Farm Bill Conference Committee Negotiations and More

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The latest news from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition featuring Farm Bill Conference Committee Negotiations, Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Program, Farm Bill Programs, Agriculture Spending, and Food Safety.

FARM BILL NEWS  

Farm Bill Conference Committee Holds First Public Meeting

Growing a more just and sustainable food and farm system through the farm bill, a massive package of legislation that is passed roughly every five years, is among the main priorities of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). Congressional negotiators just held their first official public meeting to discuss the nation’s next farm bill, which has a tremendous impact on every part of our food system — from how food is grown to who has access to it. The 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee, which met for the first time on September 5, now has the daunting task before it of trying to finalize a new farm bill before the current one expires on September 30, 2018…

 

COMMENT: NSAC Cheers House Effort to Support Next Generation of American Producers 

Washington, DC, September 6, 2018 – Today, Congress members Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Sanford Bishop (D-GA) sent a bipartisan letter with 51 additional signers to House Agriculture Committee leadership requesting the creation of a new program for beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged producers: the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) program. Though the FOTO program was included in the Senate version of the Farm Bill, the House did not include it in their draft. Now that the farm bill has moved into the conference stage, the signers of the House letter are pushing for the innovative new program to be included in the final conferenced version of the 2018 Farm Bill… 

What’s at Stake: TINY BUT MIGHTY Farm Bill Programs 

On October 1, 2012, nearly a dozen sustainable agriculture farm bill programs came to a screeching halt. These programs, many of which the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) helped to develop and champion, were among several dozen programs that ran out of funding upon the expiration of the 2008 Farm Bill. New funding for these programs were allowed to expire, leaving countless family farmers, researchers, and healthy food consumers who relied on their support stranded, because what should have been the 2012 Farm Bill took two years longer than expected to reach a conclusion. As a direct result, grant programs for beginning farmers, agricultural research, rural development, organic agriculture, and local and regional food systems were effectively frozen from October 2012 until February 2014 (when the next farm bill was passed). Each of these programs also lost a full year of funding during the hiatus…  

OTHER CONGRESSIONAL NEWS  

Agriculture Spending Negotiations Move Forward, NSAC Submits Conference Priorities 

Congress has less than 10 legislative days left to fund the government for fiscal year (FY) 2019 in order to avoid a shutdown. In order to keep the government running and avoid the September 30 deadline (when the current fiscal year’s funding expires) congressional appropriators are working overtime to negotiate the differences between House and Senate spending bills. If agreement on a final spending package cannot be reached in time, appropriators can also opt for a continuing resolution (CR), which would temporarily extend the current fiscal year’s spending levels…  FOOD

SAFETY NEWS  

Food Facility Registration Q&A Adds Clarity to Food Safety Requirements Safety 

The first step for most farms trying to navigate the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is to determine whether or not a specific rule applies to their farm operation. When it comes to the Preventive Controls for Human Food (“Preventive Controls”) rule, farmers now have some additional clarity on whether or not they are exempt. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released the final guidance document, “Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration” (“Food Facility Registration”), which explains who must register with the FDA under the rule. If a farm business does not have to register with the FDA, then it is exempt from the Preventive Controls rule…

 

Learn more about farm policy, agricultural politics, and the Farm Bill Conference Committee at https://www.beginningfarmers.org/farm-policy-agricultural-politics/