Other Ag News:

National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 to October 15, is a time to celebrate the rich history, cultural diversity, and contributions from Hispanic communities. USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area is home to over 8,000 of the world’s best and brightest minds in agricultural science, data, and innovation. This month, REE is spotlighting several brilliant colleagues who are pioneering change at USDA and within their communities.

As an auditor for USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), I am one of a small group of highly-qualified individuals who audit companies that utilize our programs to back up their marketing claims and add value to their products by verifying their standards or requirements. One of these programs is the USDA Process Verified Program (PVP).

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Washington, DC, October 1, 2024 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) celebrates the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement of $500 million in additional funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). Earlier this month, NSAC delivered a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack signed by nearly 600 food banks, hubs, pantries, farmers, and organizations requesting that the USDA continue funding the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program after stakeholders began expressing serious concern of the program’s anticipated end. Congressional delegations in both the House and Senate have also expressed strong support for LFPA.

“The impact of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) has exceeded all initial expectations among our membership. The LFPA program eliminated burdensome and time-consuming applications and instead allowed states to work closely with their existing regional networks to identify farmers ready to scale operations and recipient agencies that existing emergency food assistance programs have underserved,” said Hannah Quigley, NSAC policy specialist. 

“States that have seen the most success have proactively engaged in production planning with food hubs to offer the producer a guaranteed contract. While this model is similar to USDA procurement programs, LFPA has allowed local and small farmers equal opportunity by focusing on a regional scale,” added Quigley.

This funding will ensure that any delay in the farm bill reauthorization does not negatively impact the emerging and growing local food supply chains. However, Congress must follow the lead of Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) Proposal and ensure that there is a permanent authorization of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program in any upcoming farm bill reauthorization that includes sufficient funding for all states to participate in a meaningful manner.

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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 and get involved at: https://sustainableagriculture.net

The post Release: NSAC Members and National Stakeholders applaud USDA’s commitment to local and regional supply chains appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

Our new season of online courses is underway, and now’s the time to register for our upcoming courses. From berries and veggies to pigs and poultry, our second block of online courses focuses on farm production strategies that will make your farm dreams reality.

Our courses are offered on a user-friendly platform, which grants registrants permanent access to their course content. In our ongoing commitment to equitable access to education, we have maintained tiered pricing for our courses based on household size and income.

Registration is now open for all courses, with live content starting in November for our second block of courses.

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Cut Flower Production: Introduction to the Business of Flower Farming

Mondays: November 4 – December 9

Flowers can be more costly than profitable or enjoyable, unless you have background knowledge on production techniques and a solid plan for selling them. This course will introduce you to the topics, resources and questions you’ll need to answer if you intend to operate a flower farm or add flower production as one component of an established business.

Intro to Maple Syrup Production: Sugaring for Profit​

Mondays: November 4 – December 9

Maple syrup production is rapidly growing around the Northeast and offers a sound financial opportunity to utilize woodlots. This course explores the range possibilities of maple sugaring on your land – be it for supplemental income or for your livelihood. Also discussed are “alternative” trees for production, including Birch and Black Walnut.

Stress Reduction for Farmers: Strategies for Streamlining Your Farm

Mondays: November 4 – December 9

Discover how you can create a farm that runs smoothly, while having time for off-farm interests and reducing your overall stress. In this new course, you will learn about Holistic Management tools and other time-tested wisdom from farmers to conduct an annual review, establish priorities, create an achievable plan, and connect with peers for support and encouragement.

Berry Production: Getting Started with Growing and Marketing Berries

Tuesdays: November 5 – December 10

Explore the idea of adding berries and bramble fruits to your farm, from growing to marketing the fruits, with our berry production course. This course will help you consider all the aspects of this decision, from varieties and site selection through profit potential and marketing.

Outdoor Mushroom Cultivation: Growing Mushrooms on Logs, Stumps, and Woodchips

Tuesdays: November 5 – December 10

Mushrooms are an emerging niche crop with many benefits, including improving farmer stewardship of forested lands and the ability to offer a unique and highly desired product. This course trains new and experienced farmers in the background, techniques, and economics of outdoor mushroom production.

Poultry Production: Profiting from Layers, Broilers, Turkeys, and Ducks

Tuesdays: November 5 – December 10

Many new farmers get started with poultry, but the margins can be slim and farmers need to develop the necessary skill set to produce a product that is both safe and profitable. This course will help you get started with all the basic information to build a successful poultry enterprise.

Farm Woodlot Management: Assessing the Economic Potential of a Managed Forest

Wednesdays: November 6 – December 11

Farmers and woodland owners need to recognize the potential values of their woodland resource. This course will teach you about the methods to assess forest resources and discuss common woodland activities such as cutting firewood, harvesting logs for mushroom cultivation, and support for wildlife and long-term forest health.

Getting Started with Pastured Pigs: Developing a Successful Farm Business with Pigs

Wednesdays: November 6 – December 11

Pigs can function as a profitable stand-alone enterprise or can be integrated into your existing farm structure to provide a variety of products and make use of marginal lands that would otherwise go unused. This course guides beginning farmers through the production and marketing of pigs raised in pasture settings.

Vegetable Production I: From Planning to Planting

Wednesdays: November 6 – December 18 (class will not be held on November 27)

This course will help you answer basic questions about site selection, crop rotation, seeding and transplanting, as well as the financial aspects of vegetable crop production. Afterward take ​Vegetable Production II​, the continuation of this course, which will guide you through the growing season from planting to harvest.

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Our program offers nearly three dozen online courses to help farmers improve their technical and business skills. These courses cover a range of topics any farmer needs to succeed, such as access to capital, holistic financial planning, grazing management, soil health, and so much more.

Experienced farmers, extension educators, and agriculture service providers guide students through course content, including weekly live webinars, videos, and resources. We offer scholarships for eligible farmers in New York who face an entry barrier to farming, and for military veterans in New York.

In recent years we added “Growing Uncommon Fruit,” which will help you determine whether incorporating uncommon fruit into your operation is the right decision for you, “Goat Production,” which will guide beginning farmers through the production and marketing of goats for dairy, meat and fiber, and “Identifying and Partnering with Mushrooms in Farms, Gardens and Forests” to teach you basic ID, species, life cycle, and potential applications of mushrooms to solve community-level challenges. Other newer additions include “Stress Reduction for Farmers,” which offers strategies for streamlining your farm; “Access to Capital” for anyone seeking funding for a farm enterprise; “Cut Flower Production” on the business of flower farming; a course on “Beef Cattle Management;” a primer on “Social Media & Online Marketing” for your farm business; and a 4-week intensive in how “Reading the Land” can help you monitor its health.

In addition to new courses, we have expanded our Spanish-first online course offerings with our “BF 101: Cómo Iniciar su Negocio Agrícola” and “BF 102: Mercados y Rentabilidad.”

The bulk of the course happens on your own time, with discussions, readings, and assignments in Teachable, our online course platform. To add to the experience, webinars will be woven into the interface of the course for a dedicated time slot each year to allow you to meet on a weekly basis to learn from presenters and ask questions in real-time. If you miss one, they are always recorded and posted for later viewing.

You can browse all of our course offerings on our website. You can learn more about our courses, including answers to common questions, on our course FAQ.

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