In anticipation of President Trump’s 100th day in office, a coalition of organizations from across the nation participated in a Week of Action between April 22 and April 29, 2025, to collectively highlight the disruption and attacks the administration has made on our food system and farmers. During the Week of Action, organizations coordinated efforts to call on Congress to step up and shield farmers and food workers from the chaos and uncertainty wrought by the administration. The coalition, including NSAC, has and is continuing to work together to both protect farmers and people from further harm and win positive policy change that will build a better food system for all. 

This coalition shares a vision of a world where farmers, workers, and communities sustain a thriving food and farm system that nourishes people, stewards our environment, and builds strong economies. The week featured calls to action to highlight the various aspects of this vision and to take that message to Congress. Each day during this week of action, we responded to a direct threat to our food system from the Executive Branch. Efforts like this provide an opportunity to amplify our message and engage more broadly with partners and supporters.

This blog post provides a synopsis of the week’s actions and gives those who may not have participated in April the opportunity to make their voices heard now. It is still critically important that Members of Congress hear from constituents about these issues, and we hope readers will take action. It only takes a few seconds to click on the links to email your Member of Congress! 

In Support of the Agriculture Resilience Act

The week kicked off with the introduction of the Agriculture Resilience Act on Earth Day, April 22. The last few months have seen brazen attacks on climate and environmental stewardship programs despite their clear benefits for farmers and communities. 

Not only are farmers on the front lines of volatile weather events, but they are also among the most significant stewards of our nation’s water, soil, and air quality. To ensure our ability to grow food into the future, we need to resource farmers with the knowledge and support to weather any storm. That’s why we support the introduction of the Agriculture Resilience Act – a farmer-centered bill that incentivizes and supports the work family farmers are doing to build soil health, improve water quality, build robust and resilient businesses, and feed our communities. 

This bill offers straightforward, incentive-based strategies for giving farmers the freedom to voluntarily improve the long-term health and resilience of their farms, supporting farmer livelihoods. With sufficient support, these strategies can be included in the next farm bill. Lawmakers must listen to farmers and advocate for their needs.

Will you join us in taking action today by asking your member of Congress to support the Agriculture Resilience Act? 

The Need to Reinstate Local Food Purchasing Programs 

Did you know that for the last several years, farmers, schools, and food distributors have been working together to serve fresh, local food in schools and food pantries across the nation? 

Until just a few weeks ago, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools Program (LFSP) at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) were doing just that. Both programs were working to build stronger local supply chains and promote market access for smaller scale and historically underserved farmers and ranchers at the same time. During our week of action, we took the opportunity to make April 23rd a day of action for the reinstatement of the LFPA and LFSP.

On March 7, USDA announced the termination of over $1 billion in previously announced 2025 funding for LFPA and LFS. The loss of these investments will have lasting effects on local food networks. Farmers depend on these contracts, as many of them shifted their businesses to accommodate the new demand, and food banks and local schools will lose out on high quality local produce.

Will you join us and email your legislators to ask them to support making LFPA and LFSCC funding permanent through the Farm Bill? 

Disaster Assistance for All Farmers 

Floods, droughts, and fires are some of the extreme weather events that can have devastating impacts on farms of all sizes. The federal government has established crop insurance, disaster assistance, and commodity programs to create a safety net that farmers can rely on, but small farms, multi-crop farms, and farms that mostly sell to local and regional markets often struggle to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and access these programs. With increasing weather disasters, more farmers are experiencing the effects of climate change, and with fewer resources available to help them cope with the losses. 

Last year, Congress authorized $30 billion in disaster relief payments for farmers. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins directed $10 billion of those funds to the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, but the implementation plan for the remaining $20 billion remains unclear. Our action for April 24th invited farmers to sign on to a letter delivered to Secretary Rollins to let her know small farmers also needed comprehensive disaster assistance. While the letter has been delivered, we invite concerned citizens or producers to call their Member of Congress to reiterate the need for crop insurance reform! You can also use some of the points for talking points when speaking to your Member of Congress while asking them to hold USDA accountable to the needs of all farmers. Here is a link you can use to find who your Member of Congress is and how to contact them. 

Read the Letter to Secretary Rollins 

Celebrating and Defending Federal Workers

As NSAC worked with its members to prepare responses to Executive Orders and funding freezes from the White House that affected farmers and the organizations providing them with technical assistance, we also heard voices of empathy for the federal employees caught in the middle. These are hard working folks who care deeply about fulfilling the mission of their agencies but found themselves with their hands tied, vilified, and in many cases, fired. As the administration continued to gut USDA and attack our food system, farmers, and communities, USDA employees became a primary target of the administration. 

Federal workers are the overlooked yet essential workforce that ensures federal programs reach farmers in rural communities across the country. Federal farm and food programs make healthy food more accessible, make farms more resistant to extreme weather events, help mitigate risk, provide emergency financial support, and fund conservation practices that improve farm businesses and our natural resources for years to come.

All of these programs require dedicated civil servants to administer them, folks ready and able to work directly with the farmers who use these programs. NSAC analysis revealed at that time that close to 30% of USDA employees have been or are at risk of being fired. That is 30,000 of the more than 97,000 employees USDA had at the beginning of the Trump Administration’s second term. This massive reduction in capacity will result in delays for all farmers accessing USDA programs, exacerbate administrative bottlenecks, and make USDA resources even harder to deliver across the country.

Our action for Friday, April 25, urged people to contact their members of Congress, demanding they rehire fired staff and fully staff all critical programs, and underscore the importance of the federal workforce.  

Will you join us in emailing your member of Congress, asking them to urge Secretary Rollins to stop all the firings of USDA employees and fully staff all local offices?

