GE Alfalfa, Cuts to Organic Ag Research, Organic Pasture Rule, and More
IN THIS ISSUE:
Features
DC Updates
Duly Noted
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It’s been a busy few months for the policy team at OFRF. We’ve been tracking Congressional and USDA developments around appropriations and Farm Bill implementation. We’re closely involved in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative. Late last fall, we conducted a survey of growers to gather feedback on the 2009 Initiative and forwarded our findings to the USDA to inform the 2010 program. We are now working to complete our report of survey findings and plan to release that information soon. OFRF Policy Staff have also been attending organic grower conferences to connect with growers, provide information about organic ag policy issues, and hear from producers about their regional concerns. Several of us will be at the Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, WI. If you plan to attend, be sure to find us. If you would like us to come to your state or region’s conference, let us know. For additional information on OFRF’s policy work, read Information Bulletin 17.
As always, we welcome your feedback on anything you read (or don’t read) below.
FEATURES
2010 EQIP Organic Initiative Sign Up Open Until March 12
Sign up for the 2010 USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative is in full swing. This program provides financial and technical assistance for organic producers and those transitioning to organic, who want to implement conservation practices on their farms. The national deadline for applying to the Organic Initiative is March 12, 2010, though a few states have set later deadlines.
States should have determined which practices they will be offering and the payment schedule for the Organic Initiative by February 19. To obtain this information, visit your state’s NRCS website or contact your state’s NRCS organic point person. Please let us know if your state has not made payment schedule and/or practice standard information available.
Producers applying to the EQIP Organic Initiative have until the deadline in their state to amend their application. If you already applied to the Organic Initiative before your state determined which practices it will be offering in 2010 and you would like to adjust your application, please contact your local NRCS Service Center.
OFRF has several helpful resources for growers on our EQIP Organic Initiative Resource Page, including:
- More detailed information about the program, application process and deadlines.
- An updated list of Organic Point Persons in each state.
- A list of regional/state organizations providing assistance to growers on the Organic Initiative.
We are updating this page with new information as we hear it, so please visit often.
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Obama’s 2011 Budget Request Proposes $5 Million Cut to Organic Ag Research
The annual appropriations process began on February 1st when President Obama released his 2011 Budget Request. Overall, the budget is a mixed bag for organic ag. While it includes a big increase for improving the integrity and enforcement of organic regulations enforcement, the budget request disappointingly cuts dedicated organic ag competitive research grants by $5 million. Specifically, the Administration’s budget request zeroes out funding for the Organic Transitions Research Program, one of two USDA competitive grants programs exclusively focused on organic ag research. This program was funded by Congress at $5 million in the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill.
For more info, read the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's blog posts on sustainable agriculture research and organic programs in President Obama's 2011 Budget Request, written by OFRF's Policy Associate Ariane Lotti. Also, read the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s FY2011 Appropriations Chart.
Restoring and increasing dedicated organic research and education funding will be the centerpiece of OFRF’s Appropriations campaign this year. If your Senators and/or Representative sit on the Agriculture subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees, stay tuned for upcoming action alerts.
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Tell the USDA: GMO Alfalfa Directly Threatens Organic Agriculture; Comments due March 3, 2010
USDA is currently taking comments on its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, and it is crucial that organic farmers voice their concerns about this crop. Following a successful lawsuit by the Center for Food Safety in 2006 for attempting to deregulate this novel crop, USDA was ordered to assess GE alfalfa’s impact on the environment, farmers and the public. However, the USDA’s Draft EIS completely overlooks the likely devastating economic impacts of GE contamination on organic farmers as well as the concerns of organic consumers.
For more information, read the Non-GMO Report’s excellent overview and analysis of the GE alfalfa issue and the USDA’s Environmental Impact Statement.
USDA is accepting public comments on its Environmental Impact Statement until March 3, 2010. You can submit comments online through the Center for Food Safety’s action alert.
