Rural | Environment.org

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Release: FY2027 USDA Budget Proposal is a Historic Setback for Farmers and Rural Communities

Washington, DC, April 3, 2026 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) responded to the Trump Administration’s release of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget Proposal. The Administration’s FY2027 discretionary funding request for USDA is more than $ 2 billion below the Administration’s FY2026 USDA request.

“The Administration’s USDA budget proposes one of the most staggering disinvestments from farmers and rural communities in recent memory. Amidst rising farm bankruptcies and unprecedented instability in American agriculture, this budget proposal would double down on the damage and radically reduce USDA’s ability to serve farmers. The budget entirely eliminates funding for farmer-led agriculture research, conservation support that helps farmers build productivity

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USDA Staffing Crisis: Rural Development Staff Cuts Leave Rural Communities Behind

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Photo credit: Zoe Richardson via Unpslash

This post examines the devastating loss of experienced staff within US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development and the consequences for the agency’s ability to support farmers, rural businesses, and communities. As the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) continues to track the staffing crisis across USDA, Rural Development stands out not only for the depth of its losses, but also for the ripple effects those losses create across the entire rural economy.

This post is the latest in our series documenting the widespread staffing crisis underway at USDA and the compounding impacts of the department’s proposed reorganization. Each part of this series highlights how reduced staffing and weakened capacity are undermining core USDA functions that farmers and rural communities depend on every day.

Rural Development (RD) plays a critical role in growing the …

A Potential Opportunity for Small Processors and Rural Jobs

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Small and mid-sized meat and poultry processors play a critical role in supporting resilient regional food systems by providing livestock farmers with a wider range of processing options and by providing more local and regional animal products for consumers. On April 30, 2025 a bipartisan group led by Senator John Thune (R-SD), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Representative Jim Baird (R-IN) reintroduced the Strengthening Local Processing Act (SLPA) in both chambers of Congress to help grow this sector. SLPA provides much needed support for small and mid-sized meat processors by providing grants, technical assistance, and workforce support to expand capacity, improve food safety, and strengthen regional food systems.

One of the ways that SLPA supports the development of small and very small meat processors – defined by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as having fewer …

It’s not just the cities. Extreme heat is a growing threat to rural America.

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| Pollution

Summer has officially begun with a blast of scorching temperatures across much of the United States. The National Weather Service is warning of “extremely dangerous heat” baking 160 million people under a heat dome stretching from the Midwest to the East Coast the rest of this week. It’s already proven fatal.

But while this is the first real taste of extreme heat for Northeastern cities, parts of the country like Texas have been cooking since May. Alaska this month issued its first-ever heat advisory. Forecasters expect more above-average temperatures through the summer.

Summers are indeed getting hotter, a consequence of the warming planet. As the climate heats up, the frequency and intensity of heat waves is increasing and their timing is changing, arriving earlier in the season.

But the damage from extreme heat isn’t spread …

Comment: Proposed USDA Budget Undermines Farmers and Rural Communities

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Tel. 347.563.6408

Comment: Proposed USDA Budget Undermines Farmers and Rural Communities

Washington, DC, May 2, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued a statement in response to the Trump Administration’s release of its “skinny” budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 discretionary funding. Based on the few details that are available, the Administration’s proposal would seemingly slash the US Department of Agriculture’s funding by over $ 4.5 billion in FY2026 alone, with deep cuts to Rural Development, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency, among others. The following comment is attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director:

“It’s hard to imagine a more effective roadmap for undermining rural communities and the farmers, families, and individuals who call them home. Congress should reject

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Closures of EPA’s regional environmental justice offices will hurt rural America

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Environmental justice efforts at the 10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional offices have stopped and employees have been placed on administrative leave, per an announcement from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin last month. Former EPA employees involved with environmental justice work across the country say rural communities will suffer as a result.

Before being shuttered in early March, the EPA’s environmental justice arm was aimed at making sure communities were being treated fairly and receiving their due protection under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Zealan Hoover, former senior advisor to the EPA administrator under the Biden administration, told the Daily Yonder that this work had big implications for rural places since there are pollution concerns in rural areas across the country.

“EPA was very focused on making sure that not just on the regulatory side, but also on …

Release: Stabenow Introduces Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: Stabenow Introduces Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act

Comprehensive Farm Bill Draft Would Strengthen Support for Farmers and Rural Communities

Washington, DC, November 19, 2024 – Yesterday, U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act which builds upon the framework released earlier this year and makes strategic investments to move agriculture forward.

“The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act highlights the longstanding path – and shrinking window – to completing a bipartisan farm bill this year. The bill would build a more fair and accessible farm safety net for farmers and ranchers, make robust investments in local and regional food systems, and protect generational conservation and climate resources as farmers nationwide battle extreme weather,” said Mike Lavender,

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A Deep Dive on the Senate’s Farm Bill Proposal: the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024

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On May 1, 2024 – after months of stalled farm bill negotiations on both sides of Capitol Hill – Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released a detailed section-by-section summary of her farm bill proposal. NSAC welcomed the pragmatic Senate bill, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 (RPFSA), as an important step toward completing a bipartisan farm bill reauthorization this year.

The RPFSA protects conservation and climate funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), strengthens access to the farm safety net, invests in local and regional food systems, fully protects nutrition assistance, and takes meaningful steps toward a more racially just food and farm system, all while rejecting harmful policies that would undercut local and state authority and restrict the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to respond to emergent agricultural needs. In this post, NSAC …