August Appropriations Update

The House and Senate are both moving forward with annual agriculture spending legislation that includes a boost in funding for the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), a top NOC priority, as well as report language directing the NOP to strengthen enforcement of organic soil health requirements. 

NOC has urged Congress to increase funding for the NOP to respond to the explosive growth in organic sales over the past decade and the need for enhanced enforcement and updates to the organic standards. Stronger enforcement of soil health requirements is critical to organic’s role in addressing climate change.  

The draft Senate bill also increases funding for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program from $45 million annually to $50 million.  SARE is the nation’s only farmer-driven research program and has been a center of innovation in research and agriculture, including organic farming, for over thirty years. 

What’s Next?

On July 20th, the House approved their fiscal year (FY) 2023 agriculture spending legislation, as part of a larger consolidated package of FY 2023 appropriations bills.  On July 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee released their draft FY 2023 agriculture spending legislation, along with 11 other Senate appropriations bills. It is not yet clear if the appropriations legislation will pass in both chambers and be signed into law before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2022.