5/7/10 - Opportunity to Give Input on AFRI RFA: The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is accepting public comments on its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

(AFRI) to help guide the development of the 2011 Requests for Applications (RFAs).

5/5/10 – USDA Seeking Public Input on Animal Disease Traceability: The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the first three of a series of public meetings where stakeholders can offer input on the framework for a new APHIS rule on animal disease traceability.

Congressional News

5/7/10 – Food Safety Bill Still Pending in the Senate: S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, is expected to be considered by the Senate right after the Memorial Day recess, according to Senate staff.   The bill is the first significant effort to increase food safety in decades and gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new enforcement authority over industry and will also have a significant impact on farmers.

5/5/10 – Organizations Urge Congress to Fund Farm to School: This Monday, May 3, NSAC and 40 other national agriculture, health, and food business organizations delivered a letter to House and Senate Congressional leaders urging them to include $50 million in mandatory funding for programs linking farmers with local schools as part of the 2010 Child Nutrition Act reauthorization.

The Maine Farm Business Loan Fund 

The Carrot Project is pleased to announce a collaboration with Coastal Enterprises, Inc., The Maine Farm Business Loan Fund is for small and midsized farms using sustainable or organic practices and serving markets within Maine or in nearby states. Funds can be used for working capital or capital needs for production or value-added enterprises. On-farm, value-added enterprises will be given preference. Loans will be for amounts up to $35,000 and for terms of 1–5 years. Learn more.

Strolling of the Heifers Microloan Fund Expanded to Eastern Massachusetts

In partnership with MassDevelopment, we have launched the MassDevelopment/Strolling of the Heifers Small Farm Loan Fund.This expansion allows us to offer the microloan fund to all farmers in Massachusetts. MassDevelopment will provide loans secured by  donations from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and proceeds from a 5% Day from the Whole Foods Markets in Cambridge. Thank you to our Boston-area volunteers for your help with the 5% Day and to our other valued supporters of this work.  Learn more.

Brown Bag Conference Call: Small Farms in a Changing Credit Landscape

John Moukad, an expert in community development finance and now a member of The Carrot Project Advisory Board, recently completed a report describing the changes in the credit market in recent years, and how these changes have negatively impacted small farmers. It also describes the capacity of small farmers as borrowers and makes recommendations. The Carrot Project will host a Brown Bag Conference to discuss the report on Friday, May 14th at 12:15 pm. If you would like to participate, please register or learn more under Reports on our program page.

The Carrot Project Works Because of You

The Carrot Project works collaboratively to help close financing gaps for small and midsized farms. Our work would be impossible without our partners — donors, investors, lenders, other non-profit organizations, and volunteers. If you haven’t  already, please consider joining this group of dedicated people who make our work possible, by making a tax-deductible donation. Thank you! Make a donation.

USDA News

4/30/10 – Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grants The USDA announced Wednesday that almost $3.5 million will be available for the Small Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant program (SSDPG) which provides competitive grant funds for cooperatives or an association of cooperatives to provide technical assistance to socially disadvantaged, small-scale producers.

4/30/10 – NRCS Funding Available for Great Lakes Conservation The Environmental Protection Agency has provided USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with $34 million to provide additional FY2010 funding to Farm Bill conservation programs in selected watersheds of the eight Great Lake states.

4/29/10 – USDA Rural Energy Grant and Loan Applications Open USDA’s Rural Development Agency has announced that it is taking applications for Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants and guaranteed loans.  A total of $87 million is available in FY2010 for projects to develop and/or construct renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements.

4/29/10 – NRCS Funding for Farm Energy Audits and Plans USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced an initiative to use $2 million in FY2010 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding to help farmers and ranchers conserve energy and reduce energy costs.

Congressional News

4/29/10 – Farm Bill 2012: Additional Field Hearings Scheduled Additional field hearings have now been added to the schedule in Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and South Dakota.

