With farmers pulling long hours at the height of harvest season, and cases of the coronavirus skyrocketing across the country, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now providing additional funding to help many in our food and farm supply chains who were left out of previous aid programs. As of October 6, USDA […]
USDA
Cover Crops and CAFOs: EQIP in FY 2019 and FY 2020
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 →
Over $30 Million Awarded for Organic Research, Education, and Extension
NIFA has awarded over $30 million to fund organic research, education, and extension projects to improve yields, quality, and profitability for producers and processors who have adopted organic standards…. Read More →
Everything You Wanted to Know About Budget Reconciliation
Editors Note: At the time of publication, the anticipated conservation and debt relief provisions were not yet publicly available, they have since been released to the public, for analysis on those previously missing pieces, check out our subsequent post “Budget Reconciliation: The Missing Pieces”. At this point if you are paying attention to the news […]
Closed out: How U.S. farmers are denied access to conservation programs
Editor’s Note: This blog post is co-authored by Cathy Day, PhD, NSAC Climate Policy Coordinator and Michael Happ, Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, (IATP). ITAP is an NSAC member organization with a 30-year history of pursuing cutting edge solutions that benefit family farmers, rural communities and […]
Advancing Racial Justice and Equity Through the USDA
NSAC recently submitted a response to USDA’s request for comment on how the department can advance racial justice and equity for underserved communities. USDA is hoping to identify barriers that Black, Indigenous, and other BIPOC communities and individuals may face in accessing, enrolling, and participating in USDA programs and services, and engaging with USDA staff. […]
NSAC Releases Brief on Financing Options for Meat Processing Infrastructure
Editor’s Note: This blog post was co-authored by Matt Kneece, S.C. Policy Coordinator for Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, the lead drafter of NSAC’s Issue Brief on Financing Options for Local/Regional Meat Processing Infrastructure and Kelly Nuckolls, Senior Policy Specialist at NSAC. As the food system begins to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
Investments and Opportunities for Input on Meat and Poultry Processing Infrastructure
USDA recently announced over $600 million in future investments to support and increase processing capacity through grants, loans, and technical assistance to address concentration within the meat and poultry sectors, as well as small plant fee relief. On July 16th, 2021 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a notice in the Federal Register, seeking […]
Unpacking the House Appropriations Committee FY 2022 Agriculture Funding Bill
On June 30th, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Agriculture Spending bill. The full House Appropriations Committee markup and approval followed the Agriculture Subcommittee’s approval of the funding bill on Friday, June 12. The agriculture appropriations bill includes funding for a wide range of farm and food programs, […]
UPDATE: EXTENSION ON USDA REQUEST FOR COMMENT ON RACIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY
USDA is requesting input from the public on how it can advance racial justice and equity for underserved communities as part of its implementation of Executive Order 13985, “Identifying Barriers in USDA Programs and Services; Advancing Racial Justice and Equity and Support for Underserved Communities at USDA.” USDA is hoping to identify barriers that Black, […]
RELEASE: NSAC Applauds USDA Announcement of $500 Million for Expanded Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalitionpress@sustainableagriculture.net RELEASE: NSAC Applauds USDA Announcement of $500 Million for Expanded Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Washington, DC, July 9, 2021 – Today the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement of $500 million in additional funding to bolster small- and […]
USDA Wants Your Comments on Racial Justice and Equity
USDA Wants Your Comments on Racial Justice and Equity… Read More →
Release Cross-Post: Organizations Deplore Temporary Restraining Order Stopping Relief for Black, Indigenous and People of Color Farmers and Ranchers
Organizations Deplore Temporary Restraining Order Stopping Relief for Black, Indigenous and People of Color Farmers and Ranchers… Read More →
New Pandemic Cover Crop Program is a First Step
Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), which will offer a $5 per acre premium discount to producers who planted qualifying cover crops during the 2021 crop year and enrolled in eligible federal crop insurance policies. The PCCP is administered by the Risk Management Agency […]
Farmers Virtually Visit the Hill to Advocate for Climate Action
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 […]
$15 Million Available for Conservation Innovation Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently 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). This funding announcement […]
Release: President Announces FY 2022 $6 Trillion Budget Request
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks, Associate Director of Communications and Development National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 President Announces FY 2022 $6 Trillion Budget RequestThe request would significantly increase USDA funding and advance infrastructure and jobs Washington, DC, May 28, 2021 – Today, the Biden-Harris Administration released the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget request. […]
Congress Clears Another Round of Pandemic Aid with Historic Support for BIPOC Farmers
This week, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, which will provide relief for farmers and strengthen food supply chains and processing capacity disrupted by the pandemic…. Read More →
NASS 2020 Local Food Marketing Survey Needs Farmer Input
In recent years, the increasing interest in local and regional food systems has garnered consensus around the need for more robust economic data about the sector. The impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on farm and food systems in the U.S. have further underlined the need for better data. While many small to mid-sized farmers […]
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 →
New Team At USDA To Help New Farmers
USDA has finally filled key new positions to ensure beginning farmers are fully supported and able to get the help they need to grow their farm…. Read More →
USDA Small Plant Roundtables Continue in 2020
Blog co-authored with Simone Benz, Sustainable Food Center Last month, the Niche Meat Processors Assistance Network, along with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and the Sustainable Food Center (SFC), hosted the first small and very small meat and poultry processing roundtable of 2020 in Austin, TX. We were excited to welcome the United States […]
The Untold History of Federal Farm to School Support and its Impact on Local Food Research
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Debra Tropp, former Deputy Director, Local Food Research and Development, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Debra retired from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service in January 2019 after 26 years of service. She continues to keep her hand in local and regional food issues through her appointments […]
USDA Updates Options for Cover Crop Termination
Cover crops are a critical tool that farmers can use to improve soil health, reduce erosion, retain moisture, and suppress weeds. Especially as farmers are up against devastating floods, drought, and unpredictable weather and pressures, cover crop adoption is an essential practice to build resilient systems and mitigate risk. Despite these clear benefits for risk […]