Calling on Congress to Release Funds and Honor Contracts 

We resumed the week of action on Monday, January 28, with a call on Congress to release funds and honor contractual obligations to farmers and organizations impacted by funding freezes. Beginning in January, the administration froze billions of dollars in federal funding for farmers and organizations, despite lawfully signed contracts and court orders directing funding to flow. Farmers with crops in the ground were left without markets, education, and food access programs for farmers and families were cancelled, and thousands of workers were abruptly laid off. While some freezes have been lifted since, the process and approach to freezing funds has been anything but transparent, affecting nearly every segment of food and agriculture. This should not be happening: Congress has abdicated both its responsibility and constitutional power to check the administration’s overreach and disregard for signed and legally executed contracts. They need to step up and demand that USDA honor its contracts and pay farmers and organizations.

Will you join us in demanding Congress release funds and honor contracts? 

Young Farmers Briefing 

The week of action concluded on April 29, officially marking the President’s 100th day in office, highlighting the real impact his policies have had on farmers with a virtual briefing organized by NSAC member, National Young Farmers Coalition. Members of Congress were invited to hear directly from the farmers impacted by the funding freezes. 

This briefing featured farmers who shared:

• How the USDA grant freeze has affected farm operations, conservation projects, land access, and local food systems across the country,
• The firsthand impact of  job losses, stalled reimbursements, and canceled contracts, and 
• Concerns around the recent termination of USDA staff administering food and agriculture programs.

Of the many attendees, several Hill staffers took advantage of this opportunity to learn how current administrative actions are undermining bipartisan, congressionally authorized programs and destabilizing rural economies. This briefing is available for viewing. 

Impact by the Numbers: Your Voice Matters 

We were able to gather some numbers to measure the breadth of outreach the week of action was able to accomplish. These numbers are important because they show that there is broad support for Congress to step in and take action, for the funding freezes to stop, and for USDA staff to be rehired. We may not be able to know the true number of people who engaged with their representatives and government as a result of this week of action because some people may have taken action outside of the action portals, and of some people taking action outside of that week, the same way we hope you will take action now.

In sum:

• 457 people urged their members of Congress (MoC) to co-sponsor the Agriculture Resilience Act, 
• 540 people called on Secretary of Agriculture Rollins to reinstate the Local Food Purchasing and Local Food for Schools programs, 
• 175+ farmers called on USDA to offer more comprehensive disaster assistance for all farms, 
• 121 people demanded that Congress and USDA work to immediately rehire staff who had been unfairly terminated,  
• 2,085 people demanded that Congress immediately release all funding, honor all contracts, and halt indiscriminate federal staff firings (and I can see through at least one other organization’s action portal that an additional 1,140 people completed this action as well!), and
• 80+ people tuned into Young Farmers’ 100th Day in Office Briefing, with 41 farmers sharing their story with Young Farmers beforehand. 

We also tracked the reach our week of action had on social media, where we got tens of thousands of impressions and interactions on different platforms, and more than 100,000 views on Instagram alone! All in all, that is at minimum, 4,423 touchpoints with Members of Congress, pressuring them to stand up and do more for our farmers and community members, and hundreds of thousands of people witnessing our efforts to protect our food system. But those numbers need not stay there. Action is still needed to continue making sure Congress hears from people about how the Executive Orders and actions coming from the White House are affecting rural and urban communities, disrupting our food system, attacking farmers’ livelihoods and the organizations that work with them to assist them in submitting grants applications and enrolling in programs designed to improve our food system and make it fair to all. 

While the week of action has technically passed, our demands have not yet been met. It’s important that we keep up sustained pressure and visibility to ensure we are getting Congress’s attention. Take a few moments to email your Member of Congress about the issues that matter to you – it only takes 60 seconds!

The post We Took Action to Defend Our Food System — Now It’s Your Turn appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

This week, farmers, consumers, and advocates across the country are making calls to Congress with a central message: pass a farm bill for all farmers that centers conservation, not consolidation. Farm bill negotiations may be heating up once again after a standstill that has left members of Congress divided about what to prioritize. Now is the time to act. 

Take Action!

This week is the Farm Bill for All Farmers Week of Action: Conservation Not Consolidation. 

Farm safety net subsidies reward an industrial farming model that contributes to climate change, soil erosion, and farmland consolidation in agriculture. Increasing commodity subsidies to benefit a few farmers at the expense of popular nutrition and conservation programs would be an expensive investment that exacerbates these problems. 

Make your voice heard! Tell Congress our tax dollars should fund programs that keep families fed and fund proven conservation programs that build resilient food systems – instead of giveaways that exclude most farmers and fuel farmland consolidation.

We’ve made calling and emailing your lawmakers as easy as possible. Tailored call scripts and automated email templates are provided, and you will be connected only when you are ready. 

Click here to take action!

Background

It’s possible that an expensive proposal in farm bill negotiations on Capitol Hill could be funded by cuts to other farm bill programs – namely, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and cuts to money allocated to climate-smart farming practices and conservation programs through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

The proposal aims to raise commodity program subsidies by anywhere from $20 to $50 billion. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodity programs include the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, which makes payments to farmers when the average market value of a commodity (such as corn, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts, but excluding fruits and vegetables) falls below a price floor, or “reference price,” that is set in the farm bill. Despite its enormous price tag, increasing PLC reference prices to reflect recent peaks in the commodity market could primarily benefit as few as 6,000 farmers or 0.3 percent of farms.

NSAC believes that a robust, subsidized safety net is an important tool to keep farmers farming amidst unforeseeable market shocks or when disaster strikes. However, the current farm safety net – which includes federal crop insurance, commodity programs, and disaster assistance – falls short of meeting the needs of the diversity of American agriculture and contributes to resource concentration that primarily benefits relatively few farms in a handful of states with the most acres planted to row crops. 

This drives structural unsustainability at the heart of the U.S. food system because these subsidies incentivize risky forms of commodity production – systems based on annual monoculture crops, overly reliant on off-farm chemical inputs, and which chronically overuse tillage. This style of commodity production contributes to soil erosion and worsening climate change. The concentration of resources in the hands of industrial farms also contributed to the alarming loss of 145,000 farmers and the trend toward farmland consolidation revealed in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. 

