How Much to Pay the Apprentice?
We are excited to announce an upcoming webinar/discussion on apprenticeships, employers and the law. In our 2010 report, “Building a Future with Farmers,” we found apprenticeships to be the most valuable tool today’s young farmers have to kick start their careers in agriculture. And not only are apprenticeships an accessible way to gain experience and […]
Food Safety Rules – Coming to a farm near you!
It’s time to start talking about the new food safety bill and how it’s going to affect you. Food safety isn’t high on anyone’s list of exciting things to spend their free time reading about, but take a few moments, because how the law gets written this year will have a long-running impact on how […]
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 […]
Thank you for speaking up! Reporting back on Farmer Programs in the Senate
First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who took the time last week to sign the petition, make calls, tell friends, etc. about the Senate’s budget vote. As a refresher, there were three big pushes we had: to push funding for the beginning farmer programs that had been left high and dry in […]
Update on pro-farmer Tester amendments – it's not too late to take action!
First, a gigantic thank you to those who made calls and signed the petition supporting the Tester amendments this week! As a quick refresher, the two amendments are to remove two hideous riders to the Senate Continuing Resolution bill (in layman’s terms, they are mini-bills tacked on to the 6-month budget proposal that the Senate […]
Take Action Now to Help Independent Livestock Producers
Independent meat producers and farmers everywhere need your help right now to defeat some terrible language that was included in the Senate’s Continuing Resolution. As Wes reported earlier today, the Senate’s bill to fund government programs through the rest of 2013 (known as a Continuing Resolution) includes two provisions that support large meat industries and […]
Updates from DC: Victories on Conservation, Action Needed Today on Loans, GMO's, and Meat
Thank you all so much for making calls over the past week regarding the Senate vote on funding farmer programs! We have some news to report, and one more thing to ask of you, so read on: The proposed Continuing Resolution (the government’s 6-month budget plan) that was announced on Monday did indeed fix the […]
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 […]
Action Alert – Fund Beginning Farmer Programs in the new C.R.
Hey all-We want to give out a huge Thank You! to the intrepid young farmers who came from the four corners of the country to speak with Senators and Representatives earlier this week about the importance of beginning farmer programs in the USDA budget. (Stay tuned to the blog for a reportback on that adventure […]
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: For starters, what is the Farm Bill and how does it affect me? The Farm Bill is an […]