Other Ag News:
(Little Rock, AR, April 15, 2025) – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke L. Rollins joined Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today as the Governor submitted a waiver to USDA to ban soda and candy from and include hot rotisserie chicken in Arkansas’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Email: press@sustainableagriculture.net
Tel. 347.563.6408
Release: NSAC Responds to USDA Announcement on Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program Widespread Farmer Support Informs USDA Decision to Rebrand Program and Restart Payments, but Overhaul Nonetheless Disregards Lawful Agreements with Farmer-Serving OrganizationsWashington, DC, April 14, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) responded to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s announcement on the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program (PCSC) being reframed and continued for projects that meet newly created criteria, a move met with some optimism as well as significant concerns.
”After months of self-inflicted uncertainty, today’s announcement is a significant and welcome step toward the clarity that farmers, ranchers, and the organizations who support them have desperately needed, particularly the farmers who have spoken in favor of the program. Unfortunately, this clarity will also bring unnecessary hardship nationwide to farmer serving organizations and likely farmers as a result of USDA changing program requirements and cancelling projects mid-stream,” said Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director.
The USDA announcement, which reframes PCSC as the Advancing Markets for Producers initiative, indicates that USDA will review existing grant agreements for the amount of project funds that go to producers, and whether grant recipients have enrolled and paid at least one producer as of December 31, 2024. The announcement also states that USDA will honor all eligible expenses incurred prior to April 13, 2025, but does not provide clarity on whether grant recipients can make modifications to meet the new criteria.
“Direct producer payments are important, and strong cost share can make all the difference for many farmers and ranchers seeking to adopt new practices in their operations. However, it is disappointing to see the administration disinvest in other valuable elements of PCSC projects beyond direct payments, including technical support for producers designing, implementing, and maintaining conservation systems. Coupling this announcement with USDA’s reductions in force, the administration must take every opportunity going forward to increase access to technical assistance and support the staffing levels necessary to provide efficient and dependable customer service for our farmers – those working directly with USDA and those working with the farmer-serving organizations it partners with,” commented Richa Patel, NSAC Policy Specialist.
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more: https://sustainableagriculture.net/
The post Release: NSAC Responds to USDA Announcement on Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
(Washington, D.C., April 14, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC). Following a thorough line by line review of each of these Biden era partnerships, it became clear that the majority of these projects had sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers. Select projects may continue if it is demonstrated that a significant amount of the federal funds awarded will go to farmers.
(Washington, D.C., April 14, 2025) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced the latest slate of presidential appointments, bringing new leadership to key roles within the Department. These appointees have been selected to implement President Trump’s America First agenda at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), ensuring the needs of America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers remain a top priority.
NSAC has published an updated 2025 Farmers’ Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
What is CSP?The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is the nation’s largest conservation program. It is a voluntary program that pays farmers and ranchers for the conservation they already do on their farms and for implementing new practices to help care for the soil, water, air, and wildlife. CSP contracts last five years and pay farmers an annual payment that covers their existing conservation practices and any new practices they implement as part of their contract.
While some USDA programs continue to experience difficulties related to the ongoing funding freeze created by the Administration’s Executive Orders, CSP continues to provide support for farmers via Farm Bill funding. NRCS is able to sign new contracts with farmers right now, though as USDA continues to experience across the board staffing reductions, producers seeking support through all conservation programs should anticipate longer-than-average delays in service and plan accordingly. NSAC strongly encourages producers dissatisfied with these new and unnecessary administrative delays to share concerns with their members of Congress.
What’s New in the Guide?This updated guide walks farmers and ranchers through some important updates to CSP in 2024, including:
- Increased minimum payments:
The minimum annual payment that farmers receive has been increased significantly from $1,500 to $4,000. This provides more meaningful support for smaller farms, guaranteeing that operations with fewer acres receive material benefit for their conservation efforts.
- New calculations for Existing Activity Payments:
CSP is unique in that it includes an annual payment for farmers already addressing resource concerns within their operations through ongoing conservation efforts. The formula to calculate those Existing Activity Payments has been changed, meaning that farms enrolling in new contracts going forward will receive a slightly larger payment under this updated formula to support the conservation practices they already use.
