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NSAC News

Farm Service Agency

Release: Farm Service Agency Rolls Out Streamlined Direct Loan Applications

February 7, 2023

USDA announced that a streamlined process to apply for direct loans with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will be available to farmers and ranchers starting March 1, 2023. … Read More →

Filed Under: Press Releases

Comment: NSAC Praises USDA Announcement of More Than 3.1 Million Acres Offered Through CRP Grassland Signups

July 15, 2022

NSAC applauds the announcement that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for more than 3.1 million acres from agricultural producers and private landowners through this year’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Grassland Signup…. Read More →

Filed Under: Conservation, Energy & Environment, Grants and Programs, Press Releases

CLEAR30 Sign-Up Open Now!

July 7, 2022

On April 1, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment for the Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) CLEAR30 subprogram – an important component of the larger Continuous Conservation Reserve Program. With both programs taking applications, NSAC offers a quick review of how these essential conservation tools function and shares key information for producers interested in applying…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Grants and Programs

CRP Signup: Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel

May 27, 2022

For more than 35 years, the Farm Bill’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has paid farmers and landowners to take highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive lands out of crop production and enroll them in conserving practices instead. Through CRP, USDA pays farmers to set aside land for grass or tree cover for a period of 10 or 15 years. This May, the Farm Service Agency announced that it had accepted over 2 million new acres into the FY22 CRP General Signup. This included more than 1.75 million re-enrolled acres, over 85% of the total accepted…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Grants and Programs

Farmer Engagement Opportunity: FSA County Committee Elections

November 6, 2018

The midterm elections aren’t the only civic opportunity for farmers and ranchers this November. In addition to casting their votes for federal, state, and local elected officials, producers who participate or cooperate in a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) program are also eligible to vote in the upcoming FSA County Committee […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Farm Bill, General Interest

Farm Service Agency Lending to Beginning Farmers Remains Strong

April 25, 2018

Editor’s Note: This is the second post of a 3-part analysis of FSA loan program usage throughout FY 2017. Stay tuned for our final post on lending trends for women and farmers of color. Access to credit is a make or break issue for farmers, particularly those just starting out. Rarely do beginning farmers have […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Grants and Programs

Despite Decreased Demand for Loans, FSA Credit Still Critical for Farmers

April 4, 2018

Editor’s Note: This is the first post of a 3-part analysis of FSA loan program usage throughout FY 2017. Stay tuned for subsequent posts on lending trends for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Access to loans and credit lines are critical for farmers looking to start up a new operation, expand their operation, […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

New Opportunity to Influence Farm Policy at the Local Level

May 31, 2017

The power to make decisions about agricultural policies and programs lies not only with Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials, but also in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and rural community members across the country. Stakeholders interested in being involved in federal decision making without taking a trip to Washington D.C., should explore the […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, General Interest

New Guide Simplifies Federal Programs for Farmers

February 17, 2017

Which U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies have programs that are tailored to meet the needs of diversified farming operations, organic growers, or beginning farmers? What resources are available for small- and mid-sized growers looking to reach expanding regional markets, and where can you find them? For most people, even many farmers and ranchers, the […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Food Safety, Grants and Programs, Local & Regional Food Systems, Marketing and Labeling, Organic, Research, Education & Extension

FSA Loans to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Drop in 2016

February 9, 2017

Editor’s Note: This is the third post of a three-part blog series analyzing the impacts of the Farm Service Agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 direct and guaranteed loan programs. This blog will focus on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and the trends in their loan participation across the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

FSA Loans Remain Popular with Beginning Farmers; Guaranteed Lender Support Falling Behind

February 3, 2017

Editor’s Note: This is the second post of a three-part blog series detailing the outcomes of fiscal year (FY) 2016 direct and guaranteed loan data. This blog will focus specifically on beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) and their loan participation trends across the U.S. In the early 1990s, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) led […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

Growing Demand for FSA Loans in 2016 Shows Importance of Credit

January 26, 2017

Editor’s Note: This is the first post of a 3-part analysis of the FSA loan program throughout FY 2016. Click here to see part 2 (on beginning farmers and ranchers) and here for part 3 (on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers). Whether a farmer’s goal is to start up a new operation, expand their farm, […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Budget and Appropriations, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs

FSA Cooperative Agreements Connect Farmers to USDA Programs

January 25, 2017

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is dedicated to helping farmers start, grow, and improve their businesses. Farmers are busy people, however, and cannot always easily access information and programs from USDA. This has been especially challenging for farmers of color, military veteran farmers, women farmers, and farmers who utilize less conventional practices and […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Grants and Programs, Organic

COMMENT: NSAC Applauds USDA, Congress for Filling Farm Operating Loan Gap

September 2, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds USDA and the congressional agriculture appropriators who have answered the call of farmers across the country and allocated up to $185 million in additional lending for direct and guaranteed farm operating loans. Thanks to this reprogramming, nearly 2,000 approved loan applicants […]

Filed Under: Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Press Releases

Upcoming Webinar on the Newly Expanded Farm Storage Facility Loan Program

August 5, 2016

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, August 9 at 2:00pm EDT to provide information about the Farm Storage Facility Loan program and the expansions and improvements that have been made to it over the past two years. Register for the webinar here. Farm Storage Facility […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Food Safety, Local & Regional Food Systems

Farm Service Agency County Committee Members Help Shape Farmer Assistance Programs

July 5, 2016

The halls of Congress and offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are commonly where the decisions about agricultural policies and programs are made, but they are not the only places. For farmers, ranchers, and the scores of rural community members for whom a trip to Washington D.C. is not feasible, opportunities to get […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Commodity, Crop Insurance & Credit Programs, Conservation, Energy & Environment

RELEASE: Farm Groups and Farm Lenders Appeal for Assistance During Credit Crunch

June 2, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Juli Obudzinski, 202-547-5754, jobudzinski@sustainableagriculture.net Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754, fhoefner@sustainableagriculture.net Farm Groups and Farm Lenders Appeal for Assistance During Credit Crunch Washington, DC, June 2, 2016 – Operating loans are the lifeblood of farming. They help farmers get crops in the ground, by financing needed supplies and equipment, and when necessary, refinancing earlier loans. The federal government […]

Filed Under: Press Releases

New FSA Cooperative Agreements Expand Farmer Outreach Efforts

May 6, 2016

Even the best designed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs can fail to find success if farmers don’t have the knowledge or tools to access them. In order to increase program awareness and participation among underserved farmer communities, last year the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced a new cooperative agreement that would develop innovative […]

Filed Under: Beginning and Minority Farmers, Grants and Programs

Kemp responds to comments on “BCAP Boondoggle”

January 20, 2010

By Loni Kemp, consultant to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in response to a comment by  FSA employee Paul Harte on the article “BCAP Boondoggle” from January 11, 2010. Mr. Harte from USDA is quick to accuse, but the BCAP law is quite clear about where there is discretion that the Farm Service […]

Filed Under: Conservation, Energy & Environment

BCAP Boondoggle

January 11, 2010

By Loni Kemp, consultant to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy While the Biomass Crop Assistance Program designed to help farmers plant new energy crops languishes in administrative limbo—the BCAP that NSAC and others fought so hard for in the 2008 farm bill—the other BCAP has grown into a monster.  What started out as […]

Filed Under: Conservation, Energy & Environment

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