On November 1st, the Senate passed an appropriations package requiring bipartisan cooperation and compromise. The bill includes support for a wide range of conservation, organic and sustainability programs including:
- Organic transition research: $8 million
- WIC Farmers’ Markets Nutrition Program: $20 million,
- Conservation Technical Assistance: $800 million,
- The new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production: $9 million
The Senate minibus did not include t funding for the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Grant Program that would have benefitted “socially disadvantaged farmers”.
Predictably these allocations were lauded by proponents of sustainability and preservation of natural resources.