🚨 URGENT ACTION NEEDED 🚨
Protect Organic Farmers & the USDA National Organic Program!
Federal funding freezes and USDA staff cuts threaten the future of organic agriculture. Your voice is needed NOW.
📢 TAKE ACTION: CALL OR EMAIL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
What’s at Stake?
Across the country, tens of thousands of farmers and the organizations that support them are in limbo due to an unprecedented USDA funding freeze. The USDA is withholding payments on signed, lawful contracts and grants, causing financial strain, halted projects, and uncertainty for farmers, businesses, organizations, and rural communities.
The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) is also at risk. If staffing is cut, enforcement will weaken, fraud will rise, and American organic farms and businesses will be left vulnerable to foreign competition and market instability.
Why This Matters:
🔴 Weaker Organic Enforcement – Cuts to NOP staff would mean weaker oversight, opening the door to fraudulent imports and undermining the integrity of organic.
🔴 Economic Harm to Farmers & Businesses – The NOP operates on just $23 million annually but oversees a $70 billion industry. Cutting staff jeopardizes thousands of farms and businesses that rely on fair enforcement.
🔴 Market Confidence at Risk – Organic farmers invest heavily to meet USDA standards—without strong enforcement, bad actors can cheat the system, driving down prices and eroding consumer trust. 🔴 NOP Staff Perform Critical Functions – They verify organic imports, oversee certification agencies, and investigate fraud to ensure that organic means organic.
📞 MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Take Action!
Congress has Defunded Core Organic Programs
In its rushed effort to avert a shutdown, Congress passed a continuing resolution on December 21, 2024, to fund the government through March 14, 2025. This last-minute spending package included a one-year extension of the Farm Bill through September 30, 2025. But the Farm Bill extension failed to include funding for essential organic programs including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program! Learn more.
TAKE ACTION
Contact your Senators and Representative today to ask them to restore funding for core organic programs that were omitted from the Farm Bill extension. Click here to automatically send a message to your Members of Congress.
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Previous Action Alerts
Organic Cost-Share Certification is at Risk (Fall 2024): The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023. Rather than passing a new Farm Bill in 2023, Congress extended the Farm Bill for one year. But that Farm Bill extension also expired. NOC urged Congress to act to protect core organic programs, including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program. Unfortunately, in a last minute spending deal and Farm Bill extension, Congress decided not to fund the important organic programs.
Support Organic in the Farm Bill (May 2024): On May 17, G.T. Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, released proposed legislative text for the House Farm Bill. Unfortunately, the bill failed to provide the necessary support to keep pace with the growing organic sector. You can read NOC’s full analysis of the bill here.
Support Organic Research (Summer & Fall 2024): Organic agriculture is crucial for sustainable farming, biodiversity, a healthy food system, and combating climate change. However, the 2024 Farm Bill falls short in addressing the funding needs for organic agriculture research. We worked in partnership with the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) to urge Representatives to support increased funding in organic agriculture research. By investing in the future of organic agriculture, we can unlock its full potential and contribute to a more sustainable and healthy food system for all. Action Alert.
Opportunities in Organic Act (2023). NOC asked Congress to support organic agriculture in the Farm Bill. The Opportunities in Organic Act was introduced as a marker bill. This legislation would authorize a suite of flexible, easy to access tools to reduce barriers to organic agriculture, modernize reimbursements for organic certification, and increase technical expertise and support within public institutions and NGOs. Learn more.
Protect Organic Certification Cost Share (November 2023). The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2023. Rather than passing a new Farm Bill, Congress planned to extend the current Farm Bill. Unlike larger Farm Bill programs which are automatically included in a Farm Bill extension, the Organic Certification Cost Share Program is too small to have ‘permanent baseline’ funding status. The Organic Certification Cost Share Program was at risk! Thanks to the advocacy of the organic community, legislation to avert a government shutdown and extend the 2018 Farm Bill includes $8 million in funding for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program in 2024! Learn more.