on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal year 2024 Agriculture appropriations bill, noting that in the shadow of a debt-ceiling deal that put tremendous strain on discretionary spending, Senate Appropriators have crafted a Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Agriculture bill that – while not perfect – is an important bipartisan response to the House’s deep and unnecessary cuts…. Read More →
Release: President Announces Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture Spending
Last week, the Biden-Harris Administration released the summary of the President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), and today released additional details. The proposal for FY24 (October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024) outlines the Administration’s spending priorities for the coming fiscal year and requests $30.1 billion in discretionary funding for USDA, a $3.8 billion or 14% percent increase/decrease from last year’s enacted level. … Read More →
NSAC’s Top 10 of 2022: A Year in Review
The end of a year signifies a time to reflect on all the most important accomplishments and tribulations of the past year. At NSAC, we had the opportunity to celebrate and find new reasons to expand our advocacy to support sustainable agriculture practices, small-scale producers, diversified farming, local food systems, and beginning and underserved farmers and ranchers. This post shares NSAC’s Top 10 accomplishments of 2022. … Read More →
Release: Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Advances
Congress released a $1.7 trillion year-end bipartisan spending package. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 consists of all 12 fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bills. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is encouraged to see Congress taking steps to avoid a continuing resolution with concrete progress toward a bipartisan FY2023 spending bill…. Read More →
Welcome Back from Recess
This week, the House of Representatives and Senate are both in session for the first time since the end of the August Congressional recess. In this post, NSAC summarizes recent activities and maps out the upcoming landscape for the 118th Congress and its reauthorization of the farm bill…. Read More →
Release: Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Advances FY 2023 Agriculture Spending Bill
Today, the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee publicly released the text of their Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Appropriations bill which provides significant increases in several critical priority areas that will strengthen the resilience of rural communities and bolster sustainable food systems…. Read More →
Comment: NSAC Responds to House Passage of FY 2023 Agriculture Spending Bill
“The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the House Appropriations Committee members for voting to support robust funding for Conservation Operations and a significant increase in Conservation Technical Assistance that farmers and ranchers need to adopt new conservation practices that improve the sustainability and profitability of their family farms.”… Read More →
THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION AND THE GRAZING REVOLUTION: FARMERS AND RANCHERS ASK CONGRESS TO FUND THE GRAZING LANDS CONSERVATION INITIATIVE (GLCI)
Graziers, or producers who utilize systematic grazing management in raising livestock, are making the case for the widespread adoption of pasture based practices that demonstrate synchronous benefits for both local food systems and ecosystems. The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) enters the landscape provides local and regional resources for farmers and ranchers – both established and beginning – who are interested in understanding and utilizing grazing management practices…. Read More →
Inside the FY22 Appropriations Package: Wins for Sustainable Agriculture
On March 15th President Biden signed H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, also known as the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Omnibus. In this blog post, NSAC examines the content of the FY 2022 agriculture appropriations bill and how NSAC’s appropriations priorities fared in the process…. Read More →
162 Organizations Criticize Congress’ Move to Rescind USDA Funding Ahead of a Global Food Crisis
Farm Action, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Rural Coalition, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and 157 signing organizations criticized a move by Congress to rescind between $1.6 and $1.65 billion of USDA funding. … Read More →
Release: President Announces Robust Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2023 Agriculture Spending
FY 2023 Budget Proposal would bolster research and extension programs, fund conservation and climate-friendly practices to build resilient food systems… Read More →
Release: Congressional FY 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Totals $1.5 Trillion
Congress released a $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations package, H.R. 2471, for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is pleased to see significant increases in several critical priorities to increase the resilience of rural communities and bolster sustainable food systems…. Read More →
A Year in Review: Wins and Reflections for Sustainable Agriculture in 2021
As this unpredictable year comes to a close and we look to the future, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition takes a look back at our coalition’s hard-fought wins towards building a more sustainable, equitable food and farm system in 2021…. Read More →
Budget Reconciliation: The Missing Pieces
A lot has changed since we last blogged about budget reconciliation, agriculture, and climate change just two weeks ago. At that point, there were still major outstanding details about the proposed agriculture, forestry, and rural development investments the House and Senate Agriculture Committees had put together, including the entire anticipated conservation and debt relief provisions. In this latest post, NSAC analyzes the conservation and debt relief provisions and give an update on the process and path forward to developing and passing the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation bill. … Read More →
Comment: National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) responds to Senate Agriculture Appropriations Approval of FY 2022 Bill
For Immediate Release Contact: Laura ZaksNational Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) press@sustainableagriculture.net / Tel: 347.563.6408 Washington, D.C., August 4, 2021 – In response to the markup of the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022” by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following […]