Call your Representative Today –
SAVE Organic Certification Cost Share!
SUPPORT Organic Farming Research and Education!
The House Agriculture Committee is marking up the 2007 Farm Bill this Wednesday and Thursday. Several amendments are being proposed that will significantly impact organic farmers and consumers, for better or for worse. Your phone call is urgently needed to support important organic programs!
Call your Representative TODAY with this message:
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OPPOSE any amendments to cut Organic Certification Cost Share.
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SUPPORT Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand’s amendment for an Organic Conversion Program.
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SUPPORT amendments to increase funding for organic research and extension.
Scroll down for more information on these amendments.
When you call, ask to speak to the agriculture legislative aide.
Phone Rap
“Hi, my name is ___________ and I am a constituent. I urge Rep to support organic agriculture programs in the Farm Bill. Specifically, I urge her to
- OPPOSE any amendments to cut Organic Certification Cost Share.
- SUPPORT Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand’s amendment for an Organic Conversion Program.
- SUPPORT amendments to increase funding for organic research and extension.
These amendments will help to ensure the future of organic farming in the U.S. Thank you for considering my concerns.”
Background
Organic Certification Cost Share
The Organic Certification Cost Share Program provides funding to organic farmers to help defray up to 75% of the cost of organic certification. In the 2002 Farm Bill, payments were limited to $500 per farm per year. This program protects small and mid-sized growers in particular – the cost of organic certification for farmers can be quite burdensome for these growers. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson and USDA Secretary Mike Johanns both support this program, and Chairman Peterson included $25 million in mandatory funding for 5 years in his Farm Bill proposal, with payment limits increased to $750 per farm per year. However, some Agriculture Committee members may try and strip this funding.
Organic Conversion Program
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is introducing an amendment that would provide $50 million over five years for financial and technical assistance for farmers who want to transition to organic practices. Half of this program’s funding would go to technical assistance, creating a new national capacity for transmission of organic farming and marketing information. Financial assistance would be limited to $20,000 per year for three years. The costs associated with transitioning to organic practices are high and make it financially unfeasible for many farmers to change their operations. Farmers who do transition often incur large amounts of debt over the course of the conversion process. In addition, educational and technical resources to assist farmers who are converting are scarce. As a result, there are not enough domestic organic farmers to meet the rapidly growing consumer demand for organic foods and the US is spending over $1 billion a year to import organic food.
Organic Agriculture Research
At least two amendments have been crafted that would provide more funding for organic agriculture research in this year’s Farm Bill. The biggest limiting factor in the success of organic farmers is knowledge about organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing.
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) has prepared an amendment to increase the mandatory funding for the Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), USDA’s only competitive grants program specifically dedicated to the scientific and outreach needs of organic agriculture. Although it was funded in the 2002 Farm Bill at $3 million per year in mandatory funding, Chairman Peterson’s proposal so far only authorizes discretionary funding of $25 million, which is dependent on the annual appropriations process and is in no way secure. Chairman Peterson may offer his own amendment on organic research. Our goal is to secure at least $15 Million per year of mandatory funding, with a provision for additional sums to be appropriated. This will still fall far short of “fair share” funding of USDA competitive grants for agriculture research and extension.
Rep. Steve Kagen is introducing an amendment to require that a “fair share” of USDA Agriculture Research Service dollars be spent on organic agriculture. USDA research programs have not kept pace with the growth of organic agriculture in the marketplace. Although organic currently represents about 3% of the total U.S. food retail market, the share of USDA research money targeted to organic agriculture and marketing only represents about 0.7% annually.
For more information, visit OFRF’s Federal Legislation page.
To join OFRF's Organic Farmers Action Network, visit the OFAN subscription page.
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