Other News and Resources

4/28/10 – New NSAC Guide to USDA funding for Food Systems The Guide to USDA Funding for Local and Regional Food Systems seeks to de-mystify some of the federal grant programs most likely to be useful to food systems’ development work and directs organizations to specific resources that can help in designing a project and writing a grant.

4/26/10 – Groups Urge Ag Funding Fairness More than 100 national, regional, state and local groups have signed on to a letter urging President Obama to pay for proposed increases in child nutrition and to settle long standing claims stemming from systemic discrimination in USDA programs without cutting critical conservation programs.

With Congress back in session, wheels began turning on the Senate food safety bill, S510. On Wednesday, we reported on a number of important improvements that have been added to the manager’s amendment that will support small and mid-scale farmers, local and regional food systems, conservation, and organic farming. Though the timing of the bill has been pushed back to make way for a debate on finance reform, NSAC intends to continue to maintain these improvements throughout the process. Thank you to all who flew in for a visit or made a call — your voice has been heard!

As always, to access the full articles and leave comments, visit our “Something to Crow About” Blog.

USDA News

4/13/10 - Research Grants Drilldown: Conventional Breeding and Climate Adaptation

The overarching goal of the RFA is to reduce use of energy, nitrogen, fertilizer, and water by ten percent and increase carbon sequestration by fifteen percent by the year 2030.  While this goal focuses on mitigation, most of the programs in the RFA focus on strategies for climate change adaptation.

Congressional News

4/16/10 – Senators Chide Administration on “Actively Engaged”

A bi-partisan group of Senators sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday criticizing the Administration’s loose interpretation of “active personal management” in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) final rule on farm program payment limitations, released on January 7, 2010.

4/14/10 - Senate Food Safety Bill Includes Improvements That Support Farmers

In most areas of the legislation, sustainable agriculture and family farm groups think the Senate bill is a very significant improvement over the companion bill passed by the House of Representatives (HR 2749) last year.   If the Senate passes the bill next week or soon thereafter, it will head to a conference committee to work out differences between the two bills.

Contact: Jennifer Martin (202) 720-8188

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2010 – USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced nearly funding for 20 educational grants totaling nearly $6 million to promote and strengthen the ability of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) to carry out higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences.

“Nearly one-quarter of the nation’s college-age population will be Hispanic by 2025, but too few Hispanic students are earning college and university degrees, especially in the fields of food and agriculture-related sciences,” said Roger Beachy, NIFA director. “Through these grants, our aim is to produce outstanding graduates who will be valuable, contributing members of the nations’ food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce.”

The HSI Education grants program, now in its 13th year of funding, provides support to HSIs to provide educational programs that attract outstanding underrepresented students to pursue careers in agricultural and food science related fields, such as natural resources management, food and nutrition, microbiology, biotechnology and sustainable engineering. Grants help colleges and universities develop new curricula, expand the use of experiential learning and bolster student recruitment and retention. Some grants establish collaborations between two-year colleges, four-year institutions and high schools. They also support collaborations between HSIs and USDA agencies.

Currently, there are more than 260 HSIs where Hispanics constitute a minimum of 25 percent of the full-time undergraduate enrollment. These institutions are located in 13 states, plus Puerto Rico, and serve more than 1.3 million students. The HSI Education grant program has been funded since 1997 and has received $52.7 million in funding supporting 224 projects.

The Fiscal Year 2009 HSI Education grants include:

* West Hills College, Lemoore, Calif., $295,000

* California State University, Long Beach, Calif., $296,000

* California State University, Monterey Bay, Calif., $300,000

* California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, Calif., $248,043

* Reedley College, Reedley, Calif., $300,000

* California State University, San Bernardino, Calif., $499,528

* Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, Calif., $249,996

* New Jersey City University, Jersey City, N.J., $287,707

* Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, N.M., $295,000

* New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, N.M., $296,000

* University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, $249,753

* University of Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico, $249,848

