Sustainable Agriculture News – Produce Rule and More

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Sustainable Agriculture News for the Week of November 16th, 2015

FOOD SAFETY NEWS

NSAC Comments on Produce Rule has FDA released the much-anticipated final rule detailing preventive standards for farms that grow, harvest, pack, or hold covered produce for human consumption.

VALUE-ADDED NEWS

On November 10, Vernita Dore, Deputy Under Secretary of Rural Development, announced that 258 farm businesses will receive $34 million in grants from the Fiscal Year 2015 round of the Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program. The following three posts are part of a series on these VAPG awards.

• USDA Awards $34 Million for Farm Value-Added Business Development
• Value-Added Program Supports Local Meat in the Green Mountain State
• Farm-Identified Turkey Operation Aided by Value-Added Grant

USDA NEWS

High Demand for Farm Loans in 2015 With Even Greater Demand on Horizon for 2016 With the close of fiscal year 2015, NSAC is taking a closer look at FSA loan programs and how well these programs are serving beginning farmers as well as farmers of color, veterans and female operators.

USDA Provides 2016 Guidance for Organic, High Tunnel and Other Conservation Initiatives The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service recently provided its state NRCS offices with instructions on how and when to administer various conservation initiatives for fiscal year 2016.

New Initiative to Help Farmers Help Monarchs On Thursday, November 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services announced the availability of $4 million to provide food and habitat for monarch butterflies in the Midwest and southern Great Plains.

OTHER NEWS

Organic and IPM Working Group Releases White Paper on Sustainable Systems The Organic and IPM Working Group released a new white paperMonday, entitled “Organic Agriculture and Integrated Pest Management: Synergistic Partnership Needed to Improve the Sustainability of Agriculture and Food Systems.”