{"id":51200,"date":"2019-02-19T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/?p=51200"},"modified":"2019-03-22T10:54:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T14:54:35","slug":"closer-look-foto-2018-farmbill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/closer-look-foto-2018-farmbill\/","title":{"rendered":"A Closer Look at the 2018 Farm Bill: Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Program\ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Veteran
Beginning farmers and military veteran farmers participate in a skill building and training program. Photo credit: University of Arkansas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This is the final post in a multi-part blog series digging deeper into some of the new programs and policies of the 2018 Farm Bill. These posts detail how the new farm bill is likely to impact core sustainable agriculture programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Previous posts focused on: working lands conservation<\/a>, <\/em>local and regional food systems<\/em><\/a>, and nutrition incentive and anti-hunger programs<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As farmers across the country scour seed catalogs and begin sketching out plans for the upcoming season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is busy scouring the new farm bill and working out how to stand up the hundreds of new programs and policies mandated by Congress. Included among those is the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach<\/a> (FOTO) Program, a new umbrella program designed to coordinate USDA training and outreach to beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged (SDA) farmers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the provision of $435 million in mandatory federal grant funding for FOTO over the next ten years, this new program will be able to permanently protect beginning and SD farmer resources. FOTO will also enable its component programs \u2013 the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program<\/a> (BFRDP) and the Out<\/a>r<\/a>each and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program<\/a> (aka \u201cSection 2501\u201d) \u2013 to better serve their constituencies by establishing consistency in grant terms, priority for non-profit and community-based organizations, regional balance in funding, external peer review, and a cap on indirect costs for both BFRDP and 2501 grants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are, however,\nsome programmatic changes that are complex to navigate. It is important therefore\nthat organizations serving beginning and SD farmer communities understand all of\nthe changes mandated in the new farm bill that will come as part of FOTO, and\nthat they remain active during the implementation process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we take\na deeper dive into the new FOTO program, outline what changes are in store for\nfuture grants, and highlight key questions surrounding program implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is\nFOTO?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FOTO is a new initiative established in the 2018 Farm Bill that\ncombines two of USDA\u2019s flagship training and technical assistance programs for beginning\nand SD producers \u2013 BFRDP and Section 2501.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over\na decade, BFRDP has served as the only federal grant program explicitly\ndedicated to training the next generation of farmers \u2013 including veterans and\nfarmers of color. The Section 2501 program is dedicated to helping our nation\u2019s\nhistorically underserved producers gain access to USDA credit, commodity,\nconservation and other programs and services and has been serving these\ncommunities for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section\n12301 of the Agriculture Improvement Act<\/em>\n(aka \u201c2018 Farm Bill) establishes FOTO by combining the statutory authorities\nfor BFRDP and 2501 into a single program (now located within the farm bill\u2019s\nMiscellaneous Title). The broad purpose of FOTO is to \u201cencourage and assist\nsocially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, veteran farmers and ranchers, and\nbeginning farmers and ranchers in the ownership and operation of farms and\nranches through (1) education and training; and (2) equitable participation in\nall agricultural programs of the Department\u201d [7 U.S.C. 2279(b)].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While consolidated in law, both BFRDP and Section 2501 will\nmaintain their historic program integrity and continue to be administered\nseparately. USDA\u2019s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will\ncontinue to administer BFRDP, and the Office of Partnerships and Public\nEngagement (OPPE) will administer Section 2501.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) was a leading advocate for FOTO, and we were pleased to see that many of the enacted changes to BFRDP and 2501 were reflective of recommendations made in NSAC\u2019s 2018 Farm Bill Platform<\/a>. Proposals from several marker bills championed by NSAC, including the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act<\/a> and Assist Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Act<\/a>, were also included in the final farm bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes to\nthe Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In\naddition to providing mandatory funding for and streamlining BFRDP and Section\n2501 under FOTO, the final 2018 Farm Bill also makes several important\nprogrammatic changes to each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\npart of FOTO, several changes to BFRDP\u2019s grant priorities and procedures have\nbeen modified (though the grant terms are unchanged). For one, BFRDP will now place\na greater emphasis on projects that support farm succession planning (included\nas a new grant priority) and farmland transfer to new farmers. Specifically,\nprojects may now be targeted towards retiring farmers and non-farming\nlandowners so long as the ultimate aim of the project is to increase\nopportunities for beginning farmers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional\nchanges include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n