Source: PRESS RELEASE, 6/14/22

Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) issued the following comment, attributable to NSAC Policy Director, Eric Deeble, in response to the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies markup of their fiscal year (FY) 2023 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Overall the bill provides $27.2 billion in funding, an increase of 8 percent from FY 2022, and includes a total of $195 billion for discretionary programs funded on an annual basis and mandatory programs.

"The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the House Subcommittee for advancing a bill that invests in conservation programs and technical assistance that are essential for the sustainable agriculture movement. While the full details of the bill have not yet been released, we hope that the Appropriators will provide comparable levels of support for sustainable agriculture research programs, like SARE, that are necessary to help farmers adapt to, and ultimately mitigate, the impacts of climate change. This bill brings us a step closer to an FY 2023 spending package that addresses climate change, increases funding for agricultural research programs, bolsters local and regional food systems through investments in meat and poultry processing, and addresses healthy food access at a time when all Americans are facing increased pressure from rising inflation and supply chain disruptions.”

"NSAC commends the Subcommittee for the substantial increase in investments for conservation operations, funded at $1023.777 million. Much of this funding is dedicated to Conservation Technical Assistance that supports NRCS staff as they conduct on the ground conservation work.This is a crucial investment in NRCS’ capacity to work directly with farmers on adopting conservation practices. NSAC urges the full committee to support these investments as the bill moves forward into the full committee.”