USDA Week in Review

Check out this video from the USDA, which deals with drone danger, new workplace technology and a monument designation celebration.:

Ag Secretary Writes about Passage of Farm Bill

Here is this week's column at Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack:

The 2014 Farm Bill, passed by Congress and signed last week by President Obama, strengthens the farm safety net and ensures vital nutrition assistance for hardworking children and families during tough times. 

It closes loopholes and achieves much-needed reform, saving billions of taxpayer dollars.

Those accomplishments are significant and should be commended, particularly at a time when bipartisan victories in Washington are so rare.

We have already started work on a plan to implement the new Farm Bill. However, many of its provisions are new and complex. 

As we have done every step of the way in helping to craft this legislation, we will work to keep Congress and our stakeholders informed as we identify and prioritize everything — new regulations, guidance and other activities — that will be required so that we can implement the legislation in an efficient, timely and responsible manner.

Much of the debate leading up to the passage of the Farm Bill focused on the farm safety net and the food safety net — key provisions of the legislation, to be clear. Yet as we move forward with implementation, I am struck by the myriad ways the new Farm Bill also makes small, yet critical, investments that help foster the potential in our rural communities, long underappreciated and under-realized. 

It provides resources that give us the opportunity to restructure and revitalize the rural economy in ways that, without a farm bill, were out of reach.

The new Farm Bill invests in the endless possibility to use what is already grown and raised on our farms and ranches in innovative and unexpected ways. It expands the potential to strengthen rural manufacturing, particularly of products made from renewable materials from our farms and forests. 

Rural America desperately needs those jobs, and every American benefits from our expanded competitiveness in this globally emerging market.

It also recognizes the economic opportunity inherent in the changing dynamic of consumer tastes. The new Farm Bill provides new grants and loans for entrepreneurs — many of whom are just beginning to farm — that want to break into expanding markets for organic and locally- and regionally-grown foods. 

Money spent locally very often continues to circulate locally, expanding the potential for job creation in rural small businesses and spurring economic growth across the country.

The new Farm Bill takes an innovative approach to agricultural research, establishing a new foundation that will leverage private sector funding to support groundbreaking research. 

Our farmers, ranchers and foresters are increasingly facing the pressures of a growing population and extreme weather patterns due to a changing climate. Their job security — and the future security of our food supply and our nation — depends on how well we equip them for those challenges today.

We are fortunate as a nation because we have the ability to grow and create virtually everything we need to survive. Our farmers, ranchers and foresters, and those in supporting industries, give us the freedom to be whoever and accomplish whatever we want because we don’t have to worry about where our food comes from. Indirectly, the products of their livelihoods — our food, fiber and forest products — ensure a brighter, more stable future for all of us.

That is why this Farm Bill is not just a farm bill, or a food bill, or a “business as usual” bill. 

This Farm Bill is an investment in every American, no matter where they live.

Strike Force for Rural Growth

Weekly column by Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack:

Rural America faces a unique set of challenges when it comes to combating poverty in our towns and communities. 

Too often, rural people and places are hard to reach or otherwise underserved — but not forgotten.

I believe that USDA and its partners have the tools and the wherewithal to expand opportunity and better serve those living in poverty, but it is imperative that these resources reach the areas where they are needed most.

That is why USDA has undertaken a broad commitment to rally available tools and technical assistance through our StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity initiative.

Since its launch in 2010, we’ve extended StrikeForce into more than 700 rural counties, parishes, boroughs, tribal reservations, and Colonias in twenty states. We’ve partnered with over 400 community organizations, businesses, foundations, universities and other groups to support 80,300 projects and ushered more than $9.7 billion in investments into rural America.

This week, we took our efforts a step further by expanding StrikeForce into three new Appalachian states—Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia—and one state in the Delta region, Louisiana.

StrikeForce support will help leverage USDA resources with the unique expertise of community leaders, business, foundations and other groups working in Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia. In less than four years, we are seeing promising positive results from this model in other StrikeForce states.

