OFRF Comments to Food and Agricultural Research

Consumer Demand for Organic Products

It is a well-known fact that U.S. consumer demand for organically produced products has grown continuously since USDA established national standards for organic production and processing in 2002.

U.S. organic food sales exceeded $39.1 billion in 2014, up 11.3 percent from the previous year. According to the “United State Organic Food Market Forecast & Opportunities 2018” the US organic food market is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 14% until 2018.

Additional Benefits of Organic Agriculture

In addition, to growing consumer demand for organic food products, increased domestic organic production would improve water and soil quality. USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) studies show that organic farming builds organic soil matter better than conventional no-till farming and water quality is improved by a reduction in non-point source pollution. While U.S. organic exports totaled $537 million in 2013, the value of U.S. organic imports was a staggering $1.4 billion in 2013. Ironically, many of these products such as wine, soybeans and corn could be produced or grown in the United States. With growing consumer demand for organically produced goods, the market is providing economic incentives for U.S. farmers across a broad range of products but barriers to this transition remain due to a lack of research.

Increased Demand for Organic Research

The demand for research on organic agriculture is outpacing the available funds in this program for researchers and the need for information on the part of organic farmers. According to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), only 38% of the applicants to the Organic Transitions Program receive funding. USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has identified a number of organic research priorities that cannot be funded due to a lack of resources. Increased funding for the research priorities identified by NOSB would address some of the issues that limit the growth of the organic industry.

The research topics we would like to highlight:

• Organic and sustainable farmers need access to germplasm that is unique to their management systems and to our changing climate. Unfortunately, in recent years, there have been fewer resources available for development of cultivars through public institutions. In Section 7406 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, the National Research Initiative was merged with the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems to become the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). Congress included language within AFRI to make “conventional” plant and animal breeding a priority for AFRI research grants, consistent with the concerns expressed by the Appropriations Committee in preceding appropriations cycles. Unfortunately, USDA has made only modest progress toward addressing the classical breeding Farm Bill and appropriations directives. We ask that the FFAR place a high priority on classical breeding and public cultivar development within their research programs.
• Based on surveys and meetings conducted by OFRF with organic farmers, there are a number of critical research areas that include: soil quality the biology and microbiology; soil nutrient cycling (including carbon), economic performance of organic systems; crop quality; organic food nutrition; weed population dynamics and management; livestock wellness and disease control.

OFRF has been devoted to the scientific advancement of organic agriculture since 1990, and been a primary partner and integrator of both USDA and the private sector. We believe that FFAR’s emergence marks an auspicious opportunity to continue that role at a new level. We also believe that the organic economic sectors are realizing the need and reaching the capacity to contribute substantially to the types of public-private strategies FFAR should present.

We soon be publicizing and publishing the results of three projects nearing completion related to the state of organic research and the expressed needs of organic farmers and ranchers that will be relevant to your strategic planning. We would be glad to provide next generation research and educational opportunities to FFAR that will fill in gaps from previous governmental and private funding efforts which would lead to improved capacity of the organic industry to fulfill the needs of consumers and producers.

We look forward to continued exchange of priorities, requests and proposals. Thank you for your service in this important new institution.