Sustainable Agriculture News Mid May 2013

Posted on May 11, 2013 by in Sustainable Agriculture // 0 Comments

News from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition for Mid May 2013

2013 Farm Bill Doubleheader: Next week is a big week for the 2013 Farm Bill. Both the House and the Senate Agriculture Committees will be debating and voting on their respective versions of the 2013 Farm Bill next week. Read more…

Press Release: NSAC Endorses the Farm Program Integrity Act of 2013: On Thursday, May 9, Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) introduced the Farm Program Integrity Act of 2013 (H.R. 1932) in the House of Representatives to restore integrity and fiscal responsibility to the commodity program portion of the farm safety net. This bill is identical to a Senate bill (S. 281) introduced earlier this year in the Senate by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tim Johnson (D-SD), and adopted by the Senate last year as part of the new five-year farm bill. Read more…

Representatives Introduce Bill to Improve Farm Bill Conservation Programs: Today, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with eleven additional cosponsors, introduced a bill to improve current farm conservation programs. The Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act (H.R. 1890) aims to help farmers and ranchers improve their environmental performance and reward them for the conservation benefits they produce. Read more…

Six Former USDA Officials Send Letter on Conservation Accountability: On Tuesday, May 7, six former Chiefs of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) delivered a letter to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, urging them to reattach conservation accountability measures to federal crop insurance premium subsidies. Read more…