PPP for Farmers, Manure Management, More

Posted on June 30, 2020 by Taylor in Animal Husbandry, Business, Farming Practices, Farming Resources, Funding, Management, News, Policy, Politics, Sustainable Agriculture // 0 Comments

PPP For Farmers, Climate Friendly Manure Management, Is Help Coming from Congress? and more in the latest news from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

PPP for Farmers – Application Deadline is Coming – Recent Changes Make Aid a Better Fit for Farmers

Under PPP for Farmers, self-employed people, including farmers, can receive low-interest loans that may be forgiven. The loans are fully forgiven if the farmer spends at least 60% of the loan money on payroll costs (including wages and certain employee benefits) over the next 24 weeks. The remainder must be spent on rent, utilities, or mortgage interest payments in order to be fully forgiven. Check out upcoming deadlines and more details on our blog: READ MORE

Is There Help from Congress On the Horizon?

Americans continue to grapple with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and can now see its impacts on every aspect of their own lives and on the lives of their communities, especially in the food and farming sector. As coronavirus cases rapidly increase in rural states—which are the center of American agricultural production—farm workers are put at untenable risk. While recent USDA relief efforts such as the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) and the Farmers to Families Food Box Program are necessary and appropriate, they have done little to address the underlying problems with our farm and food systems. But that may be beginning to change as lawmakers introduce bills that they hope to incorporate into a future coronavirus response package, such as the Food Supply Protection Act (FSPA). Learn more about the implications of the program in our blog here: READ MORE

A Climate-Friendly Approach to Managing Manure

This is the third blog in a series focusing on specific provisions included in the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA) introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) in February 2020. The ARA represents the first comprehensive piece of legislation introduced in the House of Representatives addressing climate change and agriculture. The first blog focused on the goals section of the bill, and the second blog focused on carbon markets and related provisions of the ARA. Managing and storing manure is a critical issue for any livestock system. Roughly half of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions in the United States comes from manure management and enteric fermentation (the belches from livestock). The ARA looks to reduce potent methane emissions in livestock operations through a new program to support alternative methods to manage manure, enabling a move away from current wet manure handling and its significant environmental footprint. Learn more about this program here: READ MORE