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Get Paid to Conserve! Conservation Stewardship Program Applications Due in April
Organic and sustainable farmers work hard every day to practice good conservation on their land. They plant cover crops to feed the soil and protect it from erosion. They draw carbon from the atmosphere, protect our waterways, and improve wildlife and pollinator habitat. Many farmers would like to expand their practices to include no- and reduced-tillage systems, rotational grazing, and agroforestry.
But, these important practices, which benefit us all, require time and financial resources to implement. Hard-working farmers should not have to bear those costs alone. Luckily, there are programs available to help.
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Don’t Harm Crop Insurance, Improve It!
This post originally appeared on the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) blog.
“Do no harm” to crop insurance has become a common refrain in Washington DC as we gear up for a new farm bill this year. NSAC agrees that a top priority should be to not harm crop insurance as the 2023 Farm Bill debate heats up. In fact, we aim to improve it.
Barriers in program design and implementation leave small to mid-sized, beginning, specialty crop, and organic farmers without access to this pivotal safety net program, and Congress has the opportunity to address these shortfalls.
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Corn Imperialism: What U.S. Mexico Trade Policy Tells Us About the Need to Transform American Agriculture
Seeds are Storytellers
A single kernel of corn contains the genetic story of how its ancestor plants adapted and survived. It tells the story of the humans who tended those plants over millennia, selecting varieties that could thrive in poor soils and in the face of drought.
In Mexico, the birthplace of corn, Indigenous communities have created hundreds of varieties of seed, each with its own surprising storyline. For example, one variety of corn which has long been stewarded by the Mixe people of Oaxaca was recently found to fix its own nitrogen. This unexpected discovery, which could potentially contribute to the fight against climate change, reinforces the importance of the link between biodiversity and indigenous and local seed stewardship.
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Representatives Kaptur, Bustos Bring Farm Bill Listening Session to Ohio
The week of August 22, U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) joined the House Agriculture Committee and held a listening session in Fremont, Ohio. More than 200 members of the public participated in the session in person or online.
Crop Insurance Reform
One of the prominent topics was crop insurance. While some major commodity groups repeat a refrain often heard during the 2018 Farm Bill discussions, “Don’t touch crop insurance,” sentiments may have shifted a bit since then. President of the Ohio Farmers Union and organic farmer Joe Logan reiterated the importance of the crop insurance program and talked about the need to “…reconfigure it in a way that rewards farmers for building soil health.”
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Why Farm Bill Conservation Programs Matter (and What You Can Do About It)
OEFFA’s member-farmers work hard every day to practice good conservation on their land.
They plant cover crops to feed the soil and protect it from erosion. They create buffers of grass, trees, and shrubs, that draw carbon from the atmosphere and protect our waterways and find creative ways to improve habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.
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Rethinking Crop Insurance
This year, farmers across the Midwest have seen tornadoes, torrential rain, and flooding that made planting difficult, if not impossible.
In Ohio, where 40 of 88 counties received disaster designation, many growers were unable to plant at all, and those that did faced increased disease, pest, and weed pressure, and late harvests. Needless to say, the loss of marketable crops and reduced farm income has been devastating for many farmers.
In the past, as OEFFA staff talked with growers about crop insurance, the phrase “my diversification is my insurance” has been a frequent refrain. Yet, this spring has many farmers rethinking the decision not to use crop insurance. While organic, diversified, and sustainable farmers have had few options historically, Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) is a relatively new option available everywhere, for all types of growers.
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Local Food Funding Opportunities Abound
OEFFA worked with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) to provide long-term and permanent funding for local food programs and we won! The final farm bill included the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) which provides funding for the Farmers’ Market and Local Food Promotion Programs (FMLFPP), as well as the Value-Added Producer Grant program and more.
In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced the availability of $23 million in funding for the FMLFPP which includes two programs, the Farmers’ Market Promotion Program and the Local Food Promotion Program.
The deadline for both programs this year is June 18, 2019, and applications must be submitted electronically through grants.gov.
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Conservation Stewardship Program Applications are Due by May 10!
Farmers across the country have little more than a week to apply for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), with applications due May 10. OEFFA urges farmers to sign up for this program which provides payments for conservation activity that many producers already employ. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has provided an information alert with details to answer many questions you may have.
FARM POLICY MATTERS