Instead of providing more money to cover the cost when this small group of large commodity farms loses crops to droughts and floods, this farm bill needs to invest in helping all farmers build resilience into the landscape of their operations. The farm bill must protect historic investments in conservation programs that include incentives to adopt climate-friendly practices, many of which improve a farm’s ability to endure all manner of natural disasters. Instead of promoting dependence on federal subsidies that externalize risk onto taxpayers, the adoption of conservation practices and diversification can stop losses before they happen and improve farmers’ bottom lines. 

USDA conservation programs are very popular among farmers and ranchers nationwide, but they are oversubscribed and underfunded. In 2020 and 2022, roughly three out of every four farmers who applied to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) were turned away due to a lack of funding. Even with IRA funds available beginning in Fiscal Year 2023, new reporting shows this trend has continued. Since conservation practices are a vital bulwark against climate change for farmers and ranchers, more funding to help farmers adopt risk-reducing conservation practices helps keep more farms on the landscape and more small businesses in rural America. That is one of the many reasons it is so important to protect historic investments in climate-smart conservation from any cuts. 

Read NSAC’s report to learn more, Unsustainable: State of the Farm Safety Net. 

The post Take Action: This Farm Bill Should Center Conservation, Not Consolidation  appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

This is part one of a two part series to highlight the needs of grassroots voices and celebrate the advocacy of the eight farmers and ranchers who participated in the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)’s virtual appropriations fly-in from March 29-31, 2022 to support GLCI and SARE, written by NSAC Grassroots Fellow Madeline Turner.

WHY WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT GLCI

Working at the nexus of issues related to the climate crisis, land access, and the steep market pressures farmers and ranchers face, livestock producers across the country are looking to their animals and the soil for answers. Graziers, or producers who raise livestock on grass, are making the case for the widespread adoption of pasture based practices that demonstrate synchronous benefits for both local food systems and ecosystems.

The adoption of sustainable and regenerative grazing practices requires a transition away from predominant systems of raising livestock, particularly confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The waste sitting on feedlots and the manure flushed into lagoons at CAFOs continues to degrade water and air quality in rural areas, leading to severe consequences for human health. The systems farmers and ranchers are advocating for present a restorative solution. Well-managed grazing operations build soil health over time and soil health translates into a variety of benefits for people and the environment. Pasa Sustainable Agricultures’ Soil Health Benchmark Study, featured in Lisa Held’s recent article on regenerative grazing, quantifies the benefits of regenerative grazing and states that “perennial pastured livestock farms are the ‘gold standard’ of soil health, achieving optimal scores for every soil health indicator we measured on nearly all fields we measured.”

The stories of farmers and ranchers leading the “grazing revolution” are being told all over the country, on farms of all sizes, and are not limited to operations that fit the familiar image of cows roaming on thousand acre ranches out west. While a diversity of stories are already being told, adopting sustainable and regenerative practices does require resources that not all farmers can equitably access. Structural barriers to land access continue to present a significant challenge for Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and other socially disadvantaged and emerging farmers hoping to build their own sustainable farming operations. Additionally,  some farmers with access to land lack necessary technical assistance, education, and other resources to aid in the implementation of regenerative grazing practices.

This is where the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) enters the landscape. GLCI provides local and regional resources for farmers and ranchers – both established and beginning – who are interested in understanding and utilizing grazing management practices. These resources include technical support, education, rancher to rancher learning, and funding for partnerships between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and grazing-focused organizations.

“This is a good program as it teaches through peer to peer experiments and demonstrations under ranch conditions,” Montana rancher and grazing legend Dale Veseth tells us after his meeting with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)’s office. The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative presents new opportunities for the collaboration, coalition building, and learning that farmers and ranchers need to implement conservation practices. As with other federal initiatives, such as the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, farmer-led and regionally-focused programs address specific local needs while leading to substantial innovations in agricultural methods and technology and community education and empowerment.

GLCI is not a new program, however. the program has been around in some capacity since the nineties, funding for GLCI was included in the 2002 Farm Bill and increased to over $27 million in fiscal year 2008. Earlier GLCI funded projects have left lasting impacts on rural communities.

“He’s taught hundreds of students,” says Eric Cates of Cates Family Farms of his father, Dick Cates. When grant funding initially became available, Dick Cates applied for and used GLCI funding to support the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers, where today more than 80% of students go on to start, acquire, or transition into their own farming business. Eric told his family’s story in meetings with Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), highlighting what it means to care for the soil, animals, and community simultaneously.

In Montana, Dale Veseth has also held GLCI close to his heart for more than thirty years. “The original GLCI project I was involved in back in the 1990’s was a solar pump to fill a tank out of an existing reservoir to see if the cattle preferred tank water and had reduced impact on the adjacent reservoir shoreline,” he describes.  “We did conclude that cattle and especially calves preferred the tanked water and that the reservoirs with the solar pump had less impact than the reservoirs without the tanked water. I know of several ranches that now use this technology to improve conservation and increase cattle production.”

“Farmers across the nation say that a big obstacle to beginning or converting to managed-grazing is their need for knowledgeable, expert assistance,” says Margaret Krome, a long-term advocate for GLCI and Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in Wisconsin. “Among its offerings, GLCI funds grazing technical assistance. A grazing specialist helps you develop locally appropriate grazing plans and then helps you successfully put it on the ground. What a difference grazing expertise makes!”

Alongside many other federally funded programs, however, GLCI lost funding in 2009 leaving grazing leaders nationwide calling for its restoration. This year, however, due to the diligent efforts of NSAC members, funding for GLCI has been re-established. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 designated $14 million for GLCI. While this is a solid victory for sustainable grazing, it also represents a call to action for folks across the sustainable agriculture movement as the program is still underfunded compared to the historic level of $27 million in 2008. The appropriations cycle for Fiscal Year 2023 is well underway and now is the time to demand $30 million in funding for GCLI and build on the historic reinvestment of last year.

