Santa Cruz, California
May 27, 2008
U.S. Congress makes substantial
“down payment” toward a fair share for organic agriculture
research
America’s ten thousand organic
farmers have won a strong commitment to organic systems
research, according to the Organic
Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). “With the override of
the President’s veto and final passage of the 2008 Farm Bill,
Congress has made a substantial down payment toward a fair share
of federal funding for organic agriculture,” said Steve Ela, an
organic tree fruit grower from Colorado and President of OFRF.
OFRF led the fight for increased organic research, education and
extension funding, which proved to be the biggest win for
organic farming in the legislation. The 2008 Farm Bill provides
$78 million for organic agriculture research and education, an
historic five-fold increase from the $15 million allocated in
the expiring 2002 legislation. These funds will dramatically
expand competitive grants for the development and sharing of
organic farming systems information through the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Integrated Organic Program. Such an expansion
is urgently needed to ensure that organic farmers and ranchers
can continue to meet the growing demand for organic products and
be successful stewards of their land.
While this increase is another major landmark for U.S. organic
agriculture, it is still not a “fair share” of public investment
in this area, according to OFRF. The new funding represents
approximately 1% of USDA’s research budget – well behind organic
products’ nearly 4% share of the U.S. retail food market.
“U.S. producers need far greater science-based information
resources than they currently have, in order to support the
nation’s desire for healthier food and farming systems,” noted
OFRF Executive Director Bob Scowcroft. “With this bill, Congress
has made progress toward fulfilling organic agriculture’s
potential to provide broad environmental and economic benefits
along with the sustained harvests needed to feed us all.
Matching federal resources to the organic share of the
marketplace is the next step, and we will continue working
towards that.”
Congressional Champions
Congressional support for organic research was led by Senator
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Iowa dairy farmer and OFRF
board member Francis Thicke said, “Chairman Harkin was a true
champion for organic agriculture in this bill, and we owe him
great thanks. He has seen first-hand what organic farming has
meant to family farmers in Iowa, and it is part of his vision
for U.S. agriculture.”
Another key leader on the bill was California Representative
Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced). As chair of the newly created House
Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic
Agriculture, Cardoza was crucial to formulating the initial
organic provisions in the bill and preserving these gains
through its final passage. OFRF board member John Teixeira, an
organic grower in Rep. Cardoza’s district, noted that “Dennis
has a lot of organic farmers in his district, and he helped make
sure we were heard and respected in the process.”
Other champions for organic agriculture in the Farm Bill process
included Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), New York Representative
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Saratoga Springs) and Wisconsin
Representative Steve Kagen (D-Green Bay). Congress’s two
certified organic farmers, California Representative Mike
Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Senator John Tester (D-MT), do not
serve on the Agriculture Committees but played helpful
supporting roles.
In addition, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and New Jersey
Representative Rush Holt (D-West Windsor) successfully led the
opposition to a harmful provision that could have limited the
USDA’s ability to reward the use of organic farming systems for
conservation goals.
Key Role of Farmers
Organic family farmers played a direct role in advocating for
changes in federal farm policy thanks to OFRF’s Organic Farmers
Action Network (OFAN). According to Scowcroft, “The direct
relationships that organic farmers established with their
legislators played a key role in achieving these gains. Both at
home in the districts and during visits to Washington, D.C., the
growers made a strong case for the benefits of supporting
organic agriculture, family farmers and local food systems.”
OFRF expects organic growers to continue to play an important
role in monitoring and advising the implementation of the bill,
and OFAN will help them to do so. “Passing the 2008 Farm Bill is
only the first step of delivering organic systems knowledge to
both organic producers and conventional producers who want to
farm more sustainably. Organic farmers will be working with each
USDA agency as they integrate organic food and farming into
their programs,” said Mark Lipson, OFRF’s Senior Policy Analyst.
Other Organic Wins
In addition to the increased research, education and extension
funding, the 2008 Farm Bill addresses other factors that are
limiting organic production in the U.S., including:
• providing $5 million for
collection of economic data about organic production and
markets;
• providing $22 million to offset part of farmers’ organic
certification costs;
• taking steps to eliminate bias against organic growers in
crop insurance programs;
• establishing financial and technical support for
conversion to organic production.
“All of the parts of the organic
policy package are important,” said Lipson, “and we want to
thank the Agriculture Committees’ leaders and all our supporters
in Congress for making progress on many of them with this Farm
Bill.”
Ela expressed the sense of purpose
that he and many other organic growers feel: “It’s not just
about supporting organic farmers,” he said. “Organic research
has already demonstrated important benefits for consumers and
the environment, from reducing pesticide contamination in
children’s diets to conserving the health of pollinators. It can
make a huge contribution to storing carbon in living soil. Added
investment in more and better organic farming practices is part
of solving many of the urgent issues we all face.”
For details on 2008 Farm Bill provisions related to organic
agriculture, go to
http://ofrf.org/policy/federal_legislation/farm_bill/080520_update.pdf
The Organic Farming Research Foundation was founded in 1990
to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic
farming systems. OFRF sponsors organic farming research and
education projects, disseminates the results to organic farmers
and to growers interested in adopting organic production
systems, and educates the public and policymakers about organic
farming issues. The majority of OFRF’s board members are working
organic farmers. |
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