For example, in Arizona, we helped an entrepreneur start a successful apiary business for crop pollination and honey sales. Thanks to USDA assistance, he was able to purchase 1,000 bee colonies and needed equipment, eventually growing his business by 200 percent.

In Alabama, we provided a loan to help a young farmer purchase a 53-acre farm for his existing cattle operation. This support allowed him to purchase his own land as opposed to renting or leasing.

And in Alaska, we helped to fund a primary care center that will create 200 jobs from entry level to skilled healthcare workers, in addition to construction jobs. The clinic will provide services to the local community including primary medical and dental care, behavioral health, optometry, health education wellness and traditional medicine.

These are just a few of our StrikeForce success stories. From increasing access to healthy, affordable food; to closing farm loans; to building housing, libraries, hospitals and clinics; to expanding the productivity of our farmers and ranchers, we are working hard to ensure that USDA programs are available and accessible to those in need.

Yet many of our efforts to combat poverty and create opportunity in rural America rely on the passage of a new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill. USDA continues to push for Congress to finish the work of a Farm Bill as soon as possible to continue these important efforts and provide tools that grow the economy, create jobs, and provide opportunity for all Americans.

I know that there is still a lot of work to be done, but StrikeForce is an important step forward. This is a strategy that is working to combat poverty in rural America, and we will continue to build on these efforts to bring assistance to areas that need it the most.

USDA Providing Money to Rural Electric Cooperatives

From the USDA:

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will take new steps to save consumers money on their energy bills in partnership with rural electric cooperatives.

USDA plans to provide rural electric cooperatives up to $250 million to lend to business and residential customers for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems.

"Energy efficiency retrofitting can shrink home energy use by 40 percent, saving money for consumers and helping rural utilities manage their electric load more efficiently," said Vilsack. "Ultimately, reducing energy use helps pump capital back into rural communities. This program is designed to meet the unique needs of consumers and businesses to encourage energy efficiency retrofitting projects across rural America."

Vilsack noted the Energy Efficiency and Loan Conservation Program, by promoting energy savings in rural areas, is another step by which USDA is supporting President Obama's Climate Action Plan. The program will help build a cleaner and more sustainable domestic energy sector for future generations by reducing barriers to investment in energy efficiency and potentially cutting energy bills for American families and businesses in the process.

Although energy efficiency measures can reduce home energy use considerably, many consumers and businesses do not invest in them because they lack the capital or financing to do so. Consistent with President Obama's Climate Action Plan, this program will reduce barriers to these investments by making financing more available.

Funding will be provided to rural electric cooperatives and utilities – the majority of which already have energy efficiency programs in place – who will then re-lend the money to help homeowners or businesses make energy efficiency improvements. In addition to energy audits, the loans may be used for upgrades to heating, lighting and insulation, and conversions to more efficient or renewable energy sources.

Keep Farmland for Farmers

So what do you all think of this?

Thanks to FarmNet for sharing on Facebook.

Here's http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/opinion/keep-farmland-for-farmers.html?_r=2& the story.

USDA Provides Money for Rural Job Creation

News from the USDA:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced it is seeking applications for grants that will be awarded to organizations to help rural businesses create jobs and spur economic development.

USDA is making $5.6 million available through the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI), a program that generates economic activity in rural areas. 


Qualified intermediary organizations receiving the grants will provide financial and technical assistance to recipients to develop their capacity to undertake housing, community facilities, or community and economic development projects. Recipients will be non-profit organizations, low income rural communities, or federally recognized tribes. Intermediary organizations must provide matching funds at least equal to the RCDI grant. 

Funds are not directly provided to business recipients by USDA under the program.
The deadline for submitting RCDI applications is Nov. 12. Applications must be submitted to the USDA Rural Development state office where the applicant's headquarters are located.

A list of these offices is available on the USDA Rural Development website. For more information, see the Aug. 14 Federal Register at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-08-14/pdf/2013-19773.pdf.