government | Environment.org

For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net

Comment: NSAC Responds to Government Funding Deal

Congressional Agreement Omits Key Conservation Funding for Farmers

Washington, DC, December 17, 2024 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released the following comment in response to a deal reached by Congressional leaders to fund the government, extend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), and provide disaster relief funding for areas hit by natural disasters. The deal does not incorporate Inflation Reduction Act conservation investments into the farm bill extension. The comment is attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director.

“For the hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers whose livelihood depends on building the productivity, sustainability, and resilience of their operation through conservation, today’s deal is a colossal setback. Faced with a generational opportunity to improve

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Comment: In Package to Avert Government Shutdown, Congress Picks Winners and Losers in Farm Country

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Comment: In Package to Avert Government Shutdown, Congress Picks Winners and Losers in Farm Country

Washington, DC, December 21, 2024 – On Friday evening, Congress approved the American Relief Act, 2025 to extend government funding through March 14, 2025, extend certain provisions of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, and provide disaster relief for farmers hit hard by natural disasters during 2023 and 2024. The following is attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director:

“In approving the American Relief Act, Congress sent a clear message to farmers across the country – some of you matter, and some of you don’t. Negotiators managed to include $ 10 billion in economic aid for which only some farmers are eligible, but agreed to exclude a permanent, generational investment in conservation programs

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Government Funding and Farm Bill’s Future Top Congress’ September To-Do List

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| Sustainability

On September 9, 2024, Congress will be back in session in Washington, DC for the first time since early August. Yet, their return will be short lived. In an election year, Members of Congress spend all of October and early November in their states and Congressional districts. In total, Congress will be in session for three full weeks before adjourning on September 27.

During those three weeks, there are two major items on Congress’s to-do list. By October 1, Congress will need to fund the government for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 and determine how to extend (again) the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). Failure to complete either or both of these tasks will likely impact farmers, ranchers, and food system stakeholders nationwide who utilize federal programs. This post examines where both tasks stand as September …

How the US government began its decade-long campaign against the anti-pipeline movement

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| Pollution

This article was produced in partnership with Type Investigations, where Adam Federman is a reporting fellow.

On the morning of March 5, 2012, Debra White Plume received an urgent phone call. A convoy of large trucks transporting pipeline servicing equipment was attempting to cross the Pine Ridge Reservation near the town of Wanblee, South Dakota. White Plume, a prominent Lakota activist, immediately dropped what she was doing and headed to the site, where, within a few hours, a group of about 75 people from the Pine Ridge Reservation gathered.

More than a dozen cars formed a blockade along one of the roads that runs through the reservation. Plume and other activists were outspoken critics of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, part of a larger network carrying oil from the tar sands of northern Alberta, Canada, to refineries on …