- Faster approval with Act Now:
CSP applications can now be fast-tracked through the Act Now process that pre-approves applications that meet a minimum ranking score. Farmers do not need to apply separately for Act Now: if their application meets the minimum score, it is automatically considered for pre-approval.
Updates to PaymentsCSP payments come in two parts: Existing Activity Payments that pay farmers for the conservation they already have in place and Additional Activity Payments that pay farmers for the new conservation they implement as part of their contracts. For contracts beginning in 2024 onwards, the formula for Existing Activity Payments has changed.
In the new formula, farmers get a per acre payment based on the land use. The per acre rate varies by land use and the number of resource concerns that already exceed the stewardship threshold (the minimum level of conservation performance that a farm or ranch must achieve to address specific natural resource concerns, which your NRCS agent will help to determine) when a farmer applies. Land use payment rates offered for FY24 contracts and beyond are:
Payment ExampleTo illustrate how the new EAP formula works, NSAC calculated a payment for a hypothetical farm. The example is a farm with 200 acres, 150 acres in cropland, and 50 acres in pasture. It is assumed that on the cropland acres, there are strong conservation practices in place that exceed the stewardship threshold (the minimum level of conservation performance that a farm or ranch must achieve to address specific natural resource concerns, which an NRCS agent will help to determine) for 5 resource concerns. On the pastured acres, it is assumed that the farm exceeds the stewardship threshold for 3 resource concerns.
This farm would also receive $1,800 annual payments (it would be $3,000 if they were a renewing contract) for either of the two land uses where they decide to implement new conservation practices as part of their contract. They are ambitious and plan to implement new conservation on both their cropland and their pasture, for a total of $3,600 of additional annual payments.
This farm’s annual Existing Activity Payment would be a total of $4,800. Under the old payment model, this farm would have received $4,214, so the new formula means that they will be paid $2,930 more over the course of their contract.
Finally, this farm would also receive payments to cover a portion of the cost of the new conservation practices they implement. While the previous two payments will stay the same for all five years of a contract (barring any major modifications), the payments for new activities will vary each year based on the schedule for implementing those practices.
Using these payment calculations, farms will receive anywhere from the minimum annual payment of $4,000 per year up to a maximum of approximately $40,000 per year for the length of their contract.
Check Out the Updated GuideThe 2025 Farmers’ Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program walks farmers and ranchers through the program from interest, to application, to contract payments and monitoring. It shares stories of farmers who have had successful CSP contracts and the types of conservation that CSP can support. The guide contains more information about how and why to apply for a CSP contract. See NSAC’s recent report, Stewarding Success, to read about how CSP has performed under the 2018 Farm Bill.
This updated 2025 Farmers’ Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program was supported by the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN).
The post Newly Updated Farmers’ Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Contact:
Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net
Release: NSAC Applauds Introduction of the Organic Science and Research Investment ActWashington, DC, April 11, 2025 – Earlier this week, US Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the Organic Science and Research Investment Act, joined by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Angus King (I-ME). By ensuring organic research is prioritized at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and increasing funding for research agencies and universities, this bill would provide much-needed support to the organic farming industry.
“Pennsylvania is home to some of the best organic farmers in the world – and we need to support them in every way possible,” said Senator Fetterman. “I’m proud to introduce this bill to increase organics research within the federal government and at our leading research institutions to ensure our commonwealth can remain on the cutting edge of this growing industry. I’m grateful for Senator Schiff’s partnership as we work to pass this crucial support for American farmers.”
“America’s agriculture is the envy of the world, and agriculture research is essential to ensuring that food and farm organizations have the resources they need to grow food affordably, safely, and sustainably,” said Senator Schiff. “California is a leader in organic farming, and this legislation is essential for California farmers as they continue to be a driving force in the organic market.”
“NSAC applauds the introduction of the Organic Science Research and Investment Act, which makes meaningful investments in providing organic producers with the research and tools they need to continue to improve upon already resilient farming systems and meet the growing market demand for organic products” said Nick Rossi, Policy Specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).
