Author: VFB Governmental Relations

New Funding Opportunity for Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices

/ VFB Governmental Relations / Leave a comment

 

The Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture is a pilot program that will incentivize farmers and ranchers to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices that will maintain and improve agricultural productivity, benefit the producer, and improve climate resilience. 

Under the three-year pilot program, The Alliance and its partners will help producers in Virginia prove the value of paying farmers and ranchers $100 per acre or animal unit for stewardship practices that deliver public value through carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas reduction, improved soil health, water quality, water conservation, and other environmental services. Direct payments will be issued by Virginia Tech.

Participating Districts: 

  • Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District (757) 645-4895 OR samantha.pereira@colonialswcd.org: Charles City, James City, New Kent, York and City of Williamsburg. For the Alliance grant, Colonial has an expanded service area of: Caroline, Chesterfield, Essex, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, King & Queen, King William, Mathews, Middlesex, Prince George, Surry and City of Suffolk
  • Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District (434) 975-0224 ext 112 OR agriculture@tjswcd.org: Louisa, Fluvanna, Nelson, Albemarle and City of
    Charlottesville

Eligibility:

  • Farm located within an eligible county shown above
  • Verified Farm Service Agency (FSA) Number
  • Two-acre minimum
  • Land can not be enrolled in another state or federal conservation program in the same practice on the same acres

Applications opening on February 15-March 15. Looking for more information?
Join in to our Alliance Virtual Information Session on Monday, February 5 at 5:30pm! Register HERE!

va-producer-alliance-flyer-2Download

2024 General Assembly Update: Week 3

/ VFB Governmental Relations / Leave a comment

We just closed out week three of session and Legislative Day is nearly here! In this video, we provide details on legislation that allows for both opportunities and challenges when it comes to utility-scale solar development and its impact on agriculture. If you can’t join us for Legislative Day, we encourage you to contact your legislators to share opposition to HB636, SB567 and SB697.  

2024 General Assembly Update: Week 2

/ VFB Governmental Relations / Leave a comment

The second week of the General Assembly has concluded with subcommittees and committees beginning to meet and discuss bills. Both the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources met this week and heard several bills of interest to Farm Bureau. Today, Friday, January 19 is the last day for bills to be filed by legislators, and Governmental Relations is continuing to monitor and review the latest bills as they arrive.  

2024 General Assembly Update: Week 1

/ VFB Governmental Relations / Leave a comment

Welcome to the 2024 General Assembly session! It’s a new year with many new faces. Attributed to redistricting and retirements, Virginia experienced unprecedented turnover in the House and Senate during the November elections. And we’re seeing new faces in Virginia Farm Bureau’s governmental relations team as well. This year, our weekly updates are brought to you by Katelyn Jordan, who joined us about a year ago, and Jake Tabor, who joined just a few weeks ago. Meet Jake in the this video and watch until the end for a preview of our Legislative Day on January 28-29.

RMA Announces Listening Sessions on Livestock Risk Management Products

/ VFB Governmental Relations / Leave a comment

The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced they will be conducting listening sessions throughout the country this winter to gather feedback and to discuss policy improvements to livestock products.

RMA will be conducting more than a dozen in-person and virtual workshops this winter for producers to learn about new and expanded livestock risk management products. This “Roadshow” will highlight policy improvements based on the feedback from producers as a way to promote, educate, and broaden RMA’s outreach to livestock producers.

Specifically, RMA will be discussing and soliciting feedback on the following products:

  • Annual Forage
  • Dairy Revenue Protection
  • Livestock Gross Margin
  • Livestock Risk Protection
  • Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage
  • Weaned Calf Risk Protection (New for Calendar Year 2024)

Virtual sessions will take place on January 8 and January 17, 2024. Unfortunately, there are no in-person listening sessions in Virginia or adjacent states. Producers can register for these virtual programs on RMA’s website.

The Livestock Roadshow builds on other recent outreach and education efforts. Earlier this year, RMA held a roadshow highlighting insurance options for specialty crop, organic, and urban producers, drawing more than 3,000 attendees. Additionally, since 2021, RMA has invested around $13 million in partnerships to advance risk management education.

USDA and Department of Energy to Host Series of Listening Sessions on How Clean Energy Siting Outcomes Impact Farmers and Rural Americans

/ VFB Governmental Relations / Leave a comment

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host a series of listening sessions this winter. The agencies invite perspectives on the impacts of the rapidly increasing levels of solar and wind energy facilities being sited on agricultural and forestry lands, and in rural communities.

USDA and DOE seek feedback directly from a diverse set of stakeholders about what the agencies can do through their leadership, program guidance, or research and information sharing to encourage positive clean energy siting outcomes for farmers, rural Americans, the renewable energy industry, and others.

Stakeholders must register to participate in public listening sessions that are available virtually by clicking on the selected date and time:

Stakeholders may submit written comments by Jan. 20, 2024, to CleanEnergySiting@USDA.gov. 

To learn more, read full Stakeholder Announcement.