* Pontifical Catholic University, Ponce, Puerto Rico, $295,000

* St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas, $295,000

* University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas, $314,355

* University of Texas, El Paso, Texas, $296,000

* Houston Community College, Houston, Texas, $298,538

* Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Texas, $295,000

* Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Texas, $281,737

* St. Philip’s College, San Antonio, Texas, $299,983

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

Contact: Andre Kok (202) 720-9733; Andre.Kok@wdc.usda.gov

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2010 – USDA announced today that it will accept applications for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) for losses that took place in calendar years 2008 and 2009. ELAP sign-up ended on Dec.10, 2009, for 2008 losses and on Feb. 1, 2010, for 2009 losses. However, because of changes to program eligibility provisions, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting late-filed applications for 2008 and 2009 livestock, honeybees, and/or farm-raised fish losses through May 5, 2010.

ELAP, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and wildfires. ELAP assistance is for losses not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill, specifically the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program. ELAP is being implemented to fill in the gap and provide assistance under other conditions determined to be appropriate.

ELAP eligibility provisions have been amended for both honeybee and farm-raised fish producers. The modifications include allowing honeybee and farm-raised fish producers who did not replace their honeybees or fish that were lost due to a natural disaster to be eligible for ELAP payments based on the fair market value of the honeybees or fish that were lost. In addition, the requirements to document losses for honeybee producers who suffered losses due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) were modified to allow documentation by an independent third party for losses in 2010 through Sept. 31, 2011. Producers can self certify losses due to CCD for 2008 and 2009.

For more information or to apply for ELAP and other USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, please visit your FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.

Contact: Office of Communications (202) 720-4623

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the funding of 18 projects designed to protect public health by improving water quality and public sanitation services in 12 states. The projects, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are expected to provide construction jobs and create infrastructure needed to support community growth.

“Through these Recovery Act projects announced today, we are helping to achieve the Obama Administration’s economic recovery goals to rebuild and revitalize the nation’s infrastructure.” Vilsack said. “These investments in water and wastewater infrastructure will deliver safe drinking water and protect the quality of our environment.”

For example, in rural Connecticut, the Town of Woodstock has been selected to receive a $786,000 loan and a $614,000 grant to provide wastewater system improvements for the Woodstock Academy. The Academy serves as the public high school for residents of Woodstock, Eastford, Brooklyn, Pomfret, Canterbury, and Union, Connecticut. Other communities from Connecticut and neighboring states enroll their students as well. As the population and student enrollment increases, additional capacity for sanitary disposal will be needed. The existing on-site wastewater system was designed for a maximum flow of 6,000 gallons per day and the current flow has reached 5,800 gallons per day. This project will connect the Woodstock Academy wastewater system to the Town of Woodstock wastewater system, accommodating the growing needs of the system.

Also, in rural Wisconsin, the Village of Cochrane has been selected to receive a $1 million loan to provide wastewater system improvements. The existing system consists of a two-cell stabilization pond system with effluent disposal in two seepage cells. Together with $100,000 of borrower contribution, this project will address issues related to stabilization pond leakage, improvement of the fill and draw operation of the stabilization pond, sludge accumulation in the stabilization pond, and encroachment of nearby residential development. The proposed project will include lining existing stabilization ponds and increasing the ponds’ depth to six feet.

The loan and grant funding announced today totals $48.6 million and will leverage an additional $13.4 million of recipient contributions to complete water and wastewater system projects. To date, USDA has announced $2.46 billion in Recovery Act funds for water and environmental projects. The Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama one year ago.

The ARRA funding announced today is being administered by USDA Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program which provides loans and grants to ensure that the necessary investments are made in water and wastewater infrastructure to deliver safe drinking water and protect the environment in rural areas.

Funding of individual recipients is contingent upon their meeting the terms of the loan or grant agreement. Below is a complete list of award recipients, by state:

Alaska

* Gulkana Village Council: $1,200,000 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

California

* City of Ferndale: $5,000,000 loan and $3,738,000 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

Connecticut

* Town of Woodstock: $786,000 loan and $614,000 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

Delaware

* Sussex County Council: $5,582,000 loan and $2,999,847 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

Maine

* City of Brewer: $800,000 loan and $620,000 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

Missouri

* City of Bismarck: $2,500,000 loan and $3,564,790 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

* City of Bucklin: $151,000 loan and $346,200 grant. The funding will provide water system improvements.

