NSAC's Blog


The Agriculture Resilience Act in 2023

March 29, 2023

The Agriculture Resilience Act represents a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change in agriculture. First of its kind, the act addresses climate change throughout much of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) programming–not only that which affects farmers, but elements that shape the larger food system, as well. There is broad public support for government incentive-based solutions to climate challenges in agriculture. With its focus on incentives for best practices throughout agricultural programs, the ARA represents exactly what the public, researchers, and advocates have been calling for to move agriculture toward climate resilient systems.

Release: USDA Announces Implementation of Equity Work Under the Inflation Reduction Act and Equity Commission Outcomes

March 1, 2023

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) outlined plans to implement equity-related funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Department also presented some of the outcomes from the work of its Equity Commission.

Release: Broad Coalition Calls on Congress to Defend Climate Spending in Conservation Programs

February 27, 2023

Advocates of conservation programs delivered a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership calling for the defense of climate focused conservation spending in the Farm Bill. The letter, signed by 644 organizations, businesses, and farmers, makes clear to Congress that the historic investment in conservation programs made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 must be preserved in the 2023 Farm Bill. The IRA provided sweeping greenhouse gas reductions across sectors including farming.

IRA Rollout Begins: Conservation Program Application Dates Change

February 24, 2023

As of February 13, USDA began enrolling producers in working lands conservation programs using IRA funding. This blog post covers a few points farmers and food and agriculture system professionals need to know about how to access IRA funds in CSP and EQIP, and how these conservation programs will be affected.

Release: USDA Announces Implementation Plans for Inflation Reduction Act and Plans Around Western Water

February 13, 2023

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced plans for the implementation of the agricultural conservation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, an act that provided sweeping greenhouse gas reductions across sectors including farming. NSAC welcomes the Administration’s approach that encompasses both direct greenhouse gas benefits and the many co-benefits that accompany effective conservation practices.

NSAC’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform: Toward a More Resilient and Equitable Food and Farm System

December 7, 2022

This is the first post in a multipart series on NSAC’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform, meant to serve as an introduction to the platform and to NSAC’s overarching goals and priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill.

Release: USDA Announces $800 Million in Assistance to Distressed Farmers

October 18, 2022

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022: A Deep Dive on an Historic Investment in Climate and Conservation Agriculture

August 19, 2022

In this post NSAC takes a deep dive into the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – an historic investment in climate and conservation agriculture.

Release: Biden Signs Historic Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

August 16, 2022

Today, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a far-reaching $750 billion health care, tax, and climate bill, into law. The bill makes historic investments in federal programs to address the climate crisis and aims to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030.