USDA Provides New Cost Share Opportunities for Organic Producers and Handlers
Organic Producers and Handlers May Apply for Certification Cost Share Reimbursements; Expanded Eligibility for Transition and State Certification Cost
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that starting March 20, 2017, organic producers and handlers will be able to visit over 2,100 USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices to apply for federal reimbursement to assist with the cost of receiving and maintaining organic or transitional certification.
“USDA reimburses organic producers up to 75 percent of the cost of organic certification, but only about half of the nation’s organic operations currently participate in the program,” said FSA Administrator Val Dolcini. “Starting March 20, USDA will provide a uniform, streamlined process for organic producers and handlers to apply for organic cost share assistance either by mail or in person at USDA offices located in almost every rural county in the country.”
USDA is making changes to increase participation in the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program (NOCCSP) and the Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost Share Program, and at the same time provide more opportunities for organic producers to access other USDA programs, such as disaster protection and loans for farms, facilities and marketing. Producers can also access information on nonfederal agricultural resources, and get referrals to local experts, including organic agriculture, through USDA’s Bridges to Opportunity service at the local FSA office.
Historically, many state departments of agriculture have obtained grants to disburse reimbursements to those producers and handlers qualifying for cost share assistance. FSA will continue to partner with states to administer the programs. For states that want to continue to directly administer the programs, applications will be due Feb. 17, 2017.
“The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and the National Organic Program look forward to this exciting opportunity to leverage the Farm Service Agency’s rural footprint to reach more organic producers and handlers,” said AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer. “At the same time it is important to recognize and continue the valuable partnerships with states that remain at the core of the program.”
Eligible producers include any certified producers or handlers who have paid organic or transitional certification fees to a USDA-accredited certifying agent. Application fees, inspection costs, fees related to equivalency agreement/ arrangement requirements, travel/per diem for inspectors, user fees, sales assessments and postage are all eligible for a cost share reimbursement from USDA.
Once certified, producers and handlers are eligible to receive reimbursement for up to 75 percent of certification costs each year up to a maximum of $750 per certification scope—crops, livestock, wild crops and handling. Today’s announcement also adds transitional certification and state organic program fees as additional scopes.
To learn more about organic certification cost share, please visit www.fsa.usda.gov/organic or contact a local FSA office by visiting http://offices.usda.gov.
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USDA is committed to helping organic agriculture grow and thrive. USDA strongly supports the organic sector through a wide variety of programs, including conservation grants, organic crop insurance, certification cost-share, organic market news, and simplified microloans. Under the Obama administration, USDA has signed five major organic trade arrangements and has helped organic stakeholders access programs that support conservation, provide access to loans and grants, fund organic research and education and mitigate pest emergencies. To learn more about USDA support for organic agriculture, visit our updated organic portal at www.usda.gov/organic.
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SwipeClock Wins Technology Excellence Award for Best Advance in Time and Labor Management
Award recognizes benefits of SwipeClock's Workforce Management Clock that greatly reduces payroll processing time and helps companies comply with labor laws
SALT LAKE CITY, UT, USA, December 21, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Brandon Hall Group has given the Technology Excellence Award for Best Advance in Time and Labor Management to SwipeClock. The bronze award recognizes the benefits of SwipeClock's new Workforce Management Clock. The innovative clock brings intelligence to timekeeping and advance scheduling with applied business rules logic to greatly reduce payroll processing time and help companies comply with labor laws. Workforce Management Clock includes a rich set of intelligent, proactive, and dynamic capabilities that greatly improve employee interactions with the time clock so labor data are more accurate.
"SwipeClock is honored to win the award for Best Advance in Time and Labor Management for our intelligent Workforce Management Clock," said Coleman Barney, CEO of SwipeClock. "Our sole focus is to stay one step ahead of our customers' expectations as they manage their diverse workforces. This is an award that all of our employees should be proud to receive for recognition of their hard work in developing the industry's most innovative workforce management solutions."