* Chariton-Linn Park Water and Sanitation District (PWSD) #3: $351,000 loan and $335,000 grant. The funding will provide water system improvements.

* Village of Dadeville: $420,000 loan. The funding will provide water system improvements.

* City of Diamond: $650,000 loan. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

* Washington County Park PWSD #1: $538,000 loan and $1,209,990 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

North Carolina

* Town of Cofield: $543,000 loan and $462,000 grant. The funding will provide water system improvements.

* Edgecombe Water & Sewer District #4: $3,615,000 loan and $2,509,400 grant. The funding will provide water system improvements.

Ohio

* Portage County: $577,000 loan and $1,505,000 grant. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

South Carolina

* St. John’s Water Company, Inc.: $4,604,000 loan. The funding will provide water system improvements.

Tennessee

* South Blount Utility District: $769,000 loan. The funding will provide water system improvements.

West Virginia

* Mingo County PSD Marrowbone Creek: $763,000 loan and $900,000 grant. The funding will provide water system improvements.

Wisconsin

* Village of Cochrane: $1,000,000 loan. The funding will provide wastewater system improvements.

President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on Feb. 17, 2009. It is designed to jumpstart the nation’s economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act includes measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.

More information about USDA’s Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery. More information about the Federal government’s efforts on the Recovery Act is available at www.recovery.gov .

Todd and Lily Lanis are first-generation farmers working hard to realize their dream of farming full-time. They plan to someday control 80-200 acres of pastureland, and are working to acquire cattle and a lease on land with on-farm dairy infrastructure.   Faced with high start-up costs, Todd and Lily have had to think creatively, and admit that their goals will take many years to reach. Todd will soon graduate from the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers Farm and Industry Short Course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he emphasizes the importance of continued education for all beginning farmers: “The more that can be learned, the better off we will be to start up,” he says.   Despite their hard work, Todd and Lily face the difficulty of obtaining a loan with limited experience and few savings. “We have drained our savings just supporting ourselves and schooling, just to gain the knowledge and experience we need to start farming on our own,” Todd says. “We have excellent credit and some equity in a home, but I’m sure that we’ll face serious opposition for a loan, even if it is just for cattle.”  How do we grow the next generation of farmers? To help meet the needs of beginning farmers, MFAI and other advocacy organizations successfully got the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account (IDA) Program authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill. The IDA Program was designed to help beginning farmers and ranchers of limited-means build the capital necessary to expand their agricultural businesses through matched savings accounts. However, the program has yet to receive appropriations; MFAI and others within the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition seek $5 million for the program for Fiscal Year 2011.  Todd thinks that an IDA program is a great self-help incentive for farmers to establish a pattern of savings. “I certainly like the idea that we have to be proactive and that the money contributed by the program would be determined by the amount that we contribute,” he notes. “This makes it less of a handout and teaches proper planning and saving practices.”

Thanks to the leadership of Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Max Baucus (D-MT), and to calls and visits by NSAC members and supporters, a group of senators has delivered a letter to the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee in support of funding for beginning farmers and ranchers.

Last Wednesday, Senators Klobuchar and Baucus and 12 other Senate colleagues delivered a “Dear Colleague” letter to urge the Senate ag appropriations subcommittee to fully fund the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account (BFRIDA) program at $5 million in 2011.

The  IDA program was a major focus of meetings during the beginning farmer fly-in, organized by NSAC in early March. Created in the 2008 Farm Bill, the program would fund matched savings accounts and financial training for beginning farmers and ranchers in 15 pilot states, filling a serious gap in access to credit that poses a barrier to many beginning farmers. Thus far, the program has not been funded.