Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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A new farm bill is top of mind for many farmers, ranchers and rural community members. However, amidst the ongoing discussions and negotiations, another important conversation is beginning to unfold. In the weeks ahead, members of Congress will outline federal spending levels for 2025, including funding for programs that impact agriculture and small businesses. After much delay, Congress passed its 2024 budget earlier this month to fund the federal government through Sept. 30. The bill came...
Given this year’s spike in corn and soybean prices, commodity crop producers may be tempted to break ground on land not previously used for cash crop production. Before doing so, however, producers need to make sure they are following conservation compliance regulations to ensure important federal benefits are not at risk. The 1985 farm bill set forth provisions to protect highly erodible lands. Commonly referred to as sodbuster provisions, these rules require producers to have an HEL d...
Ask any beginning farmer or rancher about the greatest challenge to starting an operation and the most common answer is access to land and operational assets. A program aimed at helping new producers get a head start, while giving back to farmers and ranchers ready to pass on assets, may be able to help. Through Nebraska's Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act, administered as part of the NextGen program, asset owners can earn state income tax credit each year, for three years, when they rent land or...
A recent bipartisan survey of 501 Nebraska voters, conducted by New Bridge Strategy, revealed that 97% of participants, both rural and urban, support voluntary conservation and the benefits it provides, specifically conserving working farms and ranches. Federal working lands conservation programs, such as the Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program, allow producers to implement a range of conservation practices on their land while maintaining livestock and...
Federal programs that invest in rural America have a significant impact on small communities. As resources are made available to local businesses and farmers, they are better equipped with the tools they need to succeed. Each year, Congress is responsible for passing an appropriations bill that allocates additional funding to programs that support agricultural, rural development, and small communities. On March 11, President Joe Biden signed the 2022 appropriations bill, totalling $1.5...
On March 1, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development announced the availability of $19.75 million in total funding for projects as part of the Value-Added Producer Grants program. Individual farmers and ranchers, as well as agricultural businesses and producer groups, may apply for the grants, which must be used to develop new products or expand existing markets for value-added products. The applicant must produce at least 50% of the raw agricultural product to which value is being added...
Nebraska’s agricultural economy relies on soil and water, so when the quality of those natural resources are in jeopardy, so too is the health of our state at large. Since the beginning of modern agriculture, Nebraska has lost nearly one-third of its topsoil. Wind and water erosion have shifted valuable organic matter from fields, where it provides vital plant nutrients, to watersheds where runoff negatively impacts the safety of our water. Just as unhealthy soil can cause a chain reaction t...
KALEE OLSON Policy associate Center for Rural Affairs The U.S. departments of Agriculture and Justice recently launched an online tool designed to help farmers and ranchers submit anonymous comments about anticompetitive behavior in the meat and poultry industries. The website–farmerfairness.gov–is part of an action plan developed by the Biden-Harris Administration to further investigate and address unfair practices that harm meat producers and consumers. The tool consists of a simple, fou...
Ask any beginning farmer or rancher about the greatest challenge to starting an operation and the most common answer is access to land and operational assets. A program aimed at helping new producers get a head start, while giving back to farmers and ranchers ready to pass on assets, may be able to help. Through Nebraska’s Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Act, administered as part of the NextGen program, asset owners can earn state income tax credit each year, for three years, when they rent land o...
Rural Americans with an eye for renewable energy recently received promising news-the U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $464 million in solar, wind and other renewable energy projects benefiting small businesses and farming operations. Of the total investment, more than $128 million will be distributed through the Rural Energy for America Program. Designed specifically for agricultural producers and rural small businesses, REAP provides loan and grant funding for these entities to...
Any farmer or rancher who is interested in conservation programs through the Natural Resources Conservation Service is required to have a farm number for the application process. Farm numbers are issued for free and allow access to key U.S. Department of Agriculture programs including working lands conservation, farm loans and others that require farm records to be shared as part of the application process. There is no minimum acreage requirement to register as a farm. Having a farm number also...
