President’s Budget Proposal for Agriculture

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The latest news from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) featuring news about the President’s Budget Proposal for Agriculture and Farm Bill Briefings

President’s Budget Proposal for Agriculture Threatens Food, Farm, and Nutrition Programs The deeply problematic proposals of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget, released on Monday of this week, include devastating cuts to critical farm and food programs. The budget, if enacted, would reduce the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) budget by a whopping 25 percent, from $24 billion to $18 billion. In addition to cutting discretionary funding, the budget request proposes to dramatically reduce farm bill funding for nutrition, conservation, and other farm and food programs. 

President’s Budget for Agriculture Seeks to Undermine Historic Investments in American Agriculture The President’s FY 2019 budget request, released earlier today, is the most anti-rural, anti-farmer proposal the agriculture community has seen in years. If these proposals are realized, it will not just be America’s family farmers and ranchers that suffer – every one of us that depend on a safe, abundant, and sustainable food system will be affected.

Briefing Underscores Need for Farm Bill Investments in Food Safety Food safety is always on farmers’ minds, but this year – with the Farm Bill on the horizon and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implementing its new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations – farmers will be closely following federal food safety policy debates. Last week, farmers and food safety advocates came to Washington D.C. to speak on a panel of experts as part of a congressional briefing hosted by Representatives Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME). 

Soil Health Briefing Digs Into On-Farm Conservation From the microorganisms down in it to the food that grows from it, farmers care deeply about the health of their soil. Cultivating and maintaining healthy soils on working lands has benefits far beyond crop production, however. The healthier the soil, the less a farmer has to use chemical inputs, which is both a cost saving for the farmer and good for the environment. Healthier soils also better retain moisture, which increases resilience to drought and means that nutrients stay in the ground and don’t leach into the water supply.

 

Learn more about farm policy and agricultural politics from beginningfarmers.org at https://www.beginningfarmers.org/farm-policy-agricultural-politics/