Local Food Columbus » Entries tagged with "usda"
Good News for the Local Food Movement
Good News for the Local and Regional Food Movement President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act today, after a long bout of legislative wrangling by local food advocates, small farmers and their allies for food safety rules that protect consumers without curbing the growing movement toward fresh, local and regional food. The food safety bill passed by the House in July of 2009 would have imposed a one size fits all regulatory system biased toward industrial agriculture with a regressive registration fee, expensive food safety plans, and regular on-farm FDA inspections regardless of the degree of the potential risk for food borne illness. The new regulatory burdens threatened to erect formidable barriers to the developing local and regional markets for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Farmer's Markets, Local Food Processing, National, News, Policy and Regulation
Online Farm Link Tool for Beginning Farmers
On Monday, December 13, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the release of TIP Net, an online tool to help link retiring farmers who have expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts with beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers who want to buy or rent land for their operations. Under the Transition Incentives Program (TIP), administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, retired or retiring owners or operators with expiring CRP contracts can receive up to two additional annual rental payments if they sell or lease the CRP land to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers who are interested in bringing the land into production using sustainable grazing or crop production methods, including transitioning to organic. National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition » Archive … Read entire article »
Filed under: National, New Farmers, News
Support the Next Generation of Sustainable and Organic Farmers and Ranchers!
Support the Next Generation of Sustainable and Organic Farmers and Ranchers! Tell USDA to Stop Delaying Implementation of the CRP Transition Option for Beginning and Minority Producers! Change happens at the transition. An aging farmer population, a new generation of farmers desperate for access to land, 4.2 million acres of land about to come out of the Conservation Reserve Program, and a growing consumer demand for food grown by sustainable and organic producers, together present a tremendous opportunity to transform our food system. … Read entire article »
Filed under: New Farmers, Policy and Regulation
Guide for Opening Farmers’ Markets on Federal Property
Guide for Opening Farmers’ Markets on Federal Property The U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service released “Opening a Farmers Market on Federal Property: A Guide for Market Operators and Building Managers” (PDF/262KB). The publication was jointly published by the Urban Development/Good Neighbor Program of General Services Administration, which administers most federal buildings. This publication discusses the issues involved in locating a farmers’ market on federal property: security, insurance needs, parking, the use of utilities and amenities, and all the other things you need to consider. It tells who to contact for information, points to some helpful government Web sites and offices, and offers case studies of successful farmers’ markets on public property. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5079490&acct=wdmgeninfo … Read entire article »
Filed under: Farmer's Markets
USDA Hearing on the Leafy Green M.A. in Columbus
As food safety concerns continue to be topics of discussion among growers and policy makers, I thought I would pass along this following information. There will be a hearing in Columbus on Oct. 6, 2009. Details are below. … Read entire article »
Filed under: National, Policy and Regulation
USDA-APHIS Holds NAIS Listening Session in Harrisburg
Some of you may have noticed we weren’t at the Westerville Farmers’ Market last Wednesday. Instead, we were in Pennsylvania. I have family there, and it was nice to visit, but the real reason for going was that I attended the NAIS Listening Session in Harrisburg. (There’s another one in Louisville this Friday if anyone with the inclination to go reads this in time.) I had pre-registered online, and got an email telling me that while my pre-registration was confirmed, there was still a limit on the capacity of the room, so even among pre-registered attendees, it would be first-come-first-admitted. They advised I show up early if I wanted to get in. I didn’t show up early, but it didn’t matter. The parking lot was mostly empty other than several fire … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Interview with Vilsack, Obama’s pick for Ag Secretary
This entry by Brian Depew on Tue, 12/16/2008 on Blog for Rural America provides some insight on how Vilsack will fare on issues important to sustainable minded small farmers. It is encouraging. Although his enthusiasm for biotech is one of his major negatives, he does address some of those issues in this interview. Vilsack Appointed Ag Secretary, Interview Redux | Center for Rural Affairs. by Mayda … Read entire article »
Filed under: Farmer's Markets, Food Pantries, New Farmers, Policy and Regulation
