REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

IT TAKES A REGION 2010: NESAWG's Annual Conference

November 12-13, 2010

Pre-conference training November 11

Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY

Register now for NESAWG's 18th conference and annual meeting for food system advocates, policymakers, planners, researchers, extension and other educators, farm groups and support organizations, food supply chain businesses, consumer groups, youth, students and young food system professionals. Plenary presentation: Re-regionalizing the Food System for Public Health and Sustainability by Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab. Learn more about the conference...

>>> Potluck News September 2010 is here with stories covering farm and food news and public policy that impact our 12-state region, including new USDA programs that could benefit your community, five articles correlating the price of grain with the price of animal protein products, a look at a new mobile food processing unit, and Jason Clay's TED lecture on how big brands can save biodiversity.

>>> August 28th news round-up from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition:

Take Advantage of the Summer Congressional Recess
There is still time to take advantage of the summer congressional recess to tell your senators and representatives to support USDA's proposed rules for fair play in livestock and poultry marekts! This summer the House and Senate are in recess from August 9th through September 10th. This is your opportunity to tell your Senators and Representatives that you support USDA's proposed rules to strengthen and clarify the protections for farmers and ranchers under the Packers & Stockyards Act.

Senators Support USDA's Comprehensive GIPSA Proposed Rule
On Friday, August 13, twenty-one Senators joined a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack in support of a proposed rule to clarify and strengthen the protections for farmers and ranchers provided in the Packers and Stockyards Act. The letter was sponsored by Senators Tom Harkin (IA) and Tim Johnson (SD). A copy of the letter can be found here.

Revised Senate Food Safety Bill Includes Important Amendments
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee released a copy of the "manager's amendment" to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) which is, in essence, the bill as reported out of the HELP Committee late last year as modified by a long and arduous set of negotiations that have taken place since that time to work out particular issues.

Livestock Market Concentration Workshop Held in CO
On Friday, August 27, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, presided over joint USDA and Department of Justice hearings to examine competition in the livestock market. Held in Fort Collins, Colorado, this was the fourth in a series of workshops to discuss market consolidation and market transparency.

Farmers Ask for Fair Markets and Contracts
In June, the USDA's Office of Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards (GIPSA) issued a proposed rule that promises to finally rein in some of the worst anti-competitive abuses of meat packers and impose a measure of contract fairness for poultry producers. Lauded by NSAC and many major farm organizations the rules have the potential to begin to restore fair competition and contracts in livestock and poultry markets. Hundreds of livestock producers and poultry growers have already sent in comments to the USDA in support of these rules.

National Organic Program News
The August edition of the National Organic Program newsletter features stories on the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program and its new program manager, as well as news on the upcoming National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting in October. The NOP also released news this week on the use of methionine in organic poultry production.

EPA Releases Clean Water Act Strategy
On Friday, August 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft strategy for improving clean water goals. The new draft strategy is open for public comment until September 17. A final strategy is expected before year's end.