Sandra Marquardt/On the Mark PR
OFRF staff members and organic farmers working as the Organic Farmers Action Network team on a windy April day on Capitol Hill. L to R are: Sandra Marquardt, Ariane Lotti, Michael Kilpatrick, Kathy Moore, Mark Shepard, Sarah Smith, Udi Lazimy, Maureen Wilmot, Will Harris and Callie Herron. OFAN team members visited many congressional offices over two days to talk to legislators about the benefits of organic agriculture.
Organic Farmers Put Forward a Strong,
Collective Voice on Organic Hill Days Visits
Posted May 4, 2011 by Udi Lazimy
Michael Kilpatrick on coming to DC as a young farmer
Michael Kilpatrick of Kilpatrick Family Farms in Granville, New York, had never lobbied on Capitol Hill before. But when organic farmers and organic industry leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. in early April for the Organic Trade Association’s Policy Conference and Hill Days, Michael did just that. It was an experience he will not soon forget, and one he hopes to repeat throughout his career as an organic farmer.
Michael realizes that, as a young, innovative entrepreneur in the organic farming arena, his message of how important it is to support local organic farming and food economies should be heard by his legislators.
OFRF was the main partnering organization in the Organic Hill Days event, and we brought organic farmers from Georgia, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, New York and Maine to Washington to tell congress to protect organic programs in both the budgeting process and in the farm bill.
I recently caught up with most of these farmers following the Hill Days visits, and interviewed them to get first-hand descriptions of their experience visiting Washington—what it was like lobbying for organic programs, the importance of these programs for their land and farming operation, and how important it is to meet with legislators about organics.
Michael Kilpatrick on the influence of organic farmers and consumers on lawmakers in DC
The farmers who joined us in D.C. represented a diverse spectrum of farm operations: organic dairy production in Maine, innovative organic tree nut production in Wisconsin, leading edge large-scale composting in Oklahoma, and organic grass-fed beef production in Georgia. As members of OFRF’s Organic Farming Action Network (OFAN), they were chosen to come to D.C. because their legislators play important roles in the House and/or Senate Agriculture Committees.
Kathy Moore urges organic supporters to engage lawmakers
Whether first-timers or veterans of visiting D.C. on behalf of organic agriculture, the farmers that joined us clearly saw the importance of meeting with their legislators to advocate for organics.
Kathy Moore, of Anichini-Moore Ranch and Farm in Woodward, Oklahoma, explained to me how important this visit—in addition to all of her previous D.C. visits—was for representing the organic community and making our presence known to Congress (audio in box to the right)
Others, such as Mark Shepard of Forest Agriculture Enterprises, in Viola, Wisconsin, know that what happens in Washington has an impact on what happens on his farm. He took the opportunity, while visiting with legislators, to share ideas from the organic community “that are good for this country, good for agriculture, good for health and good for nutrition.”
Mark Shepard on
the effect of federal agriculture policy on his farm
The timing of our Hill Days visits couldn’t have been more vital. We visited congress members during the heat of the debate over the 2011 Continuing Resolution, and the growers met with policy makers to ensure that certain organic programs, such as the Organic Transitions Integrated Research Program, Organic Data Initiative, conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the National Organic Program (NOP) were not cut from the budget.
The farmers that joined us have used these programs on their farms, and took the opportunity to testify about the importance of these programs to their businesses while in D.C.
Sarah Smith on conservation programs and how she has used CSP and EQIP on her farm
Sarah Smith of Grassland Organic Farm in Skowhegan, Maine, spoke about the importance of these programs to her farm and that legislators should know how far a small amount of money can go.
Sarah has used both CSP funding and EQIP funding on her farm.
Mark Shepard adds that raw data collection and research, through programs like the Organic Data Initiative (ODI), are essential. The ODI was a source of funding for the National Agricultural Statistical Service’s 2008 Organic Production Survey, and Shepard feels that this data collection as part of the Agriculture Census is important to the future of organic.
Mark Shepard and Kathy Moore speak on the need for organic research
Kathy Moore sees investment in organic research as a critical step to even the playing field with non-organic industries.
The farmers that joined OFRF in D.C. understand the importance of farmer advocacy and citizen action in achieving the change that they want to see in the agricultural world. For our legislators to understand the effectiveness and importance of organic programs, organic farmers and organic farming supporters must continue to make the case in Washington D.C. Sarah Smith captured this quite well here:
Sarah Smith explains the crucial role of advocacy in agricultural change
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