For Immediate Release Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition press@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 Release: NSAC Welcomes FDA’s Risk Based Approach to the Final Rule on Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water  Work Remains to Fully Support Farmers in Compliance Washington, DC, May 3, 2024 – Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the Final Rule on Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water, which finalizes a series of updates to Subpart E of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule.  This is one of the remaining components of ..read more

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition press@sustainableagriculture.net  Tel. 347.563.6408 Release: NSAC Welcomes Pragmatic Senate Proposal as a Concrete Step Toward a Bipartisan Farm Bill Reauthorization Washington, DC, May 1, 2024 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauded the renewed momentum toward a bipartisan farm bill reauthorization prompted by the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) release of a detailed section-by-section description of its farm bill reauthorization proposal ..read more

Editor’s Note: This blog post was co-written by OFRF’s Senior Policy and Programs Manager, Gordon Merrick, in collaboration with partners at NSAC. The post is available on the OFRF website as well. The authors are grateful to work alongside our coalition partners to amplify and strengthen the organic movement. As the world becomes increasingly attuned to the sustainability and health implications of our food systems, the role of organic agriculture has never been more crucial. Organic management has been shown to not only build resilience in ecological systems, but also in economic ..read more

Photo credit: USDA Last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) announced that it will partner with Reinvestment Fund, a national mission-driven financial institution, to fund 16 public-private partnerships. As an expansion of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), the Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program (the HFFI Partnerships Program) will provide technical or financial assistance (including loans).  This is the inaugural round of the HFFI Partnerships Program, and they awarded over $40 million in grants to 75 partners in 20 ..read more

This week, farmers, consumers, and advocates across the country are making calls to Congress with a central message: pass a farm bill for all farmers that centers conservation, not consolidation. Farm bill negotiations may be heating up once again after a standstill that has left members of Congress divided about what to prioritize. Now is the time to act.  Take Action! This week is the Farm Bill for All Farmers Week of Action: Conservation Not Consolidation.  Farm safety net subsidies reward an industrial farming model that contributes to climate change, soil erosion, and farmland ..read more

Produce from Keng Xiong, at Jack London Square, in Oakland, CA. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung. On March 19, Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, led the introduction of the EAT Local Foods Act of 2024 alongside twelve co-sponsors and with 184 endorsements from organizations, farms, and businesses from across the country. The bill seeks to sustain the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which launched in 2021 as one of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) initiatives to transform the food system and build resilient regional supp ..read more

Last week, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), alongside 97 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 in fiscal year (FY) 2025.  SARE was one of NSAC’s first legislative accomplishments over 35 years ago and to this day remains one of our Coalition’s top funding priorities.  However, after more than 35 years of proven on-the-ground results, the program has yet to reach its fully authorized funding amo ..read more

In Washington, DC, the political party that governs the House, Senate, and White House is rightly portrayed as a major contributor to policy outcomes. But politics alone is far from the only determinant. Oftentimes, it’s the cost – or projected cost – of a program, policy, or bill that can be just as influential. For that reason, the closest observers of federal agriculture policy annually look forward to an unheralded press release from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Once or twice a year, the CBO releases a Budget and Economic Outlook, which includes updated economic projections of t ..read more

Cattle graze in a field outside of Walcott, Iowa,2017. USDA Photo by Preston Keres Champions of managed grazing are celebrating USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) call for applications for the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). While the program previously funded up to $27 million to provide technical assistance and education, GLCI’s funding was cut in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and was never fully restored. This year’s notice of funding opportunity (NFO) combines funds appropriated in fiscal years 2023 and 2024 for approximately $22 million for new cooperative agreemen ..read more

Photo credit: Mike Stoll On Friday, March 8 – more than 162 days into the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 – Congress finally approved a final FY2024 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (CAA, P.L.118-42) funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – alongside numerous other departments and agencies – through September 30, 2024.  However, given Congress’ increasing inability to enact appropriations legislation on time, it is likely that the CAA will stand as the law of the land through at least November 2024 ..read more