Stevenson, Washington
June 5, 2009
In a message to attendees of the
third annual Organic
Summit on Thursday, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan
pledged that organic will be integrated across all agencies at
USDA. Delivering pre-recorded comments, Merrigan stated that,
“here is where I’d like to fulfill a promise I made to many of
you…and that is, organic should be integrated across all the
agencies, not just the NOP, but each and every agency at USDA
should have some engagement with the organic sector.” In
addition to the integration, Merrigan said, “Organic can no
longer be stove-piped at USDA.”
The Deputy Secretary provided an overview of the organic policy
trajectory at USDA, which included the organic provisions in the
2008 Farm Bill. She praised the
Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) for its work in
garnering strong support for organic from “both sides of the
aisle.” She also noted the upcoming deadline of June 17, 2009
for the Organic Production Survey -- the first ever wide-scale
survey of organic farming in the United States. Information from
the survey will be used to shape policy and priorities with an
eye toward helping small organic producers grow their operations
into mid-sized farms and ranches.
“This kind of data will help us do more at USDA and help us in
conversations with members of Congress to talk about the organic
need,” said Merrigan. She urged the organic community to
encourage full survey participation among organic producers.
Commenting further on the future of organic policy within USDA,
Merrigan said she was confident the US will have a historic
Canadian equivalency agreement in the near future that is
beneficial for both producers and consumers.
Next on the horizon for the National Organic Program (NOP) is an
era of strong enforcement, said Merrigan. Referring to the roots
of the NOP in 1989, Merrigan expressed the need to match the
rules of the NOP to ensure compliance. “We spent a lot of time
developing standards, and now let’s make sure they have the
teeth and that they are followed and adhered to,” said Merrigan.
Bob Scowcroft, Executive Director of OFRF, thanked the Deputy
Secretary for taking time out of her schedule for a very
informative presentation to the Organic Summit attendees. He
reminded the attendees that, “she can only succeed if we hold up
our end of the organic bargain.”
Jylle Lardaro, Director – Organic Industry from New Hope Natural
Media and the co-chair of the Organic Summit, expressed
appreciation to the Deputy Secretary for her acknowledgment of
the considerable contribution made by Organic Summit attendees –
whom she referred to as “the organic brain trust” -- and for her
recognition of New Hope Natural Media and OFRF for bringing them
together.
The video recording of the Deputy Secretary will be posted at
www.theorganicsummit.com and
www.ofrf.org on Tuesday, June 9, 2009.
The Organic Summit is produced by New Hope Natural Media, a
division of Penton Media, in partnership with the Organic
Farming Research Foundation. New Hope Natural Media (www.newhope.com),
a division of the Penton Media, Inc., is the leading media
resource and information provider for the natural, organic and
healthy products industry with print, in-person/event, and
e-business products and services. Penton Media, Inc. is the
largest independent business-to-business media company in the
U.S., serving more than six million business professionals every
month. The company's market-leading brands are focused on 30
industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150
industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500
information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the
privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S.
Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein
& Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on
the company and its businesses, visit
www.penton.com.
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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