By Barbara Patterson, NFU Director of Government Relations, and Roger Noonan, New England Farmers Union President A few weeks ago, we shared the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Needs Assessment Survey here on the Beginning Farmer Forum (BFF). This week, BFF will cover another FSMA-related topic: what is excluded or exempt from the Produce Safety … Read More
NFU Urges Smooth, Transparent Transition to a Fair Trade Framework
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 16, 2017 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – Trade representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico will meet here today to begin an official renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The renegotiation provides the Trump Administration with an opportunity to fulfill one of the president’s top campaign … Read More
Access to Capital: FSA Loan Servicing
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy In Fiscal Year 2016, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) issued 29,602 direct loans to farmers and ranchers totaling $2.39 billion. Of those, almost 17,800 were allocated to beginning producers. The proportion of loans to beginning producers is high because in many cases, FSA is the … Read More
What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Managing Pest Pressures
By Adam Pauley, NFU Intern For the past several weeks on the Climate Column, we’ve noted that climate change is contributing to rising pest pressures. Frost-sensitive pests are living longer, and rising temperatures are opening new areas to infestation. Farmers are responding to this growing problem by adjusting their pest management strategies. However, some common ways … Read More
USDA Must Continue to Proactively Address Climate Change
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 10, 2017 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – As family farmers and ranchers navigate warmer temperatures and increased weather variability as a result of climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will play a vital role in helping producers adapt to and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate volatility. … Read More
Access to Capital: FSA Loans
By Steven Emmen, NFU Intern As noted in prior Beginning Farmer Forum posts, beginning farmers often times have smaller operations, which means less land and capital. Consequently, they may require hefty loans to get their operations off the ground, but acquiring that amount of money is challenging since they also have shorter production histories and … Read More
What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Climate change presents an enormous threat to farming and food security. A 2015 assessment report conducted by the U.S. Global Change Research Program noted that some models project the number of people at risk of undernourishment could grow by as many as 175 million by … Read More
Organic Family Farmers Deserve Strong Standards and Enforcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 3, 2017 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – The American family farmers and ranchers who grow and raise organic foods and goods for our nation adhere to strict standards – set by the National Organic Program under guidance of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) – that protect the integrity … Read More
Food Safety Education
By Barbara Patterson, NFU Director of Government Relations Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2010. It will require many producers to comply with new regulations if they grow food for human or animal consumption. The regulations are intended to protect consumers from food-borne illness. Many producers who will be regulated by FSMA … Read More
Access To Markets: Food Safety Education
By Barbara Patterson, NFU Director of Government Relations Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2010. It will require many producers to comply with new regulations if they grow food for human or animal consumption. The regulations are intended to protect consumers from food-borne illness. Many producers who will be regulated by FSMA … Read More