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What’s Happening In Organic Ag
Production?? Feb 14-March 1, 2007
IT”S
NOT TOO LATE TO GO TO THE MICHIGAN ORGANIC
CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY MOFFA. SAT MARCH 3 8:30-6 PM IN EAST LANSING
GO TO WWW.MOFFA.ORG TO SEE THE AGENDA, FEATURING
ELIZABETH HENDERSON, FROM PEACEWORK FARM IN NY AND JEFF Moyer from Rodale
Research Institute in PA.
1. New
MSU Organic Production WEB site, “Organic Farming Exchange”.!!!!!
Please take a few minutes to check out this NEW
resource for farmers like you. The goal of offering this site is to put
information of interest to you at your fingertips-from events to practical
production information. Go to www.michiganorganic.msu.edu
and let me know what I can do to improve the site and make it more useful for
you.
Thanks and remember-Keep your spades up and your feet
done because spring IS coming.
Vicki Morrone
Organic vegetable and field crop production outreach
specialist.
News on the Upcoming Farm Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 28,
2007
Media Contact:
Scott Kuschmider (202)
225-1496
2.
Subcommittee Reviews USDA Farm Bill Proposals for Specialty Crops and Organic
Agriculture
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today,
the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic
Agriculture held a hearing to review the U.S.
Department of
Agriculture's proposals for specialty crops and organic agriculture in the 2007
Farm Bill. Congressman Dennis Cardoza of California is Chairman of the
Subcommittee.
"Many of the crops
covered by this subcommittee have waited far too long to become part of federal
farm programs," Chairman Cardoza said. "Specialty crops comprise a
substantial percentage of American agriculture, but receive far less than their
fair share in federal support. We must look for resourceful and innovative
ways to weave non-traditional commodities into existing programs and create new
ones that suit the unique needs of these industries."
"Fruits and
vegetables are a large and important segment of American agriculture. As this
Subcommittee begins its work on the 2007 Farm Bill, I look forward to hearing
input from producers to determine how any new funding that might be available
would provide the most benefit for the specialty crop sector," said
Ranking Member Randy Neugebauer of Texas.
The subcommittee heard
testimony from U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner.
Deputy Secretary Conner answered questions from subcommittee members about the
specialty crop title to the USDA 2007 Farm Bill proposals the agency released
on January 31.
The Horticulture and
Organic Agriculture Subcommittee will be one of six House Agriculture
subcommittees involved in reauthorization of farm programs in the Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill authorizes commodity support, agricultural trade, marketing, food
assistance, and rural development policies over several years. The current farm
bill was written in 2002, and many of the provisions in that bill will expire
in September of 2007.
Deputy Secretary Conner's
opening statement is available on the Committee website at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html
A full transcript of the
hearing will be posted on the Committee website in
4-6 weeks.
ORGANIC
FARMING INITIATIVES
Recommendation in Brief
Re-authorize and expand the Organic Certification Cost Share Program and
provide
funding for organic farming research and comprehensive market price information
gathering. These organic farming initiatives total $61 million in additional
funding over
10 years.
Problem
There is increased demand for organic supply and more farmers are interested in
transitioning from traditional farming to organic farming but barriers exist.
The
requirements to be certified organic are lengthy and can be quite costly,
especially for
small farmers. In addition, a key deterrent to transition is the lack of solid
production and
market data to inform farmers, processors, wholesalers and retailers about the
supply of
key organic commodities and pricing data for those commodities.
Organic food consumption now constitutes about 2.5 percent of the food market.
Retail
organic sales are currently at $15 billion and growing by about 15-20 percent
annually.
U.S. sales of organic food and fiber now constitute one of the fastest growing
segments
of U.S. agriculture.
Organic farmers, just like traditional farmers, are also looking for
opportunities in the
global market place. More and more trading partners are seeking organic
certification
recognition to gain access to the U.S. organic consumer market.
Finally, with rapid growth in the organic market comes an inevitable increase
in the
number of alleged violations many due to lack of knowledge about the program
and the
regulations. But a growing number are due to willful attempts to circumvent the
regulations to capture profits at consumers’ expense. In some cases, the
regulations
themselves appear insufficient to support enforcement activity. To address
these
problems, gaps in the regulations must be addressed and compliance and
enforcement
activity must be increased.