WHY ARE GRAZIERS ASKING FOR FUNDING NOW?

As a grassroots campaign priority, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is participating in the federal appropriations process to advocate for GLCI alongside SARE based upon demonstrated, on-the-ground needs observed by farmers and food systems organizations nationally. But what are appropriations and why are they necessary right now? Congress can allocate money to programs and agencies in two ways, by creating mandatory funding or appropriations authority. Mandatory funding is made available by the law that creates it, but appropriations authority makes a certain sum available for specific Congressional committees to spend at their discretion. Every year, Congress engages in a process where it allocates funds to all functions of the US government that rely on appropriations authority and the final dollars it puts towards particular programs or government functions are considered ‘appropriated.’ Appropriations committees in the House and Senate make decisions about how these funds are spent, informed by constituent requests and advocacy efforts. NSAC engages in this process in several ways, one of which is directly connecting farmers and ranchers with their members of Congress to advocate for particular programs vital to supporting food system resilience.

Most importantly, a virtual fly-in allows farmers to directly advocate for the programs they benefit from in meetings with their legislators. This presents producers and congressional offices with the opportunity to build relationships and puts farmers’ stories at the center of the appropriations process. During meetings with seven different congressional offices, five ranchers advocated for $30 million in funding for GLCI to ensure those who are interested in grazing get the dedicated technical help necessary to implement a regenerative form of livestock agriculture with the potential to mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change in rural areas.

THE SEEDS FOR A ROBUST UTILIZATION OF GLCI HAVE ALREADY BEEN PLANTED

The farmer and rancher advocates who accompanied the NSAC fly-in exemplify how the groundwork for utilization of the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative is already being laid, a preliminary success that is in part a result of the program’s initial iteration. Individual graziers are not alone – there are already vibrant community organizations and grazing coalitions enthusiastic about widespread implementation of advanced grazing management systems.

For example, Dale Veseth works closely with Montana’s Rancher’s Stewardship Alliance (RSA), a rancher-led organization that champions peer-to-peer education efforts and the creation of resilient rural communities through grass-focused conservation efforts. For the folks who work with RSA, ranching and grazing management are tools to foster the ecological, social, and economic conditions to enhance biodiversity and empower anyone who seeks to steward land. RSA applied for and received grant funding through GLCI to support outreach and education projects that their members and partners collaborate on. RSA is still working within their grant and this summer they will be producing more educational materials to support sustainable ranching in North Central Montana.

In North Dakota, Kevin Leier of Heartland Bison is a bison rancher, Executive Director of the North Dakota Buffalo Association, and active member of the National Bison Association. “Come have some awesome barbeque brisket,” he says, inviting Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) to his ranch to kick off the first of six educational on-ranch field days the National Bison Association is holding in 2022 and 2023. Kevin’s family started ranching in 1986 and began raising bison exclusively in the mid-90’s. A self-described holistic grazier, Kevin uses his extensive experience with grazing and developing grazing plans to intensively graze about 120 cow-calf pairs. He has worked with SARE grants, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to implement conservation practices on his ranch and has managed the transition of several hundred acres of land. As a leader of the National Bison Association, an organization with members in all fifty US states, Kevin works to ensure that sustainability is a priority in the bison industry and that adequate support and education are widely accessible.  “The work of programs like GLCI is what enables me to do the work I do – I turn sunlight into grass and then into pounds of bison to allow people to have a nutrient-dense protein product on their plate,” he said to Senator Hoeven’s team. “It gives me a competitive advantage because I’m working with nature, understanding the educational side of what it takes to do it, and how the animals are actually working in unison with the ranching operation. And then, we’re able to – whether it’s water filtration, carbon sequestration, or nitrogen fixation, any of them – we’re seeing benefits for the entire ecosystem.”

The stories of these ranchers and their community involvement solidify why their advocacy for GLCI to their members of Congress is so timely. A well funded GLCI would ensure that organizations such as the ones that Kevin and Dale work with are able to fulfill their missions and bring more farmers and ranchers into the folds of sustainable grazing and diversified agricultural production.

Other rancher stories demonstrated models for what advanced management grazing systems might look like, highlighting the importance of sharing grazier experiences with other producers and with policymakers.

Alan Hubbard of Shannon Creek Cattle and Quarter Horses shared his story with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS). Alan is a cattle rancher in Kansas who has practiced intensive rotational grazing since the 1980’s. He manages 10,000 acres of land alongside a few leasees and three other families, one of which is his son’s. Between the community of four families there are about 400 head of cattle and over 2,000 head of sheep, as well as a band of quarter horses.

Dan Cavadini of the Cavadini Partnership raises wheat and other cereal grains on 7,000 acres of dryland cropland in Central Washington. He grazes 150 cow-calf pairs on 10,000-12,000 acres of native desert vegetation. In meetings with the offices of Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Dan’s innovative grazing practices took center stage. Dan participated in a SARE project about grazing on cover crops and even before harvest, he grazes on his cash crops over the winter. In 2020, the biggest recorded wildfire in Washington state history burned through the vast majority of his grazing land. Since then, grazing on his cropland has been an important and innovative solution as his grazing land recovers and he rebuilds his fencing.

Graziers teach us that conservation work is most effective when it happens as part of a collaborative, local food system-focused effort. Eric Cates, for example, is always on the move. Squeezing meetings with congressional offices between delivery runs to restaurants in Madison and quality time with his family. Eric’s commitment to conservation via grazing and care for his cattle and community echoes what is exemplified across the “grazing revolution.” Farmers and ranchers are uniquely capable of addressing climate change and the issues rural communities face. It is imperative that they are substantially supported in this work.

