Contacts:
Mark Lipson, 831-426-6606-o; 408-497-3673-c; mark@ofrf.org
Bob Scowcroft, 831-426-6606-o; 831-239-9099-c; bob@ofrf.org
Steve Ela, 970-872-3488
U.S. House of Representatives Supports Organics in its Farm Bill
$28 Million for Research Recognized as Progress,
But "Fair Share" of Farm Bill Dollars Remains Elusive for Organic Farmers
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (July 30, 2007)—The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives today for its unprecedented support for organic farming in the House version of the 2007 Farm Bill. OFRF worked to secure passage of several important provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill which are critical for increasing U.S. organic farming capacity, including additional funding for organic agriculture research, technical and financial assistance for farmers to transition to organic production, and an increase in funding for offsetting the costs of organic certification. While these gains are significant, they still fall short of the funding needed to ensure that organics get their fair share of Farm Bill dollars.
“OFRF recognizes the leadership of House members whose support for organics reflected real change already taking place in many regions throughout rural America. These provisions give organics a seat at the Farm Bill table,” said Mark Lipson, Policy Program Director for OFRF. “The organic provisions included in the House 2007 Farm Bill mark a historic watershed resulting from the groundwork laid by organizations like OFRF, our coalition partners and organic farmers themselves. While organics are poised to receive a modest increase in mandatory funding in the recently approved Farm Bill, it is still far less than what the market demands.” OFRF for the first time is specifically soliciting proposals for education and outreach projects that are targeted primarily at organic farmers and ranchers. OFRF will also continue to fund research to improve organic production systems.
“The House version of the Farm Bill is a positive step in the right direction. However, we now must turn to the Senate and advocate that a fair share of funding resources be allocated to organic research and education initiatives,” said Steve Ela, a certified organic farmer and Board President of OFRF. “The investment in research, certification cost sharing and education is vital to assist U.S. farmers to develop the knowledge base to meet the demand for organics. While organic producers have been heard and respected in the process of writing this bipartisan bill, they need continued and long term research to stay ahead of the curve and to develop better production systems that can supply the consumers demand for high quality, domestic products.”
Due in large part to the leadership of Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) (chairmen of the full House Agriculture Committee and the newly formed Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, respectively) and other members of the House, the 2007 Farm Bill will help expand research in organic production and help organic farmers continue to meet growing consumer demand for organics. OFRF acknowledges the efforts of two other San Joaquin Valley congressmen, Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who reinforced Cardoza’s organic initiatives on the agriculture subcommittee panel.
Significant organic gains in the House version of the 2007 Farm Bill include:
Working with OFRF, Rep. Cardoza increased and restored funding to $5 million per year in mandatory funding, plus $25 million in discretionary annual appropriations authority for the Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI). OREI will be extended to examine optimal conservation and environmental outcomes for organically-produced agricultural products and to develop new and improved seed varieties that are particularly suited for organic agriculture. While the mandatory funding is an increase of $2 million per year from the 2002 Farm Bill, it falls short of the $15 million per year in mandatory funding which OFRF recommends.
In addition the bill allocates $3 million over five years for the Organic Data Initiative to collect and analyze organic production and market data. This brings the total mandatory funding for research and data collection to $28 million during the life of the bill.
OFRF also thanks Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for her leadership in establishing an Organic Conversion Assistance Program to provide $50 million over the life of the Farm Bill (significantly less than the $50 million per year in mandatory funding recommended by OFRF) in technical and educational assistance to farmers who wish to transition from conventional to organic production, which is a three-year process. Gillibrand's amendment also authorizes financial assistance of up to $10,000 per farmer per year for three years.
OFRF recognizes the efforts of Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI) who introduced a successful amendment urging the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to increase its support for organic research to at least a fair share based on the organic share of the market, including support for the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center to disseminate research results. The current percentage of the USDA-ARS budget that goes towards organic is 1.5 percent, while organic accounts for more than 3 percent of the U.S. retail market and is the fastest growing segment of the food market.
Organics registered another win in a successful amendment introduced by Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN) that makes organic farming practices eligible criteria for Conservation Security Program (CSP) enrollment and creates a streamlined and producer-friendly process for applicants to apply for both organic certification and CSP.
"We feel strongly that the Conservation Security Program is important as the primary USDA conservation program that rewards producers for the provision of ecosystem services, and we believe that CSP should receive full funding for national implementation,” said Bob Scowcroft, Executive Director of OFRF.
The National Organic Certification Cost Share Program helps defray the cost of organic certification for farmers up to 75 percent of the total cost, to a maximum of $750. The program was reauthorized with mandatory funding of $22 million for the life of the Farm Bill, an increase from $5 million provided in the 2002 Farm Bill, but less than the $25 million which OFRF recommended. A separate program, the Agricultural Management Assistance Program, provides $5 million in supplemental funding for organic certification cost-share in 17 states.
The Organic Farming Research Foundation
The Organic Farming Research Foundation was founded in 1990 to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming practices. OFRF will have a complete update and further policy recommendations for the Senate by the end of next week on its Web site: http://ofrf.org
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