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Supporting the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.

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NRCS

More Money Out the Door! Farm Bill and IRA Funding Available Through Conservation Innovation Grants

September 15, 2023

USDA NRCS announced the availability of $65 million for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This funding is split into two separate opportunities: $50 million for CIG On Farm Trials and $15 million for CIG Classic. Half of the funding for the On Farm Trials competition was provided through the historic Inflation Reduction Act. This post provides details on both programs and how to apply before the October 30, 2023 deadline…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill

On IRA’s One Year Anniversary, the Top 5 Things to Know About the Historic Investment in Climate-Friendly Agriculture

August 18, 2023

Just over a year ago, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA invested nearly $20 billion in climate-friendly agriculture practices. As an organization that represents small and midsized-farmers across the nation, it is difficult to overstate the transformative potential of this funding to support all farmers in building vibrant and productive farms that can contribute to a climate-resilient future. As Congress inches toward Farm Bill reauthorization, this post highlights 5 key things to know about the IRA’s $20 billion investment in climate-friendly agriculture. … Read More →

Filed Under: Budget and Appropriations, Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill

A Deep Dive on the Senate’s FY2024 Appropriations Bill

June 30, 2023

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 →

Filed Under: Budget and Appropriations, Carousel

Waste and Water Woes

June 14, 2023

This guest post by Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, (IATP), discusses how popular conservation programs should focus on small-scale and sustainable farms, not industrial-scale farms…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment

Grazing Lands Awards Bolster Sustainable Conservation Practices

May 19, 2023

Last month, USDA NRCS announced awards for 49 new projects under the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). This post gives an overview of the most recent round of cooperative agreements and makes the case for why continuing to fund the GLCI is critical to ensure that all farmers and ranchers with grazing operations can access the resources they need to implement conservation on the land…. Read More →

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

Guest Post: Still Closed Out

March 2, 2023

This guest post by Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, (IATP), provides an update on the federal conservation agriculture policy landscape since it’s 2021 publication, Closed Out: How U.S. farmers are denied access to conservation programs. … Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment

RFA ROUNDUP: SPRING 2023 SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

February 28, 2023

This post shares all the information that food and farm organizations might need to best utilize the newly released funding resources. From funding guidelines, application deadlines, and program requirements, NSAC covers everything needed for the latest round of Requests for Applications (RFAs) to support your community of farmers and advocates…. Read More →

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

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…. Read More →

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

Climate and Agriculture Policy Recommendations from House Climate Leaders

December 21, 2022

Two different bodies within the House of Representatives recently released recommendations for how to address climate change in agricultural legislation. Members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) provided recommendations to House leadership on how to address climate change in the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization. In addition, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (HSCCC) released a final report on its accomplishments as well as additional opportunities–including those that can be included in the next Farm Bill…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment, Research, Education & Extension

$300 Million Invested into New Organic Transition Initiative

September 15, 2022

The Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) is USDA’s recent program aimed at helping “build new and better markets and streams of income” for organic farmers and producers, by providing producers with technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring, financial assistance for conservation and crop insurance, and support developing markets. … Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Grants and Programs, Organic

RCPP Grants: A New Take on Alternative Funding

September 2, 2022

USDA recently announced the availability of up to $40 million for nutrient management projects funded through grant agreements, called RCPP Grants. Applications for RCPP Grants will be accepted until October 31, 2022. In this post, NSAC provides background on RCPP, highlights some FY 2022 awards, and provides details on this new iteration of RCPP…. Read More →

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

$15 Million Available for Conservation Innovation Grants

August 25, 2022

On August 10th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced the availability of $15 million for the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. This funding is in addition to the $25 million in funding that was previously announced for on-farm trials (a CIG sub-program established under the 2018 Farm Bill), and […]

Filed Under: Conservation, Energy & Environment, Farm Bill, Grants and Programs

Comment: NSAC Applauds USDA Investment in New Organic Transition Initiative

August 22, 2022

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued a comment applauding today’s announcement of an up to $300 million investment into the new Organic Transition Initiative. … Read More →

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

Managed Grazing Champions Celebrate Funding Announcement for GLCI

August 11, 2022

This guest blog post by Margaret Krome, Policy Program Director at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, an NSAC member based in East Troy, WI, details the recent announcement of $12 million for cooperative agreements under this year’s request for applications for the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI).
… Read More →

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

Release: NSAC Celebrates GLCI Funding Announcement

August 10, 2022

This week the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced $12 million for its Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). NRCS will accept proposals through GLCI until September 22, 2022. … Read More →

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

$25 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR ON-FARM CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS

July 27, 2022

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service announced the availability of $25 million in funding to advance the adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation practices on agricultural lands. The funding is for on-farm trials, a subprogram of the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. The deadline to apply for On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials is September 22, 2022…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program: Between Farm Bills

June 28, 2022

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) was created in the 2014 Farm Bill through the combination of the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRE), the Grassland Reserve Program, and the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. The program is administered through Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS,) and is divided into two tracks: a wetland easement component and an agricultural land easement (ALE) component. The 2018 Farm Bill gave ACEP a major increase in annual funding – adding $200 million per year as compared to levels under the 2014 Farm Bill. The 2018 Farm Bill also added new provisions to prioritize projects that maintain farm viability and land affordability. … Read More →

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

What’s in the President’s Budget Request for Sustainable Agriculture?

May 13, 2022

The Biden-Harris Administration released the President’s Budget Request (PBR) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 on March 28, 2022. The $5.8 trillion budget request comes several months late and includes the President’s discretionary spending plans and builds on the PBR FY 2022. NSAC outlines the Administration’s proposed budget as it pertains to the sustainable agriculture community and specifically: climate and conservation, research and food safety, local food and rural development, and farm loans and beginning and socially disadvantaged producers. … Read More →

Filed Under: Budget and Appropriations, Carousel

CSP RENEWAL DEADLINE COMING UP QUICKLY!

April 1, 2022

Did you know that the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently accepting applications for contract renewals in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)? CSP is a comprehensive working lands conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to actively manage and maintain existing conservation systems and to implement additional conservation activities on land in production. The deadline to apply for a renewal is fast approaching! … Read More →

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

CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM SIGNUP BEGINS JANUARY 31, 2022

January 28, 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 instead in conserving practices. CRP signups begin January 31, 2022…. Read More →

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment

Release: NRCS Announces Improvements to CSP and EQIP

January 11, 2022

Yesterday, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) made a series of changes to its premier conservation programs to better support farmers’ ability to face climate change. … Read More →

Filed Under: Conservation, Energy & Environment, Press Releases

NSAC’s New Farmers’ Guide to CART Published

November 8, 2021

Fall is here, and it has brought with it new Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) program deadlines! NRCS recently unveiled a comprehensive list of program deadlines by state for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. This list has information on the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program […]

Filed Under: Carousel, Conservation, Energy & Environment, General Interest

Cover Crops and CAFOs: EQIP in FY 2019 and FY 2020

October 6, 2021

In this blog post, we analyze how EQIP financial assistance was utilized in FY 2019 and FY 2020 through the EQIP general pool. … Read More →

Filed Under: Conservation, Energy & Environment, General Interest, Grants and Programs, Sustainable Livestock

RELEASE: House Adopts Three Significant Amendments to Advance Sustainable Agriculture

July 29, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net  Tel. 347.563.6408 RELEASE: House Adopts Three Significant Amendments to Advance Sustainable Agriculture  NSAC urges the passing of the full minibus of Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills Washington, D. C., July 29, 2022 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the adoption of three […]

Filed Under: Budget and Appropriations, Press Releases

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