Tag: federal

USDA Staffing Crisis: Food Safety Agencies Struggle as Federal Workforce Shrinks

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| Sustainability
Photo credit: Erol Ahmed

Federal food safety agencies have seen significant staff losses in 2025, threatening their ability to serve stakeholders and ensure the safety of our food supply Several federal agencies – including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – hold this responsibility. These federal agencies work with state partners to set and enforce food safety standards and help reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks or the spread of disease from animals to humans. Staffing losses at the agencies, particularly inspectors and outreach professionals, threaten the safety of the US food system and the ability to serve agricultural enterprises of all types and sizes 

This post continues the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s (NSAC) series on the federal staffing …

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Trump targets federal employees working on conservation and environmental protection

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| Pollution

The Trump administration moved last Monday to slash federal jobs across two key environmental and conservation agencies, targeting employees who work on scientific research and the enforcement of anti-pollution laws. 

At the Environmental Protection Agency, staff received a new round of furlough notices as funding dwindles amid the government shutdown. The Department of the Interior disclosed plans to permanently cut more than 2,000 positions, according to a court filing by its chief personnel officer. 

The Interior Department layoffs, also known as a “reduction in force,” are at the center of ongoing litigation over President Donald Trump and his administration’s efforts to further gut the federal workforce.  

Monday’s filing came in response to a judge’s order requiring the Interior Department to disclose its layoff plans for unionized employees. The administration said it intends to eliminate 2,050 Interior Department positions, a decision …

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Uninsured: Federal Crop Insurance Program Leaves Most Farms Unprotected

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| Sustainability
Photo credit: Lindsey Scalera.

Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm safety net, insuring farms for losses from unpredictable weather, market fluctuations, and other risks. Consequently, the federal crop insurance program (FCIP) is the costliest part of agriculture production spending, as taxpayers subsidize the program to the tune of billions of dollars each year. Despite being a cornerstone program, crop insurance caters primarily to the largest farms while stifling the participation of those with specialty crop production, diverse production systems, and direct marketing models. 

This post offers a deep dive into federal crop insurance coverage, looking at which farms are being left out of current coverage, why, and how the program can be strengthened to serve all American farmers.

How Does Federal Crop Insurance Work?

In the FCIP, agents working for private companies sell and service a …

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Release: Unlawful Federal Funding Freeze Causing Confusion and Harm on Farms and in Communities Nationwide

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| Sustainability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net 

Tel. 347.563.6408

Release: Unlawful Federal Funding Freeze Causing Confusion and Harm on Farms and in Communities Nationwide 

Secretary of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins must quickly restore order and ensure USDA honors its legal commitments to farmers, communities

Washington, DC, February 7, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) expressed anger over the continued uncertainty and confusion borne by farmers and rural communities following weeks of mixed messages from the new Administration.

“During the past several weeks, we have heard directly from countless farmers and food system stakeholders who have been told, without explanation, that their grant or contract payments have been paused or that they cannot be reimbursed despite a signed lawful contract. Until USDA honors its commitments, farms and rural jobs will continue to be

…

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Release: New JAFSCD Commentary Highlights Urgent Need for Federal Investment in Urban Agriculture

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: New JAFSCD Commentary Highlights Urgent Need for Federal Investment in Urban Agriculture

Washington, DC, October 31, 2024 – In a new commentary published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), authors Hagan Capnerhurst of Michigan Food and Farming Systems, Hannah Quigley of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), and Jake Hawes of the University of Wyoming (UW), emphasize the vital role of urban agriculture in fostering local food sovereignty, driving economic development, and enhancing community well-being.

“Despite the significant growth of urban farming, federal support has not kept pace, with funding remaining critically low in relation to the pressing needs of urban growers,” said Hannah Quigley, NSAC Policy Specialist, adding that “NSAC Urban agriculture initiatives, often led by communities of color, have become essential

…

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For the first time in a century, the US is raising fees for drilling on federal lands

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| Pollution

The rules for oil and gas extraction on public lands have been stagnant for decades. Oil and gas companies have paid 12.5 percent in royalties to the federal government for drilling on public lands for more than a century, significantly lower than the rates many Western states charge. Companies must also post bonds, financial instruments that guarantee taxpayers aren’t left holding the bag for environmental cleanup if a driller goes bankrupt. But those bonds were set in 1960 at $ 10,000 per lease, a small fraction of the true cost of plugging and cleaning up oil wells that businesses leave behind. 

Good governance groups and environmentalists have long argued that these rules have functioned as a subsidy for fossil fuels, shortchanging taxpayers and encouraging oil and gas extraction at a time when the planet is warming at a dangerous rate. …

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After FEMA overhaul, hundreds of thousands of Americans are forgoing federal flood insurance

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| Pollution

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have dropped their flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, since last October, E&E News found in a review of federal records. The sharp decline in coverage comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency overhauled the program’s insurance pricing system, a move that was meant to make premiums more accurately reflect the flood risk of a property.

When the agency reviewed the NFIP last year, it discovered inequities in the way that insurance premiums were priced. Homes in the less risky areas of flood zones were overpaying for their premiums, and shouldering a higher burden of the costs of flood risk. The system overhaul was meant to address these inequalities, adjusting premium rates according to level of risk. 

“[W]e have a responsibility to make sure that we have actuarily sound, fair, …

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