The Ferguson Group Blog

USDA Announces Funds Supporting Local Farmers

Last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack awarded over $52 million to support local and regional food systems and the organic industry through five USDA grant programs.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) awarded over $27 million in competitive grants to expand marketing through the new Farmers Market and Local Food Marketing Promotion Program (FMPP and LFPP), as well as over $1 million in matching grants through the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP).

The FMPP and LFPP grants combine local food, creative ideas and new partnerships with an emphasis on improving food access and economic growth in communities around the country. The FSMIP grant provides matching funds to assist State Agencies in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products, and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.

Check out USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative to learn about other funding mechanisms supporting local farmers.

SNAP Participation Grows as Unemployment Rate Falls

According to a recent report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), about 1 in 4 Americans participated in at least one of USDA’s fifteen domestic food and nutrition assistance programs during 2013. In 2013, federal expenditures on food assistance programs increased by 2% and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was one of the largest programs. Historically, the percentage of population participating in SNAP corresponds with the unemployment rate. However, for the second year in a row, SNAP participation grew as unemployment fell. While some may be alarmed by this trend, the report states that “improvements of economic conditions during the early stages of recovery, when the unemployment rate starts to fall, takes longer to be felt by lower educated, low-wage workers” who are participants of SNAP. During previous recessions, the same trends were seen; indicating that it is possible that as economic recovery continues, SNAP participation will eventually decrease.

To see how other USDA’s Food Assistance Programs faired in 2013, click here.

Investing in Rural Economic Development

On January 23, the USDA Rural Utilities Services (RUS) announced the list of Rural Electric Corporations that have been awarded Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants (REDLG).  RUS provides loans and grants to rural businesses and electric coops to help create jobs and spur economic development. Utilities can apply for loans up to $2,000,000 or grants up to $300,000. These investments help businesses expand and rural communities grow their economies. The full list of award recipients can be found here. 

TFG congratulates all of the recipients!

Calling all Rural and Small Water and Wastewater Systems!

The EPA and USDA have rolled out two new tools to help rural and small water and wastewater systems provide sustainable services to their communities.  The first, a new Rural and Small Systems Guidebook to Sustainable Utility Management, will help those systems assess their strengths and priorities for potential improvements, and develop an action plan to address these priorities.  

The second, a "Workshop in a Box," contains a series of materials and instructions to help both rural and small systems and service providers market and conduct workshops based on the guidebook.  According to the EPA, “These tools provide utilities with useful, concise reference points for utility managers seeking to improve organization-wide performance. They include a comprehensive management framework related to operations, infrastructure, customer satisfaction, community sustainability, natural re­source stewardship and financial viability.”  Check it out.

USDA Promoting Farm Bill Benefits

The USDA is ramping up its social media campaign to tout the benefits of Farm Bill-authorized programs, especially as they promote job growth and retention and advance agricultural research around the nation. They are inviting stakeholders to help drive this social media campaign by using the hashtag #MyFarmBill and asking them to share stories of how the #MyFarmBill impacts them.  Twitter, Facebook,, Instagram, YouTube, and others. A guide to suggested methods can be gleaned from videos, photos and tweets that you can view here. The current Farm Bill expired in September but it's impact has been staggered. Dairy farmers have raised the ire of impending increases in mike prices, what they call the "dairy cliff."  USDA programs will slowly shut down in the absence of a Farm Bill exptension or full scale reauthorization.  

White House Response to the Drought

Last week, President Obama convened his White House Rural Council for one of a continuing series of policy meetings to review Executive Branch response actions and to develop additional policy initiatives to assist drought stricken communities, farmers, ranchers, and small businesses.  Following the meeting, the White House announced several new measures the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other federal agencies are taking to help those impacted by drought.

