This week the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are working on the 2013 Farm Bill!
Things are really picking up with the new Farm Bill. After the painful slowness of last year, it’s surprising to see Congress actually building real momentum into writing the new five-year bill. Here is the latest news from Washington: Last week, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees released draft farm bills. Now, members of the […]
Value-Added Producer Grants Announced for 2013
Earlier this month, the USDA announced the recipients of the 2013 Value-Added Producer Grants program. The total amount of grants dispersed, going to 110 agricultural producers, totals over $16 million. This funding is designed to stimulate the creation or development of value-added producer-owned businesses in areas that would benefits from such an institution but require […]
Farm Bill News – Mark-Up Starts Next Week!
It’s been a long wait, but things are starting to move on the next five-year Farm Bill. As a quick refresher, the Farm Bill, which normally is written every five years and dictates all federal spending on agricultural programs, expired last fall. Thanks to hyper-partisanship, Congress was unable to put together a successor bill all […]
Act now for beginning farmers – support the Opportunity Act!
It’s not too late to speak up for beginning farmers! Last month, we announced that Republicans and Democrats in both houses of Congress introduced a new bill to give young and beginning farmers the support they deserve. Despite all the partisan bickering in Washington these days, the bill, called the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity […]
Senate Farm Bill Drops – Beginning Farmer Training Cut By Half
The Senate version of the 2012 Farm Bill was just released — and it’s not looking good for beginning farmers. The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program funding was cut in half. More updates to come. If you haven’t taken action to save funding for beginning farmers in the Farm Bill, don’t delay! Here is […]
Announcing a New Resource for Beginning Farmers: Start2Farm
In February the USDA unveiled Start2Farm.gov, its latest resource for beginning farmers. The program, which acts as a clearinghouse database of training and assistance programs, is funded through a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) grant by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The resources that Start2Farm provides are broken down […]
Beginning Young Farmer and Rancher Development Program at Work in Washington
Seattle Tilth Farm Works, a new farm business incubator program for immigrants, refugees, and other underserved communities, was recently awarded $483, 160 by the USDA NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Farm incubators like Seattle Tilth Farm Works play an essential role in establishing new farmers and, importantly, support a diversity of new farmers, […]