July 8, 2020
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced its 2019 awardees of its $90 million flagship Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) program. First announced in 2018, the SAS program specifically focuses on systemic approaches to the challenges facing sustainable food production. As part of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) offering, SAS’s second […]
February 21, 2020
Once again President Trump has offered a budget request to Congress that contradicts many of his public statements regarding his Administration’s support for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Like each of the previous budget request proposed by President Trump, the fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget includes substantial cuts to federal food and farm programs. President […]
January 4, 2018
The New Year may have just started, but there are already many federal funding opportunities available for eligible farmers, ranchers, non-profits, and universities. Several of these opportunities opened last year and have rapidly approaching deadlines. Others have been more recently posted, and you may have missed the Request for Application (RFA) announcement during the end-of-year […]
September 29, 2016
Local and regional food systems are expanding nationwide; supporting job growth in agriculture, revitalized rural and urban communities and increased consumer access to healthy sustainable local food and farm products. Developing markets for local and regionally produced food – building connections between farmers and consumers is no small task. That’s why the U.S. Department of […]
June 27, 2016
For decades, the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the “2501 Program”) has served as the only farm bill program dedicated to addressing the needs of family farmers and ranchers of color. Over the past 20 years, the 2501 program has invested millions of dollars into […]
June 17, 2016
One hundred years after Congress first created the Farm Credit System (FCS), a national network of financial institutions owned by farmers and their cooperatives and focused on providing credit to farmers, FCS remains an important source of capital for young, beginning, and small farmers across the country. Last week, the Farm Credit Administration (the regulatory […]
May 25, 2016
When you think of sustainable energy, what comes to mind? For most people, solar and wind power would top the list, but many may not realize that sustainable energy can also be generated from on-farm plant matter and animal waste. Many farmers are already using this method, called “bioenergy”, which is produced from a variety of […]
May 16, 2016
Editor’s Note: ‘Tis the season for federal program deadlines. In our ongoing effort to keep readers appraised of upcoming opportunities, we are issuing a revised list of program application information. As warmer weather settles in, farmers are busy planting crops, livestock are grazing on pasture, and farmers markets across the country are once again full […]
March 15, 2016
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 […]
March 1, 2016
Last week, several food and agriculture agencies came before the House Subcommittee to defend their programs