Some of the relief efforts being provided include:

• USDA will utilize nearly $16 million in financial and technical assistance to immediately help crop and livestock producers in 19 states cope with the adverse impacts of the drought. In addition, USDA will transfer $14 million in unobligated program funds into the Emergency Conservation Program to assist in moving water and food to livestock in need and to rehabilitate land severely impacted by the drought.
• The National Credit Union Administration will allow an additional 1,000 Credit Unions to increase their lending to small businesses.
• The Small Business Administration, along with USDA and the Department of Commerce will host community outreach events.
• The Department of the Interior will provide additional grazing flexibility on federal lands.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation will grant emergency waivers for federal truck weight regulations and hours of service requirements to drought-stricken communities.
• USDA will allow farmers to apply this year’s crop indemnity payments toward their crop insurance premiums for the following crop year. As of this month, the 16 major providers of crop insurance have all agreed to forego interest charges on unpaid premiums through November.
• USDA is lowering the interest rate on its emergency loans, which help producers recover from production and physical losses associated with natural disasters, from 3.75 percent to 2.25 percent.

The measures the Administration has taken are extremely important but only a temporary fix. As my colleague Jennifer Imo  discussed earlier this week, Congress still needs to pass a comprehensive, multi-year farm bill when they return in September.  Only a comprehensive plan will  provide the complete disaster assistance that these  farmers and ranchers need and deserve.

Congress Leaves Town with No Farm Bill and No Drought Relief

 

The 2008 farm bill expires at the end of September and Congress will not return to Washington until mid-September.  That means a lot of negotiating must be done in August to move this bill before it expires.  The Senate passed its version of the 2012 farm bill in June, and it includes funding for disaster assistance for one year.  The House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the bill in July, but without greater cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as the food stamp program – House leadership doesn’t have the votes to pass the bill.  The Senate-passed bill includes a $4.5 billion cut to SNAP over 10 years; while the House committee-passed bill includes a $16.1 billion cut to SNAP – a cut too high to garner enough Democratic votes, and not enough of a cut for many conservative members.  And the stalemate continues. 

Best of luck to congressional staff that have to find a happy medium.   Until a deal is struck, there will be no aid to farmers and livestock producers that are suffering from this summer drought.  

Inspiring Our Communities to Get Moving

The Olympic games  are just around the corner and I know that the children in my life are inspired to get moving.  We’ve talked in our home about great young members of our US team like Olympic swim team member and youngest US Olympian Katie Ledecky, age 15, who hails from our community.

Even if your hometown is not sending athletes to London next week, all communities can provide inspiration and opportunities for our youngest residents, as First Lady Michelle Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday.

If you missed the announcement, see Secretary Sebelius’  five goals for local officials to achieve within the next year to address obesity and help communities be healthier.

Goal: Start Early, Start Smart: To provide children with a healthier start, local elected officials commit to helping early care and education program providers incorporate best practices for nutrition, physical activity and screen time into their programs.

Goal: My Plate, My Place: To empower parents and caregivers, local elected officials commit to prominently displaying My Plate in all municipal or county venues where food is served.

Goal: Smart Serving for Students: To provide healthy food in schools, local elected officials commit to increasing participation in the School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch Program.

Goal: Model Food Service: To improve access to healthy, affordable foods, local elected officials commit to implementing healthy and sustainable food service guidelines that are aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in all municipal and county venues that serve food.

Goal: Active Kids at Play: To increase physical activity, local elected officials commit to mapping local playspaces, completing a needs assessment, developing an action plan and launching a minimum of three proven policies, programs or initiatives aimed at increasing access to play.

To help elected officials achieve their goals, subject matter experts from the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture have collaborated to build technical assistance and information for elected officials on the new website which launches today.

Is your community already at work to achieve these goals?  If so, please share your activities by posting a comment.

House Agriculture Committee Approves 2012 Farm Bill

The House Agriculture Committee approved H.R. 6083, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012, just before 1:00 a.m. this morning after a day-long markup yesterday (vote was 35-11).  Lawmakers preserved $16 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamp program), defeating amendments that would have reduced or increased the cuts.  The Committee also voted down a proposal to restore $50 million in mandatory funding for the water/wastewater backlog program, as well as an amendment to revive a rural broadband program.

The bill’s main policy provisions - replacing direct payment programs for farmers with a mix of price-based and revenue-based insurance, as well as increased crop insurance - remained intact.

Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN), urged House leadership to schedule the bill for a vote, noting that the 2008 Farm Bill expires September 30 and only 13 legislative days remain before the August recess.  However, there is speculation that the House will forgo a vote on the farm bill, allowing it to move straight to a conference between House and Senate leaders.  A conference report could then be voted on by the House and Senate.

Stay tuned...