“Fruit and vegetable farmers have long been ignored in the electrification and automation movement, and that’s why the Monarch platform is built with them in mind. Due to the ever-increasing labor challenges, sustainability concerns, and food traceability and scrutiny issues farmers face, we have experienced great demand for the unique solutions Monarch Tractor offers,”

said Praveen Penmetsa, co-founder & CEO, Monarch Tractor.

Monarch Tractor unlocks the potential for specialty crop farmers to achieve both their economic and sustainability goals. This has led to growing interest from farmers and increased support from the investment community, allowing Monarch to scale production and expand manufacturing space in preparation to meet global demand. Additionally, it provides Monarch with the ability to expand the company’s footprint globally into South America, Europe, and Asia for international pilot testing programs.

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The Government of Alberta has awarded $200 million in grants to municipalities across the province to upgrade local bridges, roads and community airports and make improvements to water supply and treatment facilities.

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FRSAN provides grants for extension services, state departments of agriculture, nonprofit organizations and other entities to provide stress assistance programs to farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, and other agriculture-related occupations. Eligible programs include farm helplines and websites, training programs and workshops, outreach services, and home delivery of assistance.

“As you know, farming is a high-stress occupation,” said the groups in a letter to leadership of the Senate and House agriculture appropriations subcommittees. “Financial risk, volatile markets, unpredictable weather, and heavy workloads can all place a significant strain on farmers’, ranchers’ and farmworkers’ mental and emotional well-being. This is exacerbated by the fact that 60 percent of rural residents live in areas that suffer from mental health professional shortages.”

The groups noted the current prolonged farm economy downturn is causing even greater stress for farmers and ranchers. “Net farm income in 2018 was nearly 50 percent less than it was in 2013,” they said. “While current projections suggest slight improvements in 2019, a significant rebound could be years away.”

Congress provided $2 million in the fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill for a pilot of the program. The groups hope the pilot program will create an on-ramp to full program implementation.

“As the Subcommittee develops the FY 2020 agriculture appropriations bill, we urge you to fully fund the FRSAN at $10 million,” said the groups. “This funding will be critically important in meeting the needs of farmers and ranchers as they endure increasing financial and mental stress.”

Source: NFU news

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In a letter delivered today, the groups, which include the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), National Farmers Union (NFU), National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), National Wildlife Federation (NWF), and American Farmland Trust (AFT), called upon appropriators to respect the funding decisions made in the 2018 Farm Bill and reject any cuts to farm bill conservation funding through the appropriations process.

Farm bill conservation programs, including the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), play a vital role in helping farmers, ranchers, and landowners to keep their lands sustainable and profitable for generations to come. “America’s farmers and ranchers worked hard to ensure that the 2018 Farm Bill included support for the conservation programs they rely upon,” said Alyssa Charney, NSAC Senior Policy Specialist. “The Agriculture Committees listened when farmers told them what they needed to thrive, and now we are asking congressional appropriators to do the same. The farm bill process is closed; appropriators should seek to build upon the foundation laid by the 2018 Farm Bill, not attempt to undercut it. Appropriators have protected these programs in their last two funding bills, and we now ask them to continue to do so in FY 2020.”

“As America’s farm and ranch families endure significant environmental and economic challenges, it is as important as ever that we maintain funding for voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs,” said Roger Johnson, President, NFU. “Congress just last year passed a farm bill with strong provisions and mandatory funding for conservation programs. Appropriators should reject changes that were settled in the process of crafting the Farm Bill and provide adequate funding to NRCS staff to fulfill their important role in ensuring the sustainability of family farms across the country.”

“Farm Bill conservation programs are critical to addressing America’s wildlife crisis,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We call on lawmakers to reject any efforts to cut mandatory funding for Farm Bill conservation programs. These effective and widely supported programs give farmers and ranchers the tools they need to voluntarily restore important habitat for wildlife across America’s working lands and proactively recover at-risk wildlife populations.”

In their letter, the 146 organizations also urged appropriators to protect funding for conservation technical assistance.

“Ensuring full funding of CTA and farm bill programs will continue to allow conservation districts to work hand-in-hand with NRCS at the local level to deliver conservation on America’s landscapes,” NACD President Tim Palmer said. “Farm bill conservation programs are essential to our nation’s producers, as well as the consumers of their products. We urge Congress to protect and sustain conservation funding to allow our producers to continue providing a safe, reliable food supply while emphasizing locally-led conservation solutions to improve the quality of our nation’s soil, water and natural resources.”

The wide range of organizations signed on to the letter speaks to how significantly any cuts to conservation programs and technical assistance would be felt across the country.

“Farm Bill conservation programs are critical to the efforts of farmers and ranchers across this country to voluntarily protect their land from development and implement environmentally sound farming practices,” said John Piotti, President & CEO of American Farmland Trust. “At a time when we are losing three acres of farmland per minute, it is absolutely necessary to save every last dollar for these programs and serve as many farmers and ranchers as possible.”

Source: nfu.org news

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