NSAC's Blog
More Funding Available for 2021 Organic Research
November 25, 2020
$22.6 Million Awarded to Support Organic Farming, Research
September 24, 2020
Research underpins the success of every farm – not least of all for organic agriculture. Cutting-edge innovations and science-based studies continue to advance this multi-billion dollar industry, at times with funding from the federal government. The National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced over $20 million in research investments to support organic farmers […]
Over $24 Million Awarded to Support Organic Research, Farmers
October 9, 2019
Researchers and scientific institutions across the food and farm communities have been on edge as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun the process of relocating the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) (and agency staff) to its new headquarters in Kansas City. Even in these early stages, the relocation process has already […]
FY 2020 Budget Update – What’s at Stake?
May 10, 2019
Congress is back from their April recess with an extensive to-do list of urgent items to be addressed. Several agenda items are tied to the annual appropriations process for fiscal year (FY) 2020, including coming to agreement on a new budget deal (no small feat!). Whether or not Congress is able to come together to […]
RFA Roundup: Bonanza of Spring Funding Opportunities
May 2, 2019
Grant funding announcements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been log jammed due to a series of government delays over the course of the last six months: passage of the 2018 Farm Bill was delayed by roughly three months, the last several appropriations and budget bills have been delayed, and the government shutdown […]
Organic Research Funding Opportunities Released
March 29, 2019
Family farmers, researchers, and advocates like the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) helped to achieve historic victories for the organic and research communities in the 2018 Farm Bill. Of particular significance was the establishment of permanent, mandatory funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) over the next five years. This funding increase […]
2018 Farm Bill Drilldown: Research and Plant Breeding
December 14, 2018
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the final negotiated 2018 Farm Bill, which was released on December 11, 2018 by the leaders of the Farm Bill Conference Committee. Subsequent posts focus on crop insurance and commodity subsidies; previous posts focused on local and regional food and beginning/socially disadvantaged farmers, organic agriculture, and conservation. The bill was […]
Organic Research Programs Award Last Round of 2014 Farm Bill Funds
October 19, 2018
When Congress allowed the 2014 Farm Bill to expire on September 30, 2018, a host of important food and farm programs lost their authority to operate, their funding, or both. Among the programs thrown into farm bill limbo by this delay are two competitive organic research grant programs that recently announced what could be their […]
What’s at Stake: Organic Agriculture
September 20, 2018
Editor’s Note: The 2014 Farm Bill expires on September 30th. If the next farm bill is not finalized before that date, numerous “tiny but mighty” farm bill programs that support family farmers and food-producing communities will effectively shut down in terms of new funding and grant opportunities for fiscal year 2019. These workhorse programs, which […]
Draft Senate Farm Bill: Organic Agriculture
June 9, 2018
This is the third post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the draft farm bill released on June 7, 2018 by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Subsequent posts focus on: local/regional food systems and rural development, crop insurance and commodity subsidies, and beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. The bill will be considered and “marked-up” (aka amended) by the full […]