FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754, RKovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Greg Fogel, 202-547-5754, GFogel@sustainableagriculture.net Farm and Food Groups Oppose Attempts to Reopen the 2014 Farm Bill Coalition asks House and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees to protect mandatory funding for critical farm and food assistance programs Washington, DC, February 21, 2017 – Today, a broad alliance […]
appropriations
NSAC’s Sweet 16: Top Wins for Sustainable Agriculture in 2016
If some years are rollercoasters, 2016 was more like the tilt-a-whirl – a lot of effort spent to turn just slightly in one direction or another, much spinning in circles, and a headache at the end for your trouble. Despite all the stop and starts, however, the sustainable agriculture community came out of the last […]
Congress Prepares to Pass Funding Extension, Includes Provision to Fill Farm Loan Shortfall
In order to keep the country’s lights on, Congress will need to pass – and the President will need to sign – new appropriations legislation before midnight tonight. Yesterday, the House passed a “continuing resolution” (CR) 326-96, to extend last year’s funding levels for a second time until April 28 (the first CR was passed […]
Post-Election: What’s Next for Food and Agriculture?
As we prepare for our first Administration change in eight years, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) wants to ensure that a diverse coalition of family farmers and ranchers, conservationists, and local and regional food enthusiasts have a place at the table. The election of any new President comes with many challenges and opportunities. In […]
Congress Passes Funding Extension, Postpones Action on Child Nutrition Bill
As the 2016 fiscal year comes to a close today, Congress is heading for the doors, and in many cases back out to the campaign trail. With a packed legislative calendar and a limited number of working days in September, Congress managed to attend to some important issues (like avoiding a government shut down, […]
Farmers Have Last Word Before Long Congressional Recess
Over the last few days, farmers from across the country have come to Washington to speak with their Senators and Representatives about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs that help them employ conservation measures on their farms, create business and financial plans, and much more. With Congress set to leave town today for a […]
Farmers Push for Action on Agriculture Funding Bill
If you want to gain some real insight into agricultural policies, your first stop should be one of America’s 2.1 million farms – a majority of which are small and medium-sized family farms. Though we can’t always get Congress to the farm, we can bring the farm to Congress. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) regularly […]
Appropriations Bills Would Block Clean Water and Farmworker Safety Rules
Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it had finalized the Clean Water Rule, a rule intended to clarify the scope of the agency’s jurisdiction over the “waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The rule, which has significant benefits for agriculture, clean water, and public health, went into […]
House Passes Controversial Child Nutrition Reauthorization Amidst Growing Opposition
Eight months after the last iteration of the Child Nutrition Act expired, the House Education and Workforce Committee this week advanced a controversial Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization (CNR) out of committee. After several hours of discussion and 31 proposed amendments, the “Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016” (H.R. 5003) passed by a 20 […]
A Breakdown of the Senate’s Annual Food and Farm Spending Bill
Each year, Congress debates and makes key decisions about federal funding priorities for all government agencies, programs, and initiatives – including programs and resources that support our nation’s farmers and ranchers. This week marks an important step in that process (known as appropriations), as the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund the U.S. […]
Senate Debate of Agriculture Appropriations Bills to Begin Next Week
This week, Congressional appropriators returned from their weeklong recess to pick up where they left off and continue finalizing funding bills for fiscal year (FY) 2017. While the House Appropriations Committee passed its agriculture appropriations bill on April 19, which included funding bills for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug […]
RELEASE: Proposed GIPSA Rider Aims to Silence America’s Contract Farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Wolfe, 202-547-5754, PWolfe@sustainableagriculture.net Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 FHoefner@sustainableagriculture.net Proposed GIPSA Rider Aims to Silence America’s Contract Farmers National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Speaks Out Against Anti-Farmer Maneuver Washington, DC, April 18, 2016 – Family farmers in the contract poultry industry thought their time had finally come. After years of struggling to eke […]
RELEASE: Agriculture Programs Help Veterans Launch Successful Careers in Farming
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, NSAC, 202-547-5754, RKovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Evan Eagan, FVC, (530) 419-6740, evan@farmvetco.org Agriculture Programs Help Veterans Launch Successful Careers in Farming U.S. Air Force Veteran and Montana Farmer Testifies Before Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Washington, DC, April 5, 2016 – Spring is not just cherry blossom season here in the capital […]
Farm Groups Defend Agricultural Conservation Programs
Congressional appropriators are this month in the process of drafting their fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations bills, bills which will determine the success or failure of programs by setting federal funding levels for the year. Several agricultural conservation programs, like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), are under fire in […]
Congressional Progress Report on Budget and Agriculture Appropriations
Each year, Congress goes through two separate, but related, processes to set funding levels for federal programs. The House and Senate Budget Committees develop budget resolutions that set overall spending caps and establish funding-related policy goals. Shortly thereafter, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees write annual spending bills (known as appropriations bills) to fund the […]
Representatives Signal Support for Minority and Veteran Farmers
The Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the “Section 2501” program) is the only farm bill program dedicated to addressing the specific needs of minority and veteran farmers and ranchers. As annual appropriations request deadlines closed earlier this week, 18 Members of Congress signed a letter supporting full […]
Farmers Fly in to the Capital to Advocate for Sustainable Agriculture
Throughout the month of March, farmers, ranchers, and “ag-vocates” from across the country traveled to DC for a series of “farmer fly-ins”, sponsored by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). During the fly-in the groups met with Senators and Representatives from their home states to discuss the benefits of federal sustainable agriculture programs, and to […]
$260 Million Available for Regional Conservation Partnerships
Well-designed public-private partnerships can enhance the delivery of federal conservation programs. Each of the last three farm bills have included a special funding set-aside for conservation partnerships, and in recent years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has actively promoted these partnerships. On Monday, March 14, USDA announced the availability of $260 million for […]
The Fate of Food and Agriculture Programs in 2017 Will Be Decided in Appropriations
Last week, several food and agriculture agencies came before the House Subcommittee to defend their programs … Read More →
Farmers Fly-in to Fight for Sustainable Ag Funding
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, 202-547-5754 Farmers Fly-in to Fight for Sustainable Ag Funding National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Helps Farmers Share Their Stories with Legislators Washington, DC, March 1, 2016 – This week the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), one of the nation’s leading voices in food and agriculture policy, kicks off a month-long series […]
Senators Support Continued Innovation in Agriculture
Eighteen Senators have signed-on to a bipartisan letter spearheaded by Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Specter (D-PA) in support of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program – USDA’s premier competitive research, education, and extension grants program advancing the development of sustainable agricultural systems. The letter was submitted to the Chair and Ranking Member of […]
Op-Ed in SF Chronicle urges investment in beginning farmers
We are excited to share this op-ed by beginning farmer, Rebecca King, who participated in the NSAC beginning farmer fly-in earlier this month. The article addresses the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account program, which would provide matched savings accounts and financial training to beginning farmers to help them get started. Click here for […]
10 Days of Sustainable Ag Advocacy: An Intern’s Perspective
by Kara Slaughter, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute “With reference to individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance.” -George Washington So reads one of the three quotations at the top of the stone edifice at the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, D.C. Part of what prompted me to quit my “real job” […]
2011 Budget Drill Down: Sustainable Ag Research
This post is the fourth in a series of commentaries by NSAC staff on the President’s 2011 budget, released on February 1st. Read the overview by Executive Director Aimee Witteman. Look out in the following days for more budget analysis on research programs, conservation, rural programs and more. The President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Request […]