On July 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill with unanimous, bipartisan agreement. The Senate Appropriations Committee skipped subcommittee markup this fiscal year, and the full committee’s unanimous approval took less than 10 minutes (59:00 – 1:07:54). This outcome […]
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Agriculture Spending Bills Must Address Broad Demand for Research and Conservation Programs
The post highlights the critical need for increased funding in the FY2025 Agriculture Appropriations Act to support research and conservation programs vital for addressing climate challenges and supporting diverse farming operations. The post emphasizes the critical need for funding to support Conservation Technical Assistance, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), and the Office of Urban Agriculture to enhance resilience, profitability, and equitable access across agricultural sectors…. Read More →
SARE Delivers for Farmers. Will Congress Deliver for SARE?
NSAC and 97 other organizations have urged Congressional Appropriators to fully fund the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at $60 million for fiscal year 2025. SARE, established over 35 years ago, focuses on farmer-driven research and education initiatives but has yet to reach its fully authorized funding amount. Despite its proven effectiveness in addressing agricultural challenges, demand for SARE funding surpasses available resources, making increased funding crucial for addressing issues such as soil health, rural economy, and climate change resilience…. Read More →
A Deep Dive on the Senate’s FY2024 Appropriations Bill
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 →
Growing SARE’s Impact
Last week the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), together with over 40 food, farm, conservation, and rural organizations, delivered a letter to Congressional Appropriators urging them to fully fund the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) at $60 million. This request echoes the President’s FY24 Budget Request for SARE…. Read More →
Release: Briefing Addresses Building Agricultural Resilience for Future Generations
NSAC, Union of Concerned Scientists, Carbon180, and the Breakthrough Institute hosted a joint briefing on how public funding for agricultural research and development (R&D) has the potential to improve sustainability and build farmer and rancher resilience in the face of increasing food system disruptions caused by climate change. … Read More →
Comment: NSAC Applauds Introduction of SARE Bill
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued a comment, attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Interim Policy Director, in support of the introduction of Representative Schrier’s H.R. 9667…. Read More →
Digging into the 2023 Farm Bill: Senate Hearings Kick-Off the Long Road to the 2023 Farm Bill
NSAC details the recent Senate Agriculture Committee field hearing as a first step as part of the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization process. This is the first post in a multi-part series taking a deeper look into the 2023 Farm Bill process…. Read More →
Inside the FY22 Appropriations Package: Wins for Sustainable Agriculture
On March 15th President Biden signed H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, also known as the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Omnibus. In this blog post, NSAC examines the content of the FY 2022 agriculture appropriations bill and how NSAC’s appropriations priorities fared in the process…. Read More →
Heart and Soil: Farmer Advocate Rosie Burroughs Calls on Congressmembers to Take Climate Action
“Anytime you want to talk about enthusiasm on soils, talk to Rosie,” affirmed Representative Jim Costa (D-CA), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. At the February 3rd hearing “Sustainability in the Livestock Sector: Environmental Gain and Economic Viability” regenerative agriculture took center stage through the eyes and voice of Rosie Burroughs, matriarch of Burroughs Family Farms in the San Joaquin Valley of California…. Read More →
A Year in Review: Wins and Reflections for Sustainable Agriculture in 2021
As this unpredictable year comes to a close and we look to the future, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition takes a look back at our coalition’s hard-fought wins towards building a more sustainable, equitable food and farm system in 2021…. Read More →
SARE’s Farmer Driven Research Shines At Virtual Briefing
Anyone familiar with USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is already aware of how impactful the program’s farmer-driven research and educational outreach has been over the last 30 years. In fact, SARE has granted $327 million to more than 7,600 projects across the country since its inception. Its groundbreaking work on cover crops […]
Do Cover Crops Help Farmers Save Costs?
After decades of research, cover crops have been widely shown to be beneficial to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines. However, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain – including start-up costs and the amount of time before benefits are seen…. Read More →
National Cover Crop Farmer Survey Now Underway!
After decades of research, cover crops have been widely shown to be beneficial to crop yields, soil health, and farmers’ bottom lines. However, many obstacles to cover crop adoption still remain – including start-up costs and the amount of time before benefits are seen. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
SARE Celebrates 30 Years, Looks Forward to $35M in FY 2018 Funding
There was a lot to celebrate last week at the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program’s (SARE) Our Farms, Our Future conference in St. Louis, MO. For one, SARE and the Appropriate Technology Transfer to Rural Areas (ATTRA) program were celebrating their 30th anniversaries and all the amazing accomplishments each program had helped to make […]
30th Anniversary Conference Reflects on Future of Sustainable Agriculture
Over 30 years ago, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (SAC) – predecessor to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) – championed the development of the first-ever, farmer-driven research program as one of their first campaigns. SAC’s efforts bore fruit, and as a result, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program was created. In its 30-year […]
SARE Roundup: News on Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program funds farmer-driven research and education through a competitive grants program. SARE is the only competitive research grant program offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that focuses solely on sustainable agriculture; the program been supporting research in this field for nearly 30 years. SARE is administered […]
Farmer Input Needed for 2017 National Cover Crop Survey
Calling all farmers! Whether you’ve been a longtime cover crop user, considered cover crops but haven’t yet made the leap, or have never even heard of cover crops, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program needs your input for their National Cover Crop Survey. For the fifth year in a row, the United State’s Department […]
The Future of Farming Depends on the Future of Farm Research
What does the future of agriculture look like? To the extent that many consumers think about this issue it is only a few months at a time – we may be wistfully thinking of that time in spring when asparagus is at its peak, or wondering how the price of milk or eggs may be […]
SARE ROUNDUP: NEWS ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
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. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program funds farmer-driven research and education through a competitive grants program. SARE is the only […]