2012 Farm Bill, Organic Crop Insurance, Job Opportunities at OFRF and More
September 13, 2010
In This Issue
Features
Issues Update
Duly Noted
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After a blistering summer of heat (for most of the country), lawmakers are returning to our nation’s Capitol to face a busy fall schedule before the November elections. Over the summer, Congress made progress on bills that impact organic farmers, including the food safety and agriculture funding bills. Congress also continued its preparations for the 2012 Farm Bill. Read the stories below to find out what’s in store for organic agriculture policy this fall.
FEATURES
Job Opportunities in OFRF’s Policy Program
Want a job advocating for federal policies that support organic farmers and ranchers? Then apply for one of OFRF’s two job openings. We are currently hiring a Policy Organizer to work in our Santa Cruz, California, office and a Policy Intern to work in our Washington, D. C., office. For more information, visit the Jobs and Internships page of our website.
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Gearing Up for the 2012 Farm Bill
The next farm bill is looming large on the horizon, with negotiations in Congress likely beginning in 2011. Over the summer, OFRF conducted a survey about barriers to successful organic production and potential policy actions. If you completed the survey, thank you for your responses. We are using the survey results to inform the development of our 2012 Farm Bill policy platform, which we will finalize later this fall. We will also be developing advocacy tools and farm bill resources over the coming months.
Leading up to the farm bill negotiation, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have also been gathering public comments on the direction the massive piece of legislation should take. This past spring and summer, the House Ag Committee held a series of hearings in Washington, D.C., and in the field. Of the more than 125 witness testifying at the hearing, only three were organic farmers: OFRF Board Member John Teixeira from California, Fred Brossy from Idaho, and Margaret Smith from Iowa.
On a related note, Senate Agriculture Committee Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will honor the 20th anniversary of the Organic Foods Production Act with a hearing this week in Washington. The act called for creation of the USDA National Organic Program. The hearing will not focus on the next farm bill, but it’s likely to come up.
You can still provide farm bill feedback to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln. Additionally, if your Senators and/or Representative sit on the House or Senate Agriculture Committee, contact them and urge them to support organic farmers and ranchers in the next farm bill. To find out who represents you, visit www.congressmerge.com.
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Visit Your Members of Congress Before Election Day
Mid-term elections take place in November and many elected officials will soon be campaigning in their home turf. This provides an opportunity for in-district meetings where voters can raise important issues with candidates. Meeting with elected officials seeking re-election (and their opponents) gives you an opportunity to educate them about issues important to organic farmers and ranchers, including the next farm bill.
If you are interested in organizing meetings with your Congressional candidates and need tips, support, or background materials on organic agriculture policy, please contact Tracy Lerman, Policy Program Organizer at tracy@ofrf.org or (831) 426-6606 x 108.
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ISSUES UPDATES
Senate Makes Progress on Food Safety Bill
After several months of deliberation, the Senate appears to be making progress on S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. S. 510 significantly strengthens and increases safety rules on foods regulated by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which includes all foods except meat and poultry. The bill passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in November 2009.
S. 510 would create some badly needed policies to improve food safety in the U.S., such as allowing for mandatory FDA recalls of tainted foods. However, there has also been great concern that S. 510 would create unnecessary and burdensome requirements on small scale food producers as well as conflict with certain on-farm conservation measures.
In August, Senate leaders agreed to include a “managers amendment" that addresses some of these concerns. The changes include provisions that:
- Exempt from or modify certain regulatory requirements for farms engaged in low or no-risk processing;
- Minimize the burden of compliance with regulations for small processors, including on-farm processors;
- Provide competitive funding for the development of food safety training programs;
- Require a scientific basis for regulations that might impact on-farm wildlife and wildlife habitat; and
- Exempt “identity" preserved foods from traceability and recordkeeping requirements.
Still being negotiated is an amendment sponsored by Senator John Tester (D-MT) that would exempt from various parts of the bill facilities under a certain gross sales amount and producers that direct-market more than half of their products. Also pending is an amendment proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would ban the packaging chemical bisphenol-A, a known endocrine disruptor, from all baby products.
Should S. 510 pass the full Senate, a joint House-Senate conference committee will work out the differences between S. 510 and H.R. 2749, the companion bill that passed the House more than a year ago. OFRF does not support H.R. 2749 as this bill is far more burdensome for small-scale and sustainable farmers. OFRF supports the inclusion of the manager’s amendment in S. 510 and is waiting for negotiations around the Tester amendment to be finalized before supporting the entire bill.
It is unclear whether the Senate has time in its fall schedule to vote on S.510, but the recent egg recall has increased pressure on lawmakers to take action. We will continue to update you on the bill and opportunities to take action through our OFAN network.
More Information
S. 510 with the full manager's amendment
S. 510 Small Farm and Small Business Guide (developed by Senate HELP Committee staff)
S. 510 Section-by-Section Summary (developed by Senate HELP Committee staff)
"Revised Senate Food Safety Bill Includes Important Amendments" from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition blog, 8/13/10
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Funding Organic Agriculture in 2011
OFRF continues to advocate for increased funding for organic agriculture programs in the 2011 budget. In our last OFAN alert on this campaign, we asked you to contact senators and representatives on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees (which determine the agriculture program funding levels in appropriations bills) and urge them to support funding for organic ag research, conservation programs, and organic data collection. Since then, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Committee have passed appropriations measures. Once the full House Appropriations Committee passes its bill, the House and Senate will need to work out the differences between the two bills. It is unclear when Congress will finish work on the agriculture appropriations bill, but it will not likely happen until after the November elections.