DEEPENING GRAZING’S IMPACT IN THE WORK FOR AN EQUITABLE FOOD SYSTEM

What are the potential food systems implications of a well funded GLCI? When we think about shifting power to create a more equitable food system, grazing lands are essential. In order to shift power in the United States food system while addressing the climate crisis, we need to implement policy that transforms the current realities of land holding, access to credit and other forms of federal funding, and bolsters resilience in rural communities.

We know that limited resource farmers and wholesale growers both face significant hurdles to adopting diversified farming practices and that issues of access to both land and credit continue to bar BIPOC voices from entering the grazing world. As California FarmLink’s recent guide to regenerative leasing points out, millions of acres of grazing land will likely change hands in the next 25 years with nearly 30% of all grazing lands being leased and 98% percent of all agricultural land being white-owned. Rural communities are uniquely impacted by climate change and conventional farming practices put farmers at greater risk. When asked about the impact of GLCI on rural communities, Margaret Krome of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute describes how pastures utilizing grazing management systems hold deep, complex root systems that secure and retain water in extreme weather events where water may erode soil and tearing out bridges, culverts, and roads. “By avoiding those damages, grass saves local, state, and federal taxpayers the costs of repairing storm-damaged infrastructure,” she says. Innovations in the management of grazing lands do more than just protect our soils; they also can protect rural communities.

There is a demonstrated need for conservation technical assistance broadly to address racial inequity, environmental degradation, and economic insecurity. Data continue to show lower participation rates for farmers of color in federal conservation programs, such as the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Targeting GLCI funding and other conservation technical assistance (in addition to an increase in dedicated outreach) towards socially disadvantaged producers can shift this trend and result in lasting financial benefits for BIPOC and emerging farmers.

Though GLCI is by no means the end-all-be-all solution to equitable technical assistance across the country, it presents a renewed path towards agricultural production that facilitates human and environmental resilience, rather than exacerbating the impacts of structural failures. “Implementing these regenerative agriculture practices allowed me to survive last year,” Kevin Leir voices about ranching at the epicenter of a severe drought in North Dakota last grazing season. As the key focal points of the program are collaboration, coalition, conservation, at its full potential, this program would do more than simply complement existing conservation efforts. Instead, through conservation efforts the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative will provide farmers and ranchers with the vital assistance, educational tools, and regional communities essential to addressing the climate crisis on the ground.

TAKE ACTION FOR GLCI NOW!

READ MORE

Pasa Sustainable Agricultures’ Soil Health Benchmark Study

Michigan State University Center for Regional Food System’s An Annotated Bibliography of Structural Racism in the Food System

California FarmLink’s Guide to Regenerative Leasing

NSAC Blog: Racial Equity in the Farm Bill: Barriers for Farmers of Color

NSAC Blog: Closed Out: How U.S. Farmers Are Denied Access to Conservation Programs

Civil Eats: A Regenerative Grazing Revolution is Taking Root in the Mid-Atlantic

What are appropriations?

The post THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION AND THE GRAZING REVOLUTION: FARMERS AND RANCHERS ASK CONGRESS TO FUND THE GRAZING LANDS CONSERVATION INITIATIVE (GLCI) appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

But our work’s not done yet! The bill also includes major corporate giveaways that make it harder for family-scale independent farmers and ranchers to succeed. To build a more sustainable food and farm future we’ve got to have both those good investments in farmers and food systems and reforms to the policies that underpin the system.

Right now, this bill lets Wall Street investors and other non-farmers collect nearly unlimited farm subsidies and over-subsidizes crop insurance for the wealthiest operations. These loopholes contribute to unaffordable farmland for would-be independent family farmers and distort competition for everyone.* The farm safety net is critical, but taxpayer resources must be directed fairly.

Several Senators attempted to introduce amendments just a few weeks ago in the Agriculture Committee to put in place some common-sense reforms, but they were kept from a vote. They aren’t giving up, though – and neither are we. We have a chance again this week to achieve reforms that will stop corporate giveaways, limit land ownership consolidation, and ensure a more level playing field for farmers nationwide. The two positive amendments with the most bipartisan support are being offered on the Senate floor this week by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Can you take 60 seconds to call your Senators in support of the Grassley and Durbin amendments?

Call the Congressional switchboard to get connected directly:

(202) 224-3121

Here’s a sample message to share:

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a constituent. I understand the Senate is debating the 2018 Farm Bill this week. I’d like to share a message for the Senator’s agriculture staffer, please. Here is the message: I urge the Senator to SUPPORT Senator Grassley’s amendment to the farm bill that will ensure farm commodity payments go to family farms, not corporate investors. I also urge the Senator to SUPPORT Senator Durbin’s amendment to reduce crop insurance subsidies for millionaires. These two amendments are common-sense reform measures that will help independent family farmers and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Thank you for your time.

That’s all it takes! Thanks for your help – this is a major turning point in our work for a better 2018 Farm Bill.

Onward,

The NSAC Grassroots Team

* A recently released Government Accountability Office report found that taxpayers provided $260 million in farm program payments to individuals who do not live or work on a farm. These payments should be targeted to farmers.

The post Action Alert: Reforms for a Stronger Food & Farm System appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

You might have heard from us last week about the 2018 Farm Bill – thanks for making a call to your Senators to help ensure the Senate’s version of the bill invests in a better food and farm future!

Today our focus turns to the other side of Capitol Hill*:  the House of Representatives is poised to vote on its own, different version of the 2018 Farm Bill this week, and folks, this bill is bad. Here’s a sample:

• Conservation – the House bill erases support for resource stewardship on 70 million acres (that’s an area the size of Nevada!) of working farm and ranchland by completely eliminating the Conservation Stewardship Program.
• Local food – the House bill abandons local farmers by cutting all funding for several programs that invest in helping farmers connect to local and regional buyers and in improving healthy food access.
• Beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers – the House bill misses the mark by failing to invest more in beginning farmers, military veteran farmers, and farmers of color. With the average age of farmers continuing to rise, the status quo is not enough to ensure the success of these key farmer communities.
• Crop insurance and commodities – the House bill opens major new loopholes allowing for unlimited subsidies that will continue to distort land prices and create an unfair playing field for farmers.

