What do you get when you mix a pandemic context, a carbon-conscious group of farmers and advocates, and a critical window for Congressional action on the climate crisis? The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)’s latest Virtual Farmer “Fly-In” on Climate and Agriculture. Bringing farmers to Washington, D.C. to tell their stories to their lawmakers and […]
Research
How the Biden-Harris Administration Can Support a More Sustainable and Resilient Food System
NSAC has identified the most pressing issues facing the sustainable agriculture community for the Biden-Harris Administration to prioritize in order to rebuild our food system. At the top of the list are issues like addressing the climate crisis, building a more resilient food supply chain, addressing longstanding issues of racial inequities, strengthening anti-trust enforcement, and scaling up investments in public research…. Read More →
$22.6 Million Awarded to Support Organic Farming, Research
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 […]
Calling all Researchers! Nearly $300 million in Ag Research Funding Now Available!
USDA recently announced over $290 million in research grant funding through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – including funding for research on plant breeding, local and regional food systems, beginning farmers, farmers of color, and the impact of COVID-19 on our farmers and the food supply chain…. Read More →
Regional and Long-Term Agricultural Research Build Climate Resilience
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth blog in a series focusing on specific provisions included in the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA) introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) in February 2020. The ARA represents the first comprehensive piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives addressing climate change and agriculture. Read blogs one, two, three, […]
USDA Announces New COVID Rapid Response Research Program
The nation’s food system and agriculture supply chains have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant impacts are being felt across the entire food and agriculture sector including the reduction in operation of restaurants, farmers markets, processing and packaging facilities, to name a few. Farmers and ranchers have voiced the strong need for intervention to […]
$192 Million in Food and Agriculture Research Funding Now Available
Editor’s note: This is an updated post of an article originally published by NSAC in May 2019 that has been updated to reflect changes made to the FY 2020 Request for Application, which was recently released late 2019. The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is the largest federal agricultural research competitive grant program. In […]
New On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials Program Awards Over $24 Million
Conservation innovators recently received a major infusion of support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which last month announced over $24 million in awards for On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials (On-Farm Trials). Sixteen projects received awards this cycle ranging from $280,000 to $3,000,000. These projects will advance innovative conservation practices […]
Comment: Farm, Union and Science Groups Urge Congress to Stand Strong Against USDA Relocation
Statement prepared by AFGE, ASA, NFU, NSAC, and UCS urging Congress to stand by ERS and NIFA research that supports farmers and consumers. … Read More →
New Beginning Farmer Analysis Highlights Value of USDA’s Economic Research Service
The Economic Research Service (ERS) is the primary federal research agency for economic and statistical information about our country’s food and farm sector and related policies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). ERS publications and research findings provide essential data and analysis that helps identify trends and inform policymakers and other stakeholders about the […]
Over $24 Million Awarded to Support Organic Research, Farmers
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 […]
Huge Research Investments Seek to Advance Sustainable Agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a nearly $80 million investment into a new research initiative that will fund long-term, ground-breaking research needed to transition our current agricultural sector into a more sustainable and resilient system. These federal research grants are the first of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) new Sustainable Agriculture […]
SARE Roundup: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Opportunities
Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of periodic blog posts on the happenings in each of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) regions, focusing on project solicitations and grant award announcements. Over the last 30 years, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has funded more than 6,800 farmer-driven research and education […]
Farmer Outreach Needed to Increase Adoption of Research Innovations
U.S. agriculture relies on innovations and new technology to support not continued productivity and to increase resilience within our farm and food systems. Investment in publicly funded agriculture research, however, has stagnated over the several decades, even though the need to equip farmers with new tools to address new challenges is increasingly dire. Support for […]
Demolition by Relocation: ERS and NIFA Moving Day Looms Closer
Last week, the Senate Agriculture Committee took the latest action in the ongoing, collaborative effort to reverse the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) relocation of two core research agencies from Washington, D.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. The Committee called on Dr. Scott Hutchins, Deputy Undersecretary for USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area to […]
Cover Crops – Good for Crop Yields, Soil Health, and Bottom Lines
The benefits of cover crops have long been known to farmers, and today, they are also increasingly being studied by agricultural researchers. Despite their benefits to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines, however, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain. One significant barrier for many farmers is the cost of introducing cover […]
Farmers and Policy-Makers Need USDA Research Agencies in Washington
On Wednesday, June 5, 2019, Congress hosted its second hearing on the proposed relocation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The issue is raising serous concern among the agriculture and research communities, as well as a growing number of Members of […]
AFRI’s Foundational RFA Open to Research on Sustainable Agriculture
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the largest federal agricultural research competitive grant program, released its Request for Applications (RFA) for its Foundational and Applied Science Program for the fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The purpose of AFRI’s “Foundational” program is to invest in research, education, and extension projects that support more sustainable, productive, […]
Organic Survey: Update and 2019 Recommendations
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is preparing to survey the nation’s organic farmers in an effort to collect data on acreage, production, and sales for a variety of organic crop and livestock commodities. Earlier this year, NASS announced that it would begin soliciting feedback on its proposal for the 2019 Organic Survey, which the […]
RELEASE: Administration Continues to Strong-Arm Relocation of Core Research Agencies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Administration Continues to Strong-Arm Relocation of Core Research AgenciesNational Sustainable Agriculture Coalition urges Congress to protect family farmers, stop proposed moves Washington, DC, May 3, 2019 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its list of finalists for the proposed relocation […]
$90 Million Available for Large-Scale Sustainable Agriculture Research
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) largest competitive grants program. AFRI, which is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), funds research, education and extension projects that address food and agricultural systems. AFRI’s Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) program recently announced the availability of $90 […]
SARE ROUNDUP: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Opportunities
Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of periodic blog posts on the happenings in each of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) regions, focusing on project solicitations and grant award announcements. Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has funded 6,800 farmer-driven research and education initiatives through competitive […]
Organic Transitions Program Applications Now Open
On the heels of the publication of the Request for Applications (RFA) for the the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has also just released this year’s RFA for the Organic Transitions Program (ORG). Like they did with OREI, NIFA has […]
Congress Reintroduces Bill to Keep Research Agencies in Nation’s Capital
Amidst ongoing budget negotiations to prevent another government shutdown, Members of Congress followed through with their commitment to continue to stand up against the proposed move of two premier research institutions from the Capital region. This week, Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), and 12 other members of Congress reintroduced the Agriculture Research Integrity […]