"We congratulate our Technology Award winners, and also thank them for leading the way in designing and utilizing technologies that empower organizations to enhance – and in some cases transform – their organizations," said Rachel Cooke, Chief Operating Officer of Brandon Hall Group and head of the awards program. "Our research shows that Human Capital Management technology is a primary driver of innovation, and our award-winning organizations serve as models of success."
Winners of the Technology Excellence Awards are selected after undergoing a rigorous judging process. An international panel of independent industry experts, and Brandon Hall Group senior analysts and executive leadership team evaluated the entries. The judging was based on design of the solution, functionality, usability, innovation, and overall measurable benefits.
Brandon Hall Group is the most well-known and established research organization in the performance improvement industry with more than 10,000 clients globally and 20 years of delivering world class research and advisory services. The company conducts research that drives performance, and provides strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results. (www.brandonhall.com)
SwipeClock is a leading provider of cloud-based integrated workforce management solutions that include automated time and attendance, advanced scheduling, and leave management capabilities. The company's products, including TimeWorksPlus, TimeSimplicity, and Workforce Management Clock enable employers to manage their most important and expensive asset—employees—by transforming labor from a cost of doing business to a competitive advantage. SwipeClock's workforce management solutions are sold through over 850 partners that empower more than 26,000 businesses to lower labor costs, comply with regulatory mandates, and maximize their profits. Learn more about SwipeClock (www.swipeclock.com)
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Veterans and Military Organizations Express Shock at Manipulation of GI Bill to Offset Federal Education Funding Cap;
90/10 Data Released Today by Education Department
CORRECTED LINK/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Veterans and military organizations today expressed shock at the high number of colleges that are almost entirely dependent on federal funds, noting a Department of Education report released today, and called on Congress to close the so-called 90/10 loophole, which some for-profit colleges manipulate to count GI Bill dollars and Defense Department college funding as private dollars to offset the cap on federal funds the colleges face.
According to an Education Department report released today, 191 colleges receive more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal student aid, GI Bill education benefits, and the Defense Department education programs. The full report includes detailed information about the amount and percentage of each for-profit institution’s revenues from Title IV and non-Title IV sources.
Indeed, some for-profit colleges are so dependent on federal aid that 563 colleges would violate the limit on federal revenue, at a cost of $12.6 Billion in taxpayer money, if the 90/10 loophole were closed and the cap were set at 85 percent. (Eighty five percent was the limit initially established in 1992 to weed out substandard schools, but subsequently watered down in 1998, and which is also the standard the Department of Veterans Affairs follows in its cap on the percent of veteran students a school can rely on).
The idea behind the 90/10 rule was that taxpayers should not prop up low-quality schools. Schools offering a quality education at a competitive price should be able to attract private dollars from employers, scholarship providers, or students who are willing and able to pay the tuition. Senate Education Committee staff who revised the 90/10 rule as part of the 1998 Higher Education Act Amendments, did not include GI Bill and Defense Department funds in the statute because there was no war at the time, no robust GI Bill, and because for-profit colleges were not then targeting military students, so today’s problems were not then apparent.
The result of the 90/10 loophole is that many for-profit colleges target veteran and service members with aggressive and deceptive recruiting, in order to enroll as much GI Bill dollars and Defense Department dollars as possible. As one for-profit college campus president-turned-whistleblower informed veterans’ organizations and federal officials last summer, “Our for-profit college recruiters will do anything and say anything to get the GI Bill.”
Holly Petraeus, the Assistant Director for Service Member Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said this loophole “gives for-profit colleges an incentive to see service members as nothing more than dollar signs in uniform, and to use aggressive marketing to draw them in.” For every dollar a for-profit college receives from the GI Bill or the Department of Defense, that college can get $9 more from Education Department student funds. Nearly two dozen state Attorneys General have called on Congress to close the loophole and call the current practice of for-profit colleges an accounting gimmick that violates the clear intent of the Higher Education Act, if not the letter of the law.
