Reintroduced OSRI Act Would Strengthen Organic Agriculture and U.S. Farming Futures

Written by OFRF staff.

We at OFRF are excited that Senators John Fetterman (PA) and Adam Schiff (CA) are leading the reintroduction of the Organic Science and Research Investment (OSRI) Act, joined by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Angus King (I-ME)! This legislation comes at a pivotal moment for organic agriculture, and it is backed by strong grassroots support. More than 80 farms, businesses, and organizations from across the United States have signed a new letter organized by OFRF in support of OSRI’s reintroduction.

The OSRI Act is timely and transformative legislation that lays the groundwork for a more resilient, economically vibrant, and science-driven food system. It delivers targeted investments into organic agricultural research, helping address one of the sector’s most pressing challenges: the rise in organic imports. 

The U.S. organic market is expanding rapidly, but the research and data systems supporting it have not kept pace. Without adequate support, U.S. consumers will continue to rely on imported organic products, causing American farmers to miss out. That means we are not only exporting market opportunities, but also the price premiums that should be flowing to U.S. producers and the communities that support them. The OSRI Act is a strategic response that helps reverse this trend and puts those opportunities back in the hands of American farmers.

What’s in the Organic Science and Research Investment Act?

This bill would make strategic investments into USDA-funded and -conducted organic agriculture research, better equipping farmers to meet the growing demand for organic products and keep organic dollars circulating in rural and regional economies.

The OSRI Act does this by strengthening federal commitments to organic agriculture through:

  • Creating the Coordinating and Expanding Organic Research Initiative at the USDA to assess and efficiently expand the agency’s organic research portfolio.
  • Formally authorizing the Organic Transition Research Program to support farmers transitioning to organic practices, and renaming the program to the Researching the Transition to Organic Program (RTOP).
  • Doubling Farm Bill support for the Organic Production and Market Data Initiative to improve market transparency, help inform targeted market development investments, and improve risk management tools.
  • Directing the USDA’s Economic Research Service to evaluate the full economic, ecological, and community impacts of organic agriculture.

At a time when food security and economic resilience are more important than ever, the OSRI Act helps ensure that U.S. producers, not foreign suppliers, are meeting the needs of American consumers.

Investing in Resilience and Rural Opportunity

Every dollar invested in agricultural research returns $20 to the U.S. economy. The USDA’s current investments into organic agricultural research are less than 2% of their total budget, while organic products make up over 6% of all U.S. food sales and over 15% of all U.S. produce sales. The OSRI Act is designed to course-correct this imbalance, ensuring that public investment better reflects the growing role of organic agriculture in our food system and economy.

By supporting organic research, these Senators are investing in resource-efficient, resilient, and economically sustainable farming systems that benefit all producers. Organic practices like cover cropping, crop diversification, and biological pest management reduce input costs, improve soil health, and conserve water, delivering both environmental and financial returns. Many of these practices, first advanced through organic research funded through these programs, are now widely adopted in conventional systems for their proven effectiveness. That means investments in organic science don’t just benefit organic growers; they offer value to the entire agricultural sector by broadening the toolbox for resilient, low-input farming strategies.

Without dedicated public funding, though, organic producers are left without regionally tailored research, technical assistance, or access to evolving best practices. The OSRI Act directs strategic investments into programs that meet organic farmers’ unique needs, while expanding access to tools that benefit all farmers.

This legislation also strengthens the research pipeline by signaling to universities, research institutions, and young scientists that organic agriculture is a national research priority. With clearer funding pathways and institutional support, early-career researchers can pursue long-term, impactful projects in organic systems—building a legacy of innovation that spans generations.

In short, the OSRI Act ensures that our public research infrastructure is inclusive, forward-looking, and working harder for farmers, rural communities, and the broader U.S. economy.

Centering Farmers, Backed by Science

One of the most important aspects of the OSRI Act is its commitment to farmer-led research. The OSRI Act prioritizes agricultural science that begins on the ground in partnership with the people who know farming best: the farmers themselves.

Through OREI and the RTOP programs, the OSRI Act requires researchers to collaborate directly with farmers. This participatory model ensures that real-world challenges shape research questions and that the solutions developed are practical, locally relevant, and readily adoptable on farms of all sizes and types. This participation is not symbolic, either; it is structured, resourced, and compensated. Nearly all of the farmers who have historically participated in OREI projects have been compensated for their participation. The OSRI Act builds on the existing trust between researchers and communities, while also incentivizing future connections. 

In addition to supporting farmer-led work, the OSRI Act embraces knowledge systems that are too often overlooked. Importantly, this bill explicitly broadens research priorities within OREI to include Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This is a crucial step toward honoring and integrating indigenous and place-based knowledge systems into USDA’s research portfolio. In practice, this means that farmers and stewards who hold this generational agronomic knowledge are not treated as collaborators, but as co-creators of agricultural science. 

Put simply, the OSRI Act ensures that organic agriculture research isn’t just happening in isolation on research farms but that it’s happening with real farmers, in real conditions, with real impact.

Get Involved

The reintroduction of the OSRI Act is a hopeful and strategic step toward rebalancing our food system. By investing in research that is grounded in science, rooted in farmer experience, and aligned with public demand, this bill helps reclaim the economic, ecological, and innovative potential of organic production here at home. At a time when we urgently need to build resilient farming systems, stronger rural economies, and a more secure domestic food supply, the OSRI Act offers a group of solutions.  

Want to know if your Senator is a co-sponsor or ready to help make the ask for them to join? Reach out to Gordon Merrick, Senior Policy & Programs Manager, at gordon@ofrf.org.

Together, we can ensure that the next Farm Bill invests in the kind of research that grows opportunity for farmers, eaters, and the researchers that empower both.

 

Note: OFRF led support for this legislation when it was first introduced in 2023. You can read more about the bill’s original launch and endorsements here.