Organic Community Praises Farm Bill Framework Presented by Chairwoman Stabenow
Organic advocates are celebrating the inclusion of significant provisions to advance organic agriculture in a Senate Farm Bill framework that was unveiled today by U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
“The Farm Bill should position U.S. farmers to meet the growing demand for organic food using the climate-friendly, ecological production practices required by the organic regulations,” said Abby Youngblood, Executive Director at the National Organic Coalition. “The National Organic Coalition is thrilled with the strong commitment to growing organic signaled by the Farm Bill framework presented today by Senator Stabenow. It provides a strong foundation to grow the organic sector to address climate mitigation, human health, and ecological challenges and provides organic producers with increased support to create thriving businesses to grow food for local communities.”
Senator Stabenow’s framework includes numerous provisions that NOC has called for in our Farm Bill platform, as laid out in marker bills endorsed by NOC, and championed through our advocacy work over the past several years.
The bill will advance the organic food and farming by:
Addressing Organic Certification Costs:
o Increases reimbursements to organic operations to $1,000 to help defray annual certification costs.
o Provides mandatory and stable funding for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program to ensure that it does not run out of funds as the organic sector grows.
Funding Organic Oversight and Enforcement Activities:
o Provides authority to fund the National Organic Program, the agency that oversees and enforces organic regulations, at a level that keeps pace with growth in the organic marketplace.
o Provides $5 million in mandatory funding for database and technology upgrades related to organic import certificates and other fraud and enforcement data tracking required by the newly implemented Strengthening Organic Enforcement regulation.
Supporting Organic Transition:
o Authorizes an Organic Market Development Grants Program.
o Moves toward codifying ongoing support for organic transition.
Addressing Regulatory Bottlenecks with Organic Regulations:
o Directs the National Organic Program to solicit public input on the prioritization of organic regulations to be promulgated or revised.
o Directs the Agriculture Secretary to publish an annual report regarding recommendations received from the National Organic Standards Board, all regulatory and administrative actions taken, and justifications on why actions were or were not taken on those recommendations.
o Directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the efforts of the National Organic Program to improve organic standards and provide recommendations on how the National Organic Program can ensure that organic program standards evolve in a timely manner to meet consumer expectations and benefit organic producers.
Providing Mandatory Funding for Organic Research & Data Collection
o Continues existing mandatory funding at the $50 million level for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative.
o Requires greater coordination of organic research activities within USDA.
o Provides $5 million in mandatory funding for organic production and market data initiatives.
o Establishes in the Agricultural Marketing Service the position of Farmer Seed Liaison, whose responsibilities include strengthening competition and choice in the seed marketplace and serving as a liaison and expert for all matters relating to seeds.
Making USDA Program Work For Organic Farmers
o Increases the payment cap and establishes equity for organic producers who apply for EQIP conservation funding through the EQIP Organic Initiative.
o Directs the USDA to improve collection of organic dairy market data, which is critical to farm viability for organic dairy producers.
The proposal from Chairwoman Stabenow details several policy shifts that will help farmers access land and capital. Unfortunately, the framework does not include the provisions of the Land Access Security and Opportunities Act, (H.R. 3955, S.2340) (a bill that NOC has endorsed) or a comprehensive solution to the land access crisis. But it includes several other helpful provisions related to land access and credit, as detailed by the National Young Farmers Coalition in this blog post.
Organic represents 5.5% of all food sales in the U.S., and more than 80% of American households purchase organic food. But support for organic producers has lagged far behind the continued growth of the organic market. Demand for organic food far outstrips U.S. production, with imports filling the gap. The increased investment in organic agriculture through the Farm Bill framework presented by Senator Stabenow creates new opportunities to generate economic, environmental, and human health benefits here in the U.S. through the expansion of organic food and farm systems.