Sustainable Agriculture News: CSP Signup and More

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Taylor in Farming Resources, Food Safety, Funding, Marketing, Policy, Politics, Sustainable Agriculture // 0 Comments

The latest news from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) including New NSAC Policy Director, CSP Signup, Value Added Grant, Helping Farmers Adapt to Climate Change, and FSMA Implementation.

NSAC NEWS

Release: Senior Policy Staff Member to Take Helm as Policy Director for NSAC

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) today announced the appointment of Greg Fogel as the Coalition’s next Policy Director, effective January 3, 2017. Together with Jeremy Emmi, NSAC’s Managing Director since 2013, Fogel will help lead the organization into the future.

USDA NEWS

NSAC Publishes Updated Resources for 2017 CSP Signup Period

CSP Signup is here. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a complete “reinvention” of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the nation’s largest working lands conservation program. While some essential details of the reinvention have yet to be announced by USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), it is important that interested farmers and ranchers submit their initial applications by February 3, 2017 to be considered for assistance next year.

Washington State’s Food System Gets Boost from Value-Added Grant

On October 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service awarded 326 farm businesses a total of $45.6 million through VAPG. This profile is the final piece of a 3-part series highlighting the ability of the competitive Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program to support projects that promote local and regional economic growth, featuring the Puget Sound Food Hub Cooperative of Northwest Washington.

USDA Publishes New Resource to Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change

In response to the pressing concerns of climate variability, USDA recently released a new report to provide farmers with preparation strategies, coping mechanisms, and recovery actions to acclimate to climate change impacts. It will ultimately serve as a key resource for educators and advisors as well as farmers and ranchers. The report, titled Adaptation Resources for Agriculture: Responding to Climate Variability and Change in the Midwest and Northeast, was published by USDA’s Climate Hubs for the Midwest, Northeast, and Northern Forests.

FDA NEWS

GAO Reports on FSMA Implementation; Plans Needed for Evaluating Impacts on Farmers

With FDA’s finalizing of the new Food Safety Modernization Act regulations, the process of implementation is underway. As part of the implementation process, FDA has the responsibility to field and respond to concerns from farmers and food businesses, and to evaluate the impact of the rules on farmers and food businesses, making any changes to the way the rules are implemented as necessary. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was assigned to report on FDA’s progress.