Congress Takes Axe to Agriculture Program Funding

Posted by Ariane Lotti, June 3, 2011

Policy Director Ariane Lotti serves as OFRF's organic boots on the ground in Washington, D.C.

In the second chapter of the ongoing budget debates in Washington, D.C., the House of Representatives is advancing a bill that slashes more funding from a range of agriculture programs. 

The first chapter (funding for Fiscal Year 2011) concluded in April with a mixed set of news, with certain organic programs surviving despite cuts and other programs taking deep cuts or being eliminated. Now the focus is on Fiscal Year 2012 and the pressure is on in Congress to cut more government spending, meaning programs that serve organic farmers are back on the chopping block.

The House subcommittee charged with setting agricultural spending met on May 24 to discuss and approve a bill that cuts funding for organic and conventional research, conservation, food safety, and rural development. The bill also includes a controversial rider that would delay the implementation of rules requiring fairer competition in livestock markets.

Ahead of the subcommittee’s meeting, House Organic Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Hanna (R-NY), DeFazio (D-OR), and Kind (D-WI), sent a bipartisan letter to the subcommittee Chair Jack Kingston (R-GA) and Ranking Member Sam Farr (D-CA) stressing the importance of investing in programs that support the strong growth in the organic sector. The letter highlighted the Organic Transitions Integrated Research Program, the National Organic Program, the Organic Production and Market Data Initiatives, and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.  Thirty-six members of Congress signed the letter, and Reps. Cardoza (D-CA) and Fortenberry (R-NE) submitted separate letters in support of the same slate of programs. 

Research programs were heavily cut, although the Organic Transitions Integrated Research Program did not experience additional cuts and survived at $4 million.  The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program was cut by $3 million, but the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (also known as ATTRA) which was -- to the organic and sustainable farming community's horror -- eliminated in March, was restored at two-thirds of its most recent funding level, resulting in a collective sigh of relief.

The National Organic Program was kept at current funding –- almost $7 million -- although this is below the program’s need to keep pace with the strong growth in the organic sector.

Conservation programs took an enormous cut of over $1 billion.  The Conservation Stewardship Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Wetlands Reserve Program all would experience significant cuts that will negatively impact efforts to improve farmers' practices and to enhance environmental services such as clean water, better soil quality, and increased biodiversity.

The full committee considered and approved the bill on May 31, and there is a chance that the full House will vote on the bill in mid to late June.  Ahead of the full committee meeting, OFRF joined a letter with 46 other organizations opposing an amendment that would have completely cut funding for certain competitive research programs, including the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (a top priority for OFRF), and channeled the money to funding for land grant universities. The amendment ultimately was not offered for consideration, but it is likely given the extremely tight budget environment that similar amendments will be offered in the future. 

If the bill passes the full House, then it will have to be reconciled with the Senate’s version of the bill.  The Senate schedule for determining 2012 funding levels is unclear and is well behind the House schedule. 

The budget pressures to cut programs that serve organic farmers will only intensify as the funding debate continues.

To find out what you can do to support funding for programs that serve organic farmers, sign up to receive OFRF’s action alerts.