In addition to all of this, the bill makes major changes to the SNAP (food stamp) program that will harm families and children, removing over 2 million people from the program. In short, the House farm bill would be a disaster for farms, diversified and organic operations, the environment, local food systems, low-income families, and rural communities – if it passes, it could set our shared movement back decades! **

The good news? It hasn’t passed yet. There’s still time to get a better farm bill done this year.

Can you help us take one quick action right now to save our food and farm future?

Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Ask for your Representative and, once they connect you, leave a message like this one:

Hello, my name is [____] and I am a constituent. Please vote NO on H.R. 2 – the 2018 Farm Bill. This bill will harm farmers, communities, resource conservation, local food, beginning farmers, and more [you can be as specific as you want!] – it must be defeated so a decent bill, one we can be proud of, can be brought back for consideration later this year. Thank you.

Thanks for taking 30 seconds to call right now! If this bill fails to pass, it sends a message to the House of Representatives: go back to the drawing board and write a better bill! We deserve a better farm bill for our nation’s farmers and communities.

Every call makes a difference.

Thanks for all you do,

NSAC’s Grassroots Team

*Looking for a refresher on how a bill becomes a law? Why are the House and Senate working on different bills? Check out our handy infographic.

**Need more reasons why this bill is bad? Check out our Top 10 Reasons to Reject the House Farm Bill post for more.

The post ALERT: Farmers and American Communities Deserve a Better Farm Bill appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

And what else makes farm to school programs so great? Their support of local FARMERS! As Kansas farmer Mark Jirak put it: “…our sales increased 14.9% from 2012-2014 during two years we have worked with schools, and as a percent of business farm to school now accounts for 32% of total business.” Farm to school increases market opportunities for local farmers like Mark and supports community and economic development, making it a win-win for kids, farmers, and communities!

We’re excited to announce the introduction of The Farm to School Act of 2015, a bill that will expand and improve the widely popular USDA Farm to School Grant Program. The bipartisan team of legislators who introduced this bill* need your support!

Will you sign your name to endorse this bill and show your support for the Farm to School Act of 2015? We need to show Congress that this bill is critical for kids and farmers, and your support will help us do just that.

We’ve seen decades of incredible work around farm to school. From school gardens to farm field trips to fruit and vegetable taste tests in the cafeteria, communities have been working together to create a culture of wellness in schools, one that supports local farmers and brings healthy, local food to children’s plates. Let’s make sure Congress doesn’t roll back the clock on the progress local communities have made. Sign here and help make sure kids win, farmers win, and communities win with the Farm to School Act of 2015!

* Farm to school is an issue Democrats and Republicans can get behind! In the Senate, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) are the champions for this effort; in the House, it’s Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), and Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH).

The post Expanding Farm to School Nationwide appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Brothers Tom and Tim Nuessmeier have always made conservation on their southern Minnesota farm a priority. When they signed up for the federal Conservation Stewardship Program in 2010, they saw an opportunity to try a couple of new conservation-producing practices–including a new cover crop rotation on 100 acres of their cropland. “We had wanted to experiment with less tillage, but on an organic farm that’s tough,” said Tom. “But CSP gave us the impetus and the support to get it done. The CSP contract helped us extend our rotations, reduce our tillage, expand some markets, and get a good payment for doing good conservation.”

CSP rewards farmers for their on-farm conservation methods and inspires them to do more – just like it did for the Nuessmeiers.  As another farmer in Iowa, Jeff Hafner, put it: “It [CSP] helps the new guy get started and it helps the crusty old guys try new things.”

As great as CSP is, its effectiveness is being threatened. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) just released new language for CSP that includes loopholes and limitations that will make it harder for farmers to access the program (especially beginning and small farmers) and receive support for the highest-impact efforts on their farms.

We need to act now! NRCS is seeking input until January 20 from farmers and the public – meaning we have a chance to fix the issues and make sure CSP works for farmers! The changes we’re asking for will ensure CSP has an even bigger positive impact on our nation’s land and water, reaches even more farmers, and ensures taxpayer dollars are invested wisely in America’s agricultural legacy:

1. CSP should prioritize what’s best for our soil, water, and wildlife.
2. CSP should have room for ALL farmers: big or small, beginner or expert.
3. CSP should be fiscally responsible and target resources to reach the maximum number of working farmers.

What can you do to help? The BEST thing you can do is submit your own comments to NRCS – especially if you’re a farmer. We’ve got instructions and guidance online to help you get started!  Crunched for time? You can also sign our letter to NRCS Chief Jason Weller (seriously, it’ll just take a minute), and we’ll deliver it on January 20.

With your help, we can make sure CSP really works for our nation’s farms, farmers, and environment.

P.S.  Learn more about the issues at our action center!

The post Act Now: Comments on Conservation Stewardship Program are Due January 20! appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Food Day itself is just one day – October 24 – but the reality is that decisions get made every single day that affect the future of our food and farms. From a mother choosing to prepare fresh vegetables for dinner to a farmer deciding to pursue organic certification to a legislator in Congress voting to fund farm to school programs, every decision matters.

Here’s an easy decision you can make today: do you want to see both safe AND sustainable food in your community – in your schools, grocery stores, and farmers markets?

If the answer is yes, now’s the time to speak up! And you can do so with just a few clicks.

This Food Day, we have a rare opportunity. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently revised several key parts of what are known as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules, and they’re asking for feedback from farmers and consumers before the rules are finalized.

