Editor’s Note: On December 11, 2019 USDA Rural Development announced the availability of at least $37 million and a 90 day application period for VAPG grants. Stay tuned, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) will publish more information, including its updated Farmers’ Guide to Applying for the Value-Added Producer Grant Program in the new year. The […]
stories from the field
Stories from the Field: Growing Hope
In Ypsilanti, Michigan, Growing Hope works to reduce food inequity and inequality among their fellow residents. Growing Hope’s vision is to see Ypsilanti transformed into “a community where all people–particularly those with barriers due to race, class, culture, language, ability, and mobility–have access to nourishing local food that is culturally appropriate and affordable, can grow […]
Breaking Barriers: Food System Diversity Begins with Farmer Diversity
Editor’s Note: This article was written by NSAC Policy Specialist Nichelle Harriott for the DC EcoWomen blog (Nichelle is also a member of DC EcoWomen). The original post was published on January 19, 2019 and can be found here. I remember a time, growing up in a small rural community in the Caribbean, where my grandfather would disappear into the backyard on Sunday for about an hour and return with a chicken– dead and defeathered– for […]
Stories from the Field: Investing in Farmer Ingenuity
When your product is in more stores than there are people in town, you know you’re doing something right. Clay Oliver and his family are from the small town of Pitts, Georgia, but the artisan, cold-pressed oils they produce as Oliver Oil Company are found in kitchens across the country. The Oliver family’s creativity and […]
Stories from the Field: Training Farmers for a Safer Food Future
Farmers have always cared about food safety, because they care about the customers who enjoy their products. In 2010 Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which farmers must now learn to navigate in order to keep their operations running smoothly. FSMA represented the first real overhaul of our nation’s food safety practices since […]
SARE Stories from the Field: The Buzz on Pollinator Conservation
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth and final blog in our series highlighting the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Our previous blog featured farmers in California’s Salinas Valley and how they were able to reduce farm inputs through improved nutrient management When you hear the term “pollinator”, what do you think of? For most people, honeybees would […]