After 45 years of dedicated work, our coalition is growing.
Rural Coalition News & Updates
December 6, 2023
Rural Coalition joins more than 100 Organizations Call on Congress to Craft a Food and Farm Bill that Meets Urgent Challenges Facing Food and Farm System. The letter, sent to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership today, identifies 34 “marker bills” that, if included in the next food and farm bill, would help transform the U.S. food and agriculture system into one that is more sustainable, resilient and equitable, and that farmers, workers, and communities need and deserve. Learn more here. Additionally, In one of the largest collaborative grantmaking efforts ever in the food and farming sector, 15 organizations awarded $2.235 million in grants to support 28 grassroots groups that are on the front lines of working with marginalized farmers and communities. Learn more here.
October 31, 2023
We hold our colleague Jaime Chavez in our hearts as he and his family and the Atrisco community celebrate the life of his father, Bonifacio Chavez, and lay him to rest. - Mr. Chavez was a farmer who knew all the layers of the soil, and who grew garlic; and also the amaranth and jujubes he has left Jaime to harvest still. The love and care of your Rural Co family surrounds you at this time.
September 22, 2023
USDA Extends deadline for IRA Section 22007, Discrimination Financial Relief Program - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that the claims process for Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been extended from October 31st, 2023 to January 13th, 2024. The deadline for applicants to request documents from USDA was also extended from September 29th, 2023 to November 3rd, 2023. Read more here.
July 5, 2023
With World Farmers, we have submitted comments to Information Collection Request; Power of Attorney Docket ID #FSA-2023-0010 - See our comments here.
March 30, 2023
Rural Communities of Color and Federal Funding for LSL Replacements Webinar - Join Rural Coalition, The Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative, and Children’s Environmental Health Network on April 20th, 2023 12:00 PM ET this webinar, which will highlight challenges rural communities face in accessing federal funding for Lead Service Line (LSL) replacement & strategies to overcome them. Register here.
March 8, 2023
Building Resiliency in Disadvantaged Communities: Administrator Marcia Bunger of the Risk Management Agency at USDA shared an inspiring reflection from the Risk Management Assessment Program we facilitated just before our 14th Annual Winter Forum. At the program, over 30 socially-disadvantaged farmers and producers spent four hours learning about crop insurance, and training to become crop insurance agents or adjusters. Read Ms. Bunger’s reflection here.
March 5, 2023
Rural Coalition TA Farmer Call on Taxes: March 7th, 2023 at 5pm EST. During the call, farmers and ranchers will understand the proper way to structure their business entities, financial statements for proper record keeping, and proper tax filing and legal tax deductions. Presenters will also provide a line-by-line review of the Schedule F tax form, which is used to report farm income and expenses. Contact kenesha@ruralco.org with any questions.
June 11, 2023
Nikki Budzinski introduces Increasing Land Access, Security and Opportunities Act to help the next generation of farmers - Budzinski’s proposal includes a $100 million increase in funding for the program per year for the next five years. The Increasing Land Access, Security and Opportunities Act has received support from National Young Farmers Coalition, the American Farmland Trust, the National Family Farm Coalition, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Rural Coalition. Read more about the proposed legislation from The Daily Illini and AgDaily.
February 2, 2023
Federal Funding for Community Schools Hits Historic Levels: “Districts in the NEA Community Schools Institute are recipients of five-year federal grants. In December, a bipartisan funding bill also doubled the amount of community schools funding, from $75 million for 2022 to $150 million in 2023.” Read more here.
June 8, 2023
Rural Coalition is one of 9 USDA-awarded cooperating organizations offering free Technical Assistance on Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2 - ERP Phase 2 is designed to provide financial assistance to eligible crop producers who experienced revenue loss due to a natural disaster in 2020 and/or 2021. For free Technical Assistance applying for ERP Phase 2, please fill out our TA Request Form and/or sign up for TA Office Hours. Applications are due July 14th.
March 8, 2023
2022 USDA Census of Agriculture: The deadline for the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture has been extended. The Census of Agriculture is a crucial data-collection tool to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color farmers and ranchers secure access to important support, aid, and assistance in the coming years. In many ways, our collective work depends on the USDA knowing how many of us are out there tending land and working to feed our communities. You can learn more about the 2022 Census of Agriculture here. You can find Frequently Asked Questions here. If you need additional assistance completing your Ag Census, please contact Carine Meyer-Rodrigues at carine@ruralco.org.
September 8, 2023
Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG) releases a detailed guide to the IRA 22007 Discrimination Financial Assistance Program - This new, much more detailed, Farmers’ Guide to the USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program explains the details of the Program and provides a walk-through of the program application. This Second Edition replaces the first version of FLAG’s Farmers’ Guide to DFAP, dated August 27, 2023. Find the guide here.