This ‘second draft’ of the proposed rules is much better than last year’s first cut – but there’s still work to do. FSMA is the first major overhaul of our nation’s food safety practices since 1938, and the regulations include new requirements for farms that grow fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) and for facilities that process food for people to eat. This means it represents some big changes to our food system – and it is extremely important for the FDA to get these regulations right so that they improve food safety without placing an unfair burden on family farms, local food systems, or access to healthy food.

We have the chance to fix FSMA so that the rules support a healthier and more just, sustainable food system. Let’s fix FSMA and ensure the final rules live up to the ideals of Food Day 2014!

Add your name to this letter to FDA to show your support for safe and sustainable food through FSMA rules that encourage – not prohibit – the use of sustainable farming practices; that encourage – not stifle – innovative local food and farm efforts; and that are transparent, consistent, and – most importantly – fair for family farmers.

We’re glad so many have come together today to celebrate a healthier and more just, sustainable food system. Show your support for a better food future – and safe food produced by thriving, sustainable family farmers – by signing this letter today, and stay tuned for more ways to fix FSMA in the coming weeks!

PS – Are you a farmer or food entrepreneur? Do you operate a farm or food business? If the answer is yes, FDA wants to hear directly from you! Sign up here for food safety updates and to get more information on how to comment directly on the rules (just be sure to check the food safety box). NSAC is preparing special guidance for farmers, food entrepreneurs, and organizations that work with farmers that will be ready in the weeks to come.

The post Take a Stand on Food Day 2014! appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

With the annual Congressional appropriations cycle underway, there has once again been a lot of talk in Congress about the so-called “GIPSA rider.”  The GIPSA rider refers to a legislative provision tacked onto the annual agriculture funding bill.  In this case the rider is a package of policies that severely limits USDA’s ability to protect farmers’ basic rights — like the right to free speech or freedom of association — in their dealings with large meatpacking and poultry companies.

The big picture issue is that a small handful of huge meat and poultry companies have been able to use their market power to get away with the fraudulent, deceptive, and anti-competitive and abusive practices that have allowed them to profit at the expense of small, independent farmers for years.  To address this problem, the 2008 Farm Bill required USDA to write regulations, under the Packers and Stockyards Act, to provide basic protections for farmers who do business with these companies.  But when USDA tried to write the regulations, the meat and poultry companies launched a full -scale attack to get Congress to prevent USDA from finalizing those farmer protections.

This effort by some in Congress to use the annual appropriations process to stop USDA’s efforts to provide protections for livestock and poultry farmers is called the “GIPSA rider,” which is a reference to USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Agency (GIPSA), the agency in charge of enforcing the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Below we provide some of the basic background on this issue and detail an amendment pending in the House of Representatives in support of farmers and fair practices.  In a second post, we provide additional details on the market competition and contract reform rules that the GIPSA rider is attempting to forestall.

Background in Brief

The Packers and Stockyards Act is the primary law governing livestock and poultry markets.  The goal of the Packers and Stockyards Act — which became law way back in 1921 — is to make livestock and poultry markets open, transparent, and competitive and to protect farmers and ranchers from fraudulent, deceptive and abusive practices in their dealings with the meat industry.

The 2008 Farm Bill directed USDA to issue regulations to help define and enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act.  Though the law has been on the books for decades, it has never gone through the rulemaking process that is normally part of the basic implementation of any statute.  The lack of rules has made it very difficult over the years to enforce key portions of the Act.

Hence, the corrective action that Congress took in the 2008 Farm Bill was critical and long overdue.  It held out the promise of having clear ground rules that are necessary to prevent unfair, discriminatory, and deceptive practices within the livestock and poultry industries.

USDA issued the proposed rules in 2010.  To date, however, only a very few of those proposed rules have been finalized.  The delay, in large part, has been due to the riders attached to the annual appropriations bills ever since the proposed rules came out.  In essence, the big meat and poultry companies have used the backdoor approach of annual riders on the appropriations bills to reverse the decision made in the 2008 Farm Bill.

The Appropriations Committees do not have jurisdiction over policy, but only over spending.  Hence, their job is to determine the annual funding level for GIPSA and its Packers and Stockyards Program, but not to determine what the policies are.  The policy job is the responsibility of the Agriculture Committees.

In the lead up to what became the 2014 Farm Bill, the House Agriculture Committee passed a provision that would have repealed the 2008 Farm Bill section of the Packers and Stockyards Act, prevented any of the proposed rules from being finalized, forced the rescission of most of the rules that have already been finalized, and directed GIPSA to stop taking any action to enforce the law.  Thankfully, this complete giveaway to the big meat and poultry companies was rejected in the House-Senate conference on the farm bill and therefore there is no repeal of the 2008 provision or interference with USDA’s job to enforce the law.

When Congress rejected the gutting of the Packers and Stockyards Act in the Farm Bill, that should have been the end of it.  The authorizers have spoken, and the issue should not come up again until the next consideration of the Farm Bill in 2018.  But such was not the case.  The big companies went right back to work and convinced the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to put the rider back in play.  Senate appropriators did not include the rider in their bill.  Now both the House and Senate versions of the bill are headed for floor action.

With the floor debate over the agriculture funding bills for Fiscal Year 2015 looming before us, the House of Representatives sits poised to vote on this very policy that will prevent USDA from finalizing several commonsense rules that aim to protect the rights of farmers.  Worse, the so-called “GIPSA rider” would rescind rules that have already been finalized.  First, however, the full House will have a chance to vote on an amendment to reduce the impact of the rider.

Attempt to Beat Back the House Rider

Although the agriculture spending bill (HR 4800) that is on its way to the House floor sometime this summer contains the awful GIPSA rider that will once again limit USDA’s ability to protect farmers rights, there is a glimmer of hope that Congress will finally start to chip away at these anti-farmer attempts.

Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) has introduced an amendment that will remove two of the most harmful provisions from the rider, allowing USDA to finalize a portion of these common sense rules.

So, what would the Pingree Free Speech and Transparency Amendment do?