Both the Senate and House introduced legislation during the 114th Congress (S 1664, HR 3988) that would include GI Bill and DOD educational benefits in the cap on federal revenue as well as legislation to close the loophole and set the cap at 85/15 (S 2272, HR 4101). The Administration also supports closing the loophole and restoring the cap to 85/15.
Veterans and military organizations gave the following comments about the data released today:
“Military members deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and not exploited by educational institutions because of a loophole in federal law,” said Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret.), President of Military Officers Association of America.
“The 90/10 loophole started as a mere oversight by Senate staff in the 1990s, but it’s placed a dollar sign squarely on the backs of our American service members and veterans for far too long. It was unacceptable then, it’s unacceptable now and it needs to be closed once and for all,” said Matthew Boulay, executive director of the Veterans’ Student Loan Relief Fund and Iraq War veteran. “The loophole continues to incentivize predatory for-profit colleges to aggressively pursue taxpayer-funded G.I. Bill benefits, mislead veterans about every aspect of these fraudulent colleges - the true cost, the accreditation, the education, and graduates' job prospects. Liberated from aggressive recruiting, veterans will be able to make an informed choice about where to spend their hard-earned GI Bill benefits.”
“When schools rely almost exclusively on public dollars and valuable GI Bill benefits that veterans have earned, something isn’t right,” said Will Hubbard, Vice President of Government Affairs at Student Veterans of America. “It’s time we took the target off veterans’ backs.”
“It’s time for colleges to put veterans and service members first. These men and women served their country and put our national defense first, and these institutions should be dedicated to ensuring that a quality education is the top priority for our men and women of the Armed Forces and Veterans,” said Michael Little, Director of Legislation and Government Relations, of the Association of the US Navy.
“Survivors and military family members should be treated with compassion and respect, and not targeted by salesmen for their military benefits,” said Kathy Moakler of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.
“We need to provide all veterans, including those wounded in combat, with a high quality education benefit when they come home. Closing the 90/10 loophole is critical to accomplishing that goal,” said Aleks Morosky, National Legislative Director, Military Order of the Purple Heart.
“When service members return from serving their country, they should not be the target of any consumer fraud scams; especially not for their hard-earned GI Bill,” said Walter Ochinko, Veterans Education Success Policy Director. “Closing the 90/10 loophole will take the dollar sign off of the backs of our veterans and servicemembers, reducing the incentive for schools to use aggressive recruiting tactics and misleading information to encourage them to enroll.”
“Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America calls on both sides of the aisle in Congress to immediately close the 90/10 loophole,” said Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Legislative Director Tom Porter. “Schools need to be held accountable for following the law. Veterans' education benefits are not a piggy bank to keep for-profit schools in business. We owe it to our veterans to ensure that their investment in these schools results in viable careers.”
“America’s enlisted men and women deserve better treatment than this,” said Michael Saunders, Deputy Legislative Director, The Retired Enlisted Association.
“Veterans should never be ripped off and defrauded out of their one shot at the GI Bill and its ticket to the American Dream,” said John Rowan, President of Vietnam Veterans of America.
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USDA RELEASES RESULTS OF FIRST LOCAL FOOD MARKETING PRACTICES SURVEY
Lakewood, CO. Dec 21, 2016 - More than 3,100 Utah farms locally produced and sold food through direct marketing practices, resulting in $28.2 million in revenue in 2015, according to the results from the first Local Food Marketing Practices Survey released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The report results cover both fresh and valueadded foods, such as meat and cheese.
Farms selling food directly to institutions and intermediates, such as wholesalers who locally branded the product or food hubs, brought in $14.2 million. The next category, at $17.5 million in sales, was from approximately 1,800 operations with direct-to-consumer sales, such as on-farm stores and farmers markets and includes value-added products.
For additional survey results, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/Local_Food/index.php or the Quick Stats database at https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov. For state specific questions please contact:
Utah – John Hilton 1-800-747-8522
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