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The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has released a new tool that will help farmers with federal programs and grant opportunities. NSAC is introducing an updated "quick-guide" to federal programs and grants for farmers, ranchers, food entrepreneurs, and the researchers, educators and community groups who serve them. This chart is a one-stop shop for links to the relevant USDA program websites (where they exist), brief descriptions of programs, and important dates and deadlines.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said USDA now has a web-based 2008 crop program payment calculator to help producers calculate the financial benefits they may receive under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. The calculator was designed by USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to give producers a tool to help them better understand and participate in this new crop disaster program. The calculator collects information about farming operations, including planted acreage, actual production, insurance coverage data and other federal disaster payments. This relevant information is used to calculate an estimated payment for crop losses.

The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) 2009 Annual Report is now available for download on the MOSES website. The Annual Report includes a history of MOSES, a list and description of 2009 projects, a detailed breakdown of MOSES financials, and much more.

A team of researchers is seeking a grant from Northeast SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education) to address the prevention, treatment, and possible genetic resistance to footrot in sheep. Their plans are to work with farms in the Northeast Region, including Maryland. If you are a sheep producer that resides in the Northeast, please take the time to complete this short, online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RHZDTVL by January 27, 2010.

Food-packaging products made from dairy ingredients could provide a viable alternative to petroleum- based packaging products, according to a chapter written by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Peggy Tomasula for a new book, "Dairy-Derived Ingredients: Food and Nutraceutical Uses." Tomasula works at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pa., where scientists are developing strong, biodegradable dairy-based films that are better oxygen barriers than petrochemical-based films.

Season Extension in the Midwest was created as a place for farmers to go and learn about the many new and exciting growing opportunities in season extension. You will find everything from articles by the leading names in organics and high tunnel growers to the latest events, conferences and workshops along with pictures and stories about farmers who are currently using season extension in their growing operation.

Maintaining equipment, inflating tires properly and using the right tractor for the job can save farmers anywhere from 3 to 25 percent or more in fuel costs. However, farmers can save 100 percent on fuel costs when equipment stays parked in the machine shed and a trip across the field is eliminated.

Limiting Field Operations [PDF/3.4M], a new publication from Iowa State University Extension, can help farmers decide when tillage passes beyond a no-till management scheme will yield a return on investment greater that the additional fuel, labor and machinery costs.

A new video from "Cooking Up a Story" highlights Patrick and Holly. They wanted to raise more chickens than ever before—not just for themselves but also to sell to others. Through serendipity and the community coming together, they were able to pull together a team of 14 people to take care of 30 chickens to form their own CSA, Eastside Egg Co-op.

Using a combination of conservation tillage and deficit irrigation management in peanut production can promote conservation of water during the early growing season without hurting yields, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist reports. That's good news for peanut farmers in the Southern High Plains, where water is often in short supply, particularly in areas where residential development has increased demands for water. Irrigation also adds to the cost of production for growers.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is updating our Diversified Livestock Directory. The purpose of this directory is to help livestock producers reach more customers and hopefully increase sales. This increased revenue helps generate economic activity in the rural parts of Nebraska which in turn makes our rural communities stronger and more viable.

An often-heard news item today involves concern over the welfare of farm animals. Whether through typical legislative channels or as a result of a ballot initiative, several states have enacted laws that are concerned with farm animal welfare. While the majority of these laws require that farm animals be given a certain amount of space, others reserve the right to make those rules either to the state legislature or to a board put into place to address those issues. A new National Ag Law Center compilation, States' Farm Animal Welfare Statutes, provides the statutory text of each state's laws, along with the date on which it becomes effective.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) published proposed amendments to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances for crop production. The proposed rule addresses the addition of sulfurous acid for use in organic crop production to the list of NOP allowed materials following evaluation and recommendation by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). It also proposes to amend the annotation for one material, tetracycline, for use in organic crop production. The comment period for the proposed rule closes on March 15, 2010. Interested parties can view the proposed rule and post comments at www.regulations.gov.

San Juan County's Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) has proposed that the Washington State Legislature alter state statures to allow internships on small family farms. Senator Kevin Ranker (with cosponsors Haugen, Holmquist, Hobbs, Becker, and Shin) have submitted SB 6349 which adheres to the purpose and spirit of the existing internship classification by requiring farmers to provide interns with vocational knowledge and skills. A hearing on SB 6349 legislation will be held in Labor and Commerce Committee in Olympia on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. The time of the hearing will be specified at a later date. Successful passage of SB 6349 will require broad based support, including testimony at the hearing, as well as calls to your legislators encouraging support.

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the topic of local food systems. This heightened interest can be found among policy makers, planners, public health professionals, environmentalists, community developers, academics, farmers and ordinary citizens. While there are common characteristics that most local food systems share the purpose of this conference is to explore the unique challenges and opportunities associated with local food systems located within old industrial regions. The "Local Food Systems in Old Industrial Regions: Challenges and Opportunities" conference aims to bring together both academics and practitioners to share their knowledge, experience, and expertise with regard to developing and maintaining local food systems in old industrial regions.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of $25 million in grants to help schools operating a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) replace outdated equipment with new, energy efficient, appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, and other food service related equipment. "President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that America's children have access to safe and nutritious food through our National School Lunch Program," said Vilsack. "These grants will help schools obtain much needed infrastructure to better serve their students and will focus on equipment that helps schools provide nutritious meals, support food safety efforts, improve energy efficiency, and expand participation in school nutrition programs."