It would strike the House language that prevents USDA from finalizing two important rules to ensure farmers have the right to free speech and transparency in how their pay is calculated.

• Right to Free Speech and Association –The first part of the Pingree amendment would allow USDA to finalize a rule to prohibit livestock and poultry companies from retaliating against farmers for expressing their free speech and association rights, including talking to Congress and USDA officials about their contracts with poultry companies including the abusive practices they have encountered.  It is a fundamental right in this country to petition your government. Livestock and poultry companies should not be allowed to retaliate against growers for speaking to their elected representatives.

Big meat and poultry companies don’t want any spotlight on the tactics they use to keep contract farmers under their tight control, so they really don’t like it when farmers talk to their Members of Congress or USDA officials about these abusive practices.  Similarly, they don’t like it when farmers join together in associations to speak out about the abuses and insist on better treatment by the companies.  As a result, it is very common for livestock and poultry companies to retaliate against farmers who speak out about their circumstances, or join together in associations to do so as a group.  Such retaliation can include contract cancellation, cuts in their payments, delivery of diseased animals, or the indefinite suspension of delivery of animals or chickens to their farms.

Any of these actions can lead to severe economic distress, and in some cases bankruptcy for the farmers, who often go $1 million or more in debt to build the facilities on their farms to service these contracts.  This fear of retaliation has been one of the major impediments to enforcement of the Act, and one of the reasons the Congress can plead ignorance to the plight of these farmers.

• Right to Pricing Transparency — The second part of the Pingree Amendment would give USDA the green light to finalize a rule to require livestock and poultry companies to provide farmers, upon request, with statistical information and data used to calculate the farmer’s pay.

The payment methods used to pay poultry and livestock farmers are notoriously complicated and opaque.  The lack of transparency often allows companies to shift costs to farmers and to manipulate prices without detection.

Not only is it common sense to allow farmers to know how their pay is calculated to help them make better management decisions, but it prevents livestock and poultry companies from manipulating an opaque system they control.

Action to Support the Pingree Amendment

If adopted and passed by a majority of members of the House of Representatives when the House Agriculture Appropriations Bill comes up for a vote on the House floor in the coming weeks, the Pingree amendment would remove the provisions currently contained in the House bill to protect farmers from retaliation and to create some transparency in how big meatpacking and poultry companies calculate a farmer’s pay.

NSAC has joined with our allies across the country — within the farm, faith, and rural communities — to stand in opposition to the House GIPSA rider and in support of the Pingree Free Speech and Transparency Amendment.

Click here to learn how you can take action and urge your Members of Congress to support the Pingree amendment and protect farmers’ rights.

The post What is the “GIPSA Rider” and why is the House once again attacking farmers’ rights? appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Have you heard?  The FDA just announced an extension of the Food Safety Modernization Act comment period – you now have until November 22 to submit your comments!  Many of you reported difficulty accessing the federal comments website Regulations.gov over the past week; NSAC and other organizations reported this issue to FDA, and they’ve now extended this comment deadline to ensure everyone has a chance to weigh in.

If you’ve submitted comments already, THANK YOU!  Help us spread the word over the next week via Facebook and Twitter.  If you haven’t submitted your comments yet, it’s OK – this is your second chance.  Take a look at our materials and get started on your comments today!  We’ve included our email from earlier this week below so you’ve got the information handy.

We now have 7 more days to help shape our food and farm future for the better.  Let’s fix FSMA together!

— The NSAC Food Safety Team

———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Wed, Nov 13, 2013

Dear Supporter,

Two days.

That’s how long you have left to make your voice heard on the Food Safety Modernization Act – new food safety regulations that will unfairly burden family farmers, target sustainable and organic farming, and reduce the availability of fresh, local food in our communities.

These FSMA rules have been all over the news – for good reason. Farmers and eaters are worried that the rules will:

• put many farms out of business;
  
• reduce the supply of fresh, local produce in schools and hospitals;
  
• push farmers to tear out wildlife habitat; and
• increase the use of chemicals rather than natural fertilizers.

The good news is that we’ve got a chance to fix this – the Food and Drug Administration is asking for comments from people like YOU before the rules become final law!  But the comment period closes at 11:59pm this Friday, November 15 next Friday, November 22. We’re running out of time to have an impact on what these rules look like – so don’t delay. Submit a comment to fix FSMA today.

Here’s how:

1. Get informed. If you’re new to this issue – or just feeling iffy on some of the details – we’ve got you covered. Read our Top 10 Problems with FSMA, or check out our issue pages for some of the real nitty gritty. Farmers and food entrepreneurs should check out our “am I affected?” information too.

2. Take action. OK, here’s the deal – submitting a comment takes a little longer than simply sending a form email. But FDA will read every single submission, and it takes only a few moments! We’ve put together templates for farmers and consumers to help you customize your comment. Basically, in as few or many words as you like, you’ll want to share your concerns about the rules. You have a story to tell – about your food business, favorite farmer, or the role that local produce plays in your community – and it’s critical to share it with the FDA so they understand how many people from across the country are taking note of these rules and demanding that they work for sustainable agriculture!

3. Be sure to submit (or postmark) your comment by the deadline: November 15 November 22, 2013. There are two ways to submit:

• Electronically. Submit one copy of your comments to the Produce Rule and one to the Preventive Controls Rule. We have more detailed instructions online here that walk you through the simple process!
• Snail mail. Send a hard copy of your comments to:
  Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
  Food and Drug Administration
  5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
  Rockville, MD 20852

That’s it! Have last-minute questions? We’re here to help at fsma@sustainableagriculture.net.

Two days. This is it. Let’s fix FSMA together.

Sincerely,

The NSAC Food Safety Team

P.S. Have you already submitted a comment? Fantastic! You’re the best! Help us spread the word via Facebook and Twitter, too!

The post New FSMA comment deadline: November 22! appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.