By Jim VanDerPol The Land Stewardship Project recently published a three-part expose of the federal crop insurance program. The white papers are titled: “Crop Insurance-the Corporate Connection,” “Crop Insurance Ensures… Read more »
Posts Tagged: USDA
Minnesota Farmers: CSP is on for 2013
By Adam Warthesen, Land Stewardship Project One of the nation’s most innovative working lands farm conservation initiatives has received a financial reprieve, thanks to the continuing resolution signed by President… Read more »
Senate Farm Bill Falls Short on Conservation, Family Farm Ag
By Adam Warthesen, Land Stewardship Project On April 26, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill by a vote of 16 to 5. The… Read more »
Crop Insurance: A Safety Net Becomes a Threat
When it comes to the crop insurance sweepstakes, southwest Minnesota farmer Darwyn Bach is a winner. But he concedes that his good fortune presents a quandary, since the way the… Read more »
Putting Out the Welcome Mat for New Agrarians
There are numerous ways of communicating the value society places on having more family farmers on the land, not fewer. This morning, the USDA announced it was awarding $18 million… Read more »
Taking the Beginning Farmer Message to D.C.
By Anna Cioffi, LSP Policy Organizer As you read this, central Minnesota farmer and LSP member Nolan Lenzen is in Washington, D.C., carrying a simple, but critical, message: agriculture is… Read more »
Let’s Stop Treating Soil Conservation Like Dirt
Here’s the bad news: it turns out the USDA’s estimates that soil erosion rates are under control across the Corn Belt—something we reported in this blog last June—are probably overly… Read more »
USDA Secretary: You Can Make Conservation History
An April 1 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack from LSP Associate Director Mark Schultz: Congress and the Obama Administration are currently evaluating measures aimed at reducing federal spending for… Read more »
Racist Ag is Not Sustainable Ag
A decade ago, farmer-members of LSP’s Federal Farm Policy Committee participated with members of the National Black Farmers Association in a march on the USDA’s headquarters in Washington. That’s because… Read more »
The Anti-GIPSA Gang
As you read this, meat industry lobbyists are roaming the corridors of power in D.C. wearing buttons that say, “Kill GIPSA Rule.” For those of you who aren’t up on… Read more »