Find out more information about the bill here.
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more: https://sustainableagriculture.net/
The post Release: NSAC Applauds Introduction of the Organic Science and Research Investment Act appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
(Washington, D.C., April 4, 2025) — U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary (USDA) Brooke L. Rollins Thursday collaborated on their first Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) event during a visit to Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School in Alexandria, VA where they participated in a healthy snack time with students and met facility staff.
(Washington, D.C., April 4, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued a Secretarial Memo (PDF, 2.9 MB) to establish an “Emergency Situation Determination” on 112,646,000 acres of National Forestry System (NFS) land (PDF, 19.8 MB). This Memo comes on the heels of President Donald J.
April is the Month of the Military Child. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Military Children and Youth: Building Stronger Character and Relationships.” The observance gives us an opportunity to recognize the unique challenges military children face and celebrate their amazing resilience and adaptability.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump’s executive order on American energy led to the freezing of projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including stopped payments to recipients of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). More than $911 million in obligated funds through REAP have been frozen. On March 26, 2025, the USDA announced previously obligated REAP funds would be released.
The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
REAP provides grants and loan guarantees to help farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses invest in renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. This includes things like installing solar panels, upgrading to energy-efficient equipment, or improving building insulation. Through these investments, REAP helps farmers lower energy costs, boosts rural economic development, and supports the transition to clean energy in agricultural and rural communities. Like many USDA programs, it operates on a reimbursement model, meaning that farmers and small businesses have been waiting to be reimbursed for costs they have already incurred.
USDA’s Funding Notification
On March 26, 2025, the USDA began individually notifying REAP awardees with paused disbursements that they have 30 calendar days from the day of notice to “inform USDA Rural Development if they would like to voluntarily propose to change their projects within the existing project budget to better address President Trump’s January 20 Executive Order.”
The notification links to the following website: https://www.rd.usda.gov/reap-newera-pace-notification.
On this website, awardees may provide their Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, name, phone number, and email address, and indicate whether they have no changes to their current proposal or would like to request changes. If the latter option is selected, awardees are asked to provide a summary of their proposed changes, and a representative from USDA Rural Development will reach out to further discuss.
The following is based on NSAC’s current understanding that REAP grantees will receive the reimbursements that they are owed under their contracts, whether or not they choose to voluntarily update their projects. However, USDA’s guidance has been unclear in this, making this process more complicated for awardees.
Awardees may take the following three options:
- The awardee does not respond via the website. If this option is chosen, USDA says “disbursements and other actions” will resume after the 30 calendar days. While this language is vague, NSAC’s understanding is that there are no other actions for REAP recipients besides disbursements being considered at this time.
- The awardee responds via the website to confirm no changes. If this option is chosen, USDA will begin processing the awardee’s project immediately. NSAC’s understanding remains that choosing ‘no changes’ will not lead to any other action besides the processing of payments to be disbursed. At this time, press reporting suggests that payments are already being disbursed as this option is selected.
- The awardee responds via the website with proposed changes. USDA has said that changes “may include the removal of harmful DEIA project features, using more affordable and effective energy sources, including technologies to increase energy production, storage and improve customer service, or any other change that will help the recipient organization play their part in increasing American identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity of energy and critical minerals, while providing affordable service to their customers.” However, once again, NSAC’s understanding is that this is voluntary and awardees are not required to suggest changes for their projects to receive reimbursements. In addition, suggested changes cannot exceed original award amounts and cannot change how the project was competitively scored at the time of its awarding, significantly limiting possible changes. If this option is chosen, a representative from USDA Rural Development will reach out to the awardee to confirm the changes do not affect the award amount and/or scoring, approve changes and update award documents, and begin processing reimbursements. Yet it is worth noting that recipients have not received any information from the agency specific to their grants that indicate what changes they might need to consider, if any, rendering this option quite vague and confusing.
For direct questions, REAP awardees can contact their state Energy Coordinators.
The post USDA Begins Releasing Frozen REAP Funding appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
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