Despite intense budget pressures, funding for some of OFRF’s top priority programs was protected in both bills. The Organic Transitions Integrated Research Program (one of two competitive grants programs devoted exclusively to organic agriculture research) was preserved at $5 million in both the House and Senate appropriations bills – President Obama had proposed cutting all funding for this program in 2011. Conservation program funding was cut, but by less than what President Obama had initially proposed. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (which includes the Organic Initiative) was cut by $270 million (rather than $350 million as proposed by President Obama.) Funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program was not cut.
Other programs important to OFRF and organic farmers received different funding levels in the House and Senate bills so their final funding levels for 2011 remain to be seen. The Organic Production and Market Data Initiatives received more money in the Senate bill than in the House bill. Conservation technical assistance (which provides funding for NRCS field staff who assist farmers participating in conservation programs) also received more money in the Senate bill than in the House bill. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, which funds sustainable agriculture research that organic farmers participate in and benefit from, received more money in the House bill than in the Senate version.
For a full chart of funding levels for sustainable agriculture programs in the House bill, the Senate bill, and President Obama’s budget request, read the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s 2011 appropriations chart. OFRF will send an update through our OFAN network when Congress is finalizing the 2011 agriculture funding bill.
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Federal Crop Insurance Improvements To Benefit Organic Producers
The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), the agency that oversees federal crop insurance programs, recently announced two important steps in making crop insurance more equitable for organic producers. RMA is now offering organic price payout rates for cotton, corn, soybeans, and processing tomatoes. The agency is also eliminating the five percent surcharge for certain organic tree crops insured under ten crop insurance programs. Read the USDA press release and the three reports RMA issued for more information.
These two developments are good first steps toward achieving equitable crop insurance programs for organic farmers. Before the 2008 Farm Bill, organic farmers participating in federal crop insurance programs paid a five percent surcharge across the board but when losses occurred, they were compensated at the conventional crop price. OFRF advocated for eliminating the surcharge and asked that organic price elections for all crops be included in federal crop insurance programs. The 2008 Farm Bill instead directed RMA to evaluate whether the surcharge was necessary and to offer organic price elections. OFRF will continue to advocate for removal of the surcharge and availability of organic price elections for all crops.
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USDA Announces 2010 Organic Certification Cost Share Funds Available
USDA recently announced that $6.37 million in federal funds are available for farmers seeking reimbursement for part of their organic certification costs. The funds will be distributed to qualified organic producers and handlers who apply through their state departments of agriculture. Applicants can receive up to 75 percent of their certification cost to a maximum of $750. The funds are available to producers and handlers who receive organic certification between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011. For more information, read the USDA press release. To apply for the program, contact your state agriculture department.
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OFRF’s Work to Improve USDA Conservation Programs Strengthened by New Funding
OFRF will be participating in a collaborative project focused on improving USDA conservation programs so that they work better for organic farmers and ranchers. This collaborative was recently awarded a Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). OFRF and other project participants will review USDA conservation practices so that they work better for organic and sustainable agriculture systems. Farmers implement these practices as part of their participation in USDA conservation programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the EQIP Organic Initiative, and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The collaborative will also provide NRCS staff with training in organic and holistic farm management techniques.
Since the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, OFRF has been advocating to improve USDA conservation programs so that they better reward the conservation benefits of organic farming systems. Our advocacy work has included a national survey of farmers on the EQIP Organic Initiative, extensive resource pages on our website, and ongoing input to NRCS staff in Washington, D.C., concerning issues important to organic farmers. Additionally, OFRF is part of another collaborative project focused on integrating organic practices into NRCS conservation programs. This project, funded by Organic Valley, is working to educate organic farmers about participating in NRCS public input processes such as State Technical Committees and Local Working Groups. In coming months we will publish a guide on our website designed to help organic farmers participate in these groups. We will also conduct an organic farmer training in Davis, California, this November. We will send more information about the guide and the training through our OFAN network.
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OFRF Co-sponsors Sustainable Agriculture Research Symposium
Earlier this summer, the National Research Council of National Academies released its new report on sustainable agriculture, Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. This report updates the recommendations from the Council’s last report, Alternative Agriculture, published in 1989. Read a helpful comparison of the two reports.
OFRF, with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and several USDA agencies, is co-sponsoring a symposium on September 15 in Washington, D.C., to present ideas for how to implement the recommendations put forth in the report. OFRF’s position is that nothing short of investment in ecologically-based, organic, and multi-disciplinary research informed by collaborations of farmers and researchers will move us toward addressing the challenges we face in achieving sustainability goals. We will be reinforcing this message at the symposium.
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DULY NOTED
USDA National Organic Program Strategic Plan Available
The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) recently made its 2011-12 Strategic Plan available on its website. Articulating a vision of “Organic integrity from farm to table, consumers trust the organic label," the plan lays out the agency’s mission and a set of goals designed to accomplish that mission. Among other things, the plan emphasizes the importance of clear and consistent organic regulations and strong and consistent compliance enforcement. OFRF is encouraged by the publication of the NOP Strategic Plan and looks forward to further NOP action to maintain organic integrity.
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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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