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DC UPDATES
2008 National Organic Production Survey Results Released
USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) released the results of its 2008 “National Organic Production Survey,” a 331-page report providing detailed information about U.S. organic producers and the organic farming industry. The survey, which included 10,903 certified organic farms and 3,673 small farms using organic standards but exempt from certification, had a very strong response rate of 87%, indicating highly reliable basic data. The information pertains to production in 2008.
Thanks to several years of diligent work by NASS, this is now the most accurate national picture of the overall U.S. organic producer population since the USDA National Organic Program took real effect in 2002. It will have some surprises (both positive and disappointing) as we delve into the details. It will certainly raise many more questions for further work.
A few highlights include:
- 1.6 million acres of harvested organic cropland and 12,742 organic crop farms (both certified and exempt), for an average cropping operation size of 125 acres.
- An additional 128,476 crop acres in transition, implying a potential expansion rate of about 8 percent.
- 5,362 operations reported 1.85 million acres of pasture or rangeland acreage, averaging 345 acres for these kinds of operations.
- Organic farms in 2008 showed themselves on average to have greater revenue, higher expenses, and higher profitability compared with the overall U.S. farm averages in the 2007 National Census of Agriculture.
- Asked to pick just one “primary production challenge,” growers' biggest response was “regulatory problems” (28.8 percent), followed by “production problems” (19 percent), “management issues” (16.6 percent), “other” (13.9 percent), “market access” (12.5 percent), and finally “price issues”(9.3 percent).
Although many of you expressed frustration over the request to fill out this survey last spring we cannot overstate the importance of this information. This survey will provide critical data to inform OFRF’s work advocating for regulatory reforms, research and extension agendas, and market infrastructure development. It will bring the needs of organic farmers into sharper focus for USDA, Congress, state governments, industry and others.
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NOP Pasture Rule Released – USDA Requests Comments on Finishing Beef Cattle
In an historic move for the integrity of organic standards, the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) released its rules regarding access to pasture for ruminants on February 12, 2010. The rule provides certainty to consumers that organic ruminant livestock operations are pasture based and limit animal confinement.
The pasture rule will go into effect for new operations on June 17, 2010. Existing operations have until June 17, 2011 to fully comply with the rule.
NOP will host four field trainings on the Pasture Rule in February and March. For more info about the trainings and several other helpful resources, read the NOP’s Pasture Rule webpage.
NOP is accepting comments on the exceptions for finish feeding of ruminant slaughter stock until April 19, 2010. Instructions for submitting comments are on page 3 of the final rule.
For more info:
USDA’s press release on the Pasture Rule
Northeast Organic Dairy Producer’s Alliance
USDA'S NOP’s Pasture Rule Info Page
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Food Safety Legislation In The Senate
The food safety issue continues to play out on the policy front, amidst concerns that future food safety policies will negatively impact biodiversity, environmental conservation and the economic viability of small-scale agriculture.
OFRF supports the development of balanced policies that address the gaps in our food safety system and safeguard public health, while also preserving the environment and keeping family farmers in business. However, pending federal legislation would fall far short of that. In Congress, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee passed S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, last November. S. 510 now awaits action by the full Senate. (The House passed its food safety bill, H.R. 2749, last August.) S. 510 would require farms that do even minimal processing to register with the FDA, ramp up recordkeeping, develop Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points plans, and permit FDA inspections. Many of these activities could be extremely costly and overly burdensome for small-scale farmers. The bill makes no distinctions between extremely large, factory style facilities (arguably responsible for the overwhelming majority of food safety outbreaks) and small-scale facilities that wash and bag greens to sell at a local food co-op.
OFRF is supporting a suite of amendments proposed by our colleagues at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). These amendments would encourage the development of food safety policies that are risk-based, science-based, scale appropriate, sensitive to environmental and biodiversity concerns, and require FDA to work with USDA (including the National Organic Program). In addition, one of the proposed amendments would provide competitive grants to develop food safety training programs and technical assistance for small and midsized agriculture producers, small processors and producer wholesalers. Some, but not all, of these amendments have been taken up by the Senate HELP committee. Read NSAC’s recent blog post to learn more detail on the amendments to S. 510 and find out how you can take action.