A Texas AgriLife Research scientist in Corpus Christi said he believes he has achieved a new world record in shrimp production using an environmentally friendly system with no water exchange throughout the growing cycle. Tzachi Samocha, a Regents Fellow and professor at the AgriLife Research Mariculture Laboratory in Corpus Christi, said yields from the new system are about tenfold higher than the current U.S. shrimp farm production in outdoor ponds. Samocha is convinced his studies show that the new system will increase shrimp production and food safety while lowering costs to producers and consumers.

If you are a school district interested in being considered for a USDA Farm to School Tactical Team visit, please contact the USDA. Districts will have until January 31, 2010, to send in their request for consideration. The USDA Tactical Team will conduct visits to nine schools to learn about a school district's Farm to School efforts including how the activities first began; the relationship between growers and the school district; what obstacles exist or were faced along the way; and the effects the activities have had on the school and the community.

The World Forestry Institute is now accepting applications for the 2010 International Fellowship. The WFI fellowship program brings together forestry and forest products professionals from around the world. There are currently three main components to the program including conducting a research project, networking and educational outreach. The program is open to applicants from any country including the U.S.

With the arrival of a new year, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is transitioning its Weekly Update into a blog with regular postings about sustainable agriculture and food policy and politics. NSAC will continue to provide the information normally included in the Weekly Update about Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other goings-on in the sustainable agriculture and food policy world, but it will also include more analysis, stories, and general musings about the crazy realm of federal agriculture policy.

To sell meat, livestock producers must have the livestock slaughtered and processed at a USDA inspected facility. Another option is “on the hoof” sales: selling live animals, which the
customers, as the new owners, can have processed at a “custom-exempt,” state-licensed facility. This new report (PDF/485KB) – for farmers, customers, and processors – uses a “frequently asked questions” format to explain the federal and state rules relevant to this practice, including pricing, paying, marketing and delivery options, and more.

Growing the oilseed plant called cuphea the year before growing wheat results in better wheat seedling survival and grain that is 8 percent higher in protein, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study. ARS plant physiologist Russ Gesch and colleagues discovered this in a four-year experiment in which they rotated cuphea with corn, soybean, and wheat on fields in Morris, Minn. Based on these results, Gesch recommends the following rotation order: soybean, cuphea, and then wheat or corn. This planting regimen increases the profitability of both wheat and corn.

Colorado Extension is seeking applicants for its 2010 Native Plant Master Program. Participants in this award-winning program learn identification, ecology and human uses of selected Colorado plants. Many courses include an emphasis on learning to use a botanical key including scientific names and families. Those interested should apply before March 15.

As part of the three-year Beginning Farmer Grant the University of Missouri, Lincoln University and the Jefferson Agricultural Institute will be able to expand a training program for beginning farmers. Offered in various parts of the state in 2008-2009, MU Extension's Grow Your Farm program is a series of eight weekly seminars and three farm tours designed for new and beginning farmers as well as established farmers interested in alternative methods. Grow Your Farm is designed for prospective farmers, beginners with some experience and seasoned farmers who want to make a "new beginning" with alternative farming methods. The Grow Your Farm course will be held in 4 locations starting in February.

“Sweetgrass” follows the last modern-day cowboys to lead their flocks of sheep up into Montana’s breathtaking and often dangerous Absaroka-Beartooth mountains for summer pasture. This astonishingly beautiful yet unsparing film reveals a world in which nature and culture, animals and humans, vulnerability and violence are all intimately meshed.

Notes on Goats is a comprehensive web site dedicated to providing the latest research, information, and news about goats. The author of the web site is Dr. Sandra Solaiman, Professor and Director of Small Ruminant Research at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Notes on Goats includes sections on breeds, selection, housing, breeding, feeding, health, records, budgets, marketing, quality assurance, environment, and regulatory issues.

The Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network has released its first video project. There are three short videos showing how a USDA-inspected mobile slaughter unit works. The videos include: Part I: The Set-Up – the Mobile Unit and the Farm Site; Part II: Stunning, Bleeding, and Moving the Carcass into the Unit; and Part III: From Carcass to Cooler to Cut and Wrap.

In this short video, Jeanne Carver with Imperial Stock Ranch in eastern Oregon, provides a clear example of how their new marketing approach has unfolded, emphasizing that farmers and ranchers must listen to the customer and adapt to changing circumstances and needs. She goes on to describe how they have opened up a whole new market by creating not only homespun wool, but ready-made apparel for people who don’t knit. An inspiring video for anyone interested in developing and marketing value-added products on the farm.

Each year in January and July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts a Sheep & Goat Inventory Survey. During the first two weeks of January, producers will be contacted to participate in the Sheep & Goat Inventory Survey. The survey will provide the latest information on conditions and trends in the U.S. sheep & goat industry for 2010.

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer invites Kentucky students to create posters and write essays based on the theme "Kentucky Proud: Growing a Healthy Kentucky" in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's annual Poster and Essay Contest. Participating students in grades kindergarten through 12 will create posters and write brief essays describing their posters and the theme. A winning entry will be chosen in each grade level, and each winning student will receive a $100 savings bond. The winning posters and essays will be printed in a 2011 calendar with Kentucky Proud recipes.