Microloan amendment receives bipartisan support in the Senate
We are thrilled to announce a small victory on the Farm Bill front! This week the FSA Microloan Authorization amendment to the Farm Bill received bipartisan support, as Senators Casey (D-PA), Harkin (D-IA) and Johanns (R-NE) all put themselves as official co-sponsors of the bill. The Microloan amendment strengthens the Farm Service Agency’s microloan program for young and beginning farmer, which is a modification of its existing Farm Operating... Read More
Farm Bill Update – the Committee Drafts are in
Last week we told you that the Senate and House Agriculture Committees were having their respective committee markup sessions, where the committees wrote a basic draft of the Farm Bill. A House Agriculture Committee meeting, photo courtesy of Ag Committee web site. Here’s a quick recap on the process: the Chairs and Ranking Members of each committee putting together an initial draft and presenting it to the members of the Ag committees. ... Read More
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 Committees will “mark up” each draft bill by introducing amendments that will change the content... Read More
Get the inside scoop on the Farm Bill with farmbillprimer.org
Congressional voting records. Appropriation amounts. More acronyms than you can shake a scuffle hoe at. Marjorie Roswell, of FarmBillPrimer.org Starting to feel overwhelmed already by the massive amount of data surrounding the Farm Bill? Sometimes when we’re feeling swamped, we turn to FarmBillPrimer.org, a great resource for data, maps, and analysis. This week we scored an interview with Marjorie Roswell, the creator of FarmBillPrimer.org. ... Read More
Act now for beginning farmers – support the Opportunity Act!
It’s not too late to speak up for beginning farmers! The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act is worth getting excited about!But first let’s make sure it gets the support it needs: Click here now! 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... Read More
Will the new food safety laws affect you?
The way we harvest: just one of the ways food safety laws will affect farming operations.Photo courtesy of Roxbury Farm. The short answer is yes. The new rules will impact the way our food is produced – everything from how seedlings are watered in the ground to how the finished product is marketed. So from the consumer perspective, we are all going to see some changes. The real question, though, is for farmers and ranchers. Is your operation... Read More
New Marker Bill Promises Local Food Support
We are happy to announce the release of the new Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013! The bill, introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine, addresses a range of farm bill titles, from extension programs to processing and distribution as it works to aid farmers and consumers on the local and regional level. As you’ll recall, NYFC promoted the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act (LFFJA) introduced... Read More
Tell me more about… the Conservation Stewardship Program
This is a part of a blog series on different federal programs in the USDA and how they affect the average beginning farmer. As we work towards improving legislation and pushing for reform in the Farm Bill, we decided to create these quick tutorial pages to act as a reference. Let us know if there is a particular program that you’d like us to write about next! Vegetated Buffer Strips – photo courtesy of NRCS The Conservation Stewardship... Read More
Young Farmers Take to Washington!
The halls of Congress heard ringing of cowboy boots and the stomping of mud-stained muck boots this past week as farmers from across the country descended on our nation’s capitol. On Monday and Tuesday, the Young Farmers Coalition brought five beginning farmers from California, South Dakota, Colorado, and New York to Washington, DC to meet with Senators and Congresspeople to urge them to support beginning farmer programs in the next farm bill.... Read More
A Brief History of the 2012 Farm Bill
We get a lot of questions about exactly what went down with the Farm Bill last year. (Honestly, it was head-spinning confusion even for seasoned policy experts.) To help shed a little light, here’s a play-by-play recap: How the process should work For starters, what is the Farm Bill and how does it affect me? The Farm Bill is an omnibus bill (that is, one that incorporates many different topics) passed every five-ish years by the US Congress... Read More