For more information:
An Op-Ed about Federal Food Safety Legislation
NSAC’s Food Safety Policy Brief Food Safety on the Farm
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Dept. of Justice Hearings on Anti-trust Issues in Agriculture
As we previously announced, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the USDA will host five joint listening sessions throughout the year to explore antitrust issues in the agriculture sector, and are currently accepting written comments from the public. This joint DOJ/USDA effort is an unprecedented first step to address the impact that market concentration has on family farmers.
While the listening sessions won’t specifically address how concentration impacts organic farmers, the topics are still relevant. In particular, the first listening session will focus on concentration in the seed industry, an issue of great concern to organic growers as the ability to source diverse, heirloom, and locally adapted varieties of seeds is diminishing in the face of tremendous seed industry consolidation.
Dates, locations and topics covered by each listening session are available on the Department of Justice website, which will be updated with new information as it comes out. The public can provide oral comments on any issue related to consolidation in the ag sector at any listening session, and can also submit written comments. The Rural Advancement Foundation International has an online action alert for submitting comments.
For more information
U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis
Organization for Competitive Markets
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National Animal Identification System Dropped
On February 5, 2010, USDA announced that it would drop the much maligned National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and instead develop “a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability.” Secretary Vilsack stated that NAIS had received “a failing grade” and that the new system would only require animal traceback to the state of origin. In addition, the new system would:
- Only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce;
- Be administered by the states and tribal nations to provide more flexibility;
- Encourage the use of lower-cost technology; and
- Be implemented transparently through federal regulations and the full rulemaking process.
NAIS had raised considerable concern among small-scale livestock producers because of the burdensome costs required to install the tracing technology on animals, the excessive reporting requirements, and the invasion of privacy issues.
For more information:
The USDA Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service website
The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
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DULY NOTED
The National Organic Action Plan: Advancing U.S Organic Agriculture
More than four years of conversations with farmers, policy advocates, processors, retailers, consumers, and other organic stakeholders about the future of organics in the U.S. have culminated in the development of the National Organic Action Plan (NOAP). The NOAP articulates a vision for the future of organic food and agriculture in the U.S. and identifies a broad set of goals to guide U.S. organic agriculture over the next ten years. This project will enable the organic community to remain focused on the goals of sustainability, diversity and justice in organic agriculture, while being flexible and adaptable in the strategies to reach those goals. The NOAP is a joint collaboration between the National Organic Coalition and the Rural Advancement Foundation International.
For more information, including a PDF of the NOAP, visit the National Organic Coalition’s website.
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Advocate for Organic Priorities in Washington: April 14-16, 2010
The Organic Trade Association (OTA), with participation from OFRF, will be hosting a Policy Conference and Hill Visit Days April 14 and 15. The two-day event will include informational sessions on organic policy issues and hill visits with your Senators and Members of Congress. Confirmed speakers include:
- Dr. Temple Grandin, animal welfare expert
- Miles McEvoy, Associate Deputy Administrator, USDA’s National Organic Program
- Keith Jones, Staff Director, House Committee on Horticulture & Organic Agriculture
Registration cost for participation in the OTA Policy Conference and Hill Days is $250. For more information, visit the OTA website.
In addition, on Friday, April 16, the USDA’s Organic Working Group is hosting a listening session for all USDA agencies to provide updates on their activities related to organic agriculture. Organic producers and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact OFRF Senior Policy Analyst Mark Lipson, at 831-426-6606 x109 or via email.
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Follow us on Twitter, Join us on Facebook, and Sign up for The Organic Link
OFRF is now posting on Twitter, and updating our Facebook page with new developments in organic farming research and policy advocacy.
We also have a new, monthly email newsletter, The Organic Link, which provides updates on all the work OFRF is doing to transform agriculture.
For more info:
Sign up for The Organic Link
Follow us on Twitter
“Fan” us on Facebook
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Once again, we could not advocate effectively for organic agriculture if we did not have the support (including financial support) of organic farmer advocates such as you. Please send any questions, comments, clarifications, corrections, advice, well-wishes, and recipe ideas to Tracy Lerman, OFRF Policy Organizer, at tracy@ofrf.org.
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