Recommended Solution
The Administration proposes enhancing the role of U.S. organic production
agriculture
and organic markets through the following authorities:
1. Increase the cost share program from the current 15 states to all 50 states
and permit
producers and handlers to be eligible. Increase cost share reimbursement from
$500
to $750 maximum or 75 percent of costs incurred, whichever is lowest. This
provision is helpful to small organic farmers who have trouble with the cost of
the
certification. The program should be authorized to expend up to $5 million
annually
in mandatory funding.
2. Reauthorize and fund data collection to identify and publish organic
production and
market data initiatives and surveys. Additionally, authorize and fund
comprehensive
price reporting. Organic farmers and those wishing to transition into organic
farming
lack solid production and market data about the supply of key organic
commodities
as well as pricing data for these commodities. Conventional farmers have access
to
USDA data which they can use to plan crop plantings and make marketing
decisions.
Similar data is not available to organic farmers. The farm bill should
authorize $1
million in mandatory funding to be available until expended for this data
collection
and publication.
3. Invest an additional $10 million in mandatory funding to be available until
expended
for organic research. This new funding would focus on conservation and
environmental outcomes and new and improved seed varieties especially suited for
organic agriculture.
4. Eligibility for the proposed enhanced Environmental Quality Incentives
Program
(EQIP) cost-share assistance would include a broad range of land uses including
organically farmed land. (For further information, see the proposal entitled
Environmental Quality Incentives Program on pages 43 45.)
5. Expand mandatory funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) by $250 million
over 10 years and focus the additional funds on non-program commodities.
Organic
agriculture would be allowed to compete for Market Access Program funding to
help
develop and increase the organic export market. (For further information, see
the
proposal entitled Enhance the Market Access Program on pages 69 70.)
Background
The National Organic Program (NOP) originated with passage of the Organic Foods
Production Act of 1990. The NOP regulations provide voluntary, uniform
marketing
standards for the production and processing of organic products that are to be
labeled as
100 percent organic, organic, or made with organic ingredients, based on their
final organic ingredient content. Essentially, the standards are a set of
sustainable
agricultural production and processing practices, using little or no chemicals,
synthetics,
irradiation, genetically modified organisms, or sewage sludge. All operations
must be
certified, by an accredited USDA certifying agent a private entity licensed by
USDA
that verifies that each operation is producing to the NOP standards. Products
that meet
the standards are eligible to apply a USDA seal, for 100 percent and organic
(95
percent) content product. Additionally, the Certification Cost Share Program
helps defray
the cost of annual organic certification, particularly important to smaller
producers and
processors. Current NOP resources include an annual budget of approximately
$2.3
million.
3.
Bush's farm bill outlines bold move
While environmentalists
applaud some measures, farmers are concerned about financial curbs.
By Amanda Paulson | Staff
writer of The Christian Science Monitor
CHICAGO - The Bush
administration's recent proposals for the next farm bill – due for
reauthorization this fall – have been winning accolades and criticisms
from some surprising quarters.
Environmentalists have
lauded it as an important step in the right direction, even as the largely
Republican agricultural community has met many of its proposals – such as
a plan to scrap subsidies for any farmer with an adjusted gross income of more
than $200,000 a year – with skepticism.
Conservation and energy
programs get a boost in the administration's plan, while several billion
dollars are cut from payments to some of the nation's largest farmers. In
comparison with the 2002 farm bill, the overall bill would spend $10 billion
less over the next five years, according to the Department of Agriculture.
"We have some major
concerns," says Mary Kay Thatcher, director of public policy for the
American Farm Bureau Federation, which bills itself as "the voice of
agriculture." "We're supportive of [conservation, energy, and rural
development] getting additional funding, but we don't think you ought to reduce
farmers' safety net to do that."
One
of the most significant elements of the proposed bill would change the
countercyclical program – the means by which the federal government helps
farmers in an off year. It would go from one that's price-based to one that's
revenue-based. That responds to complaints some farmers have had for years that
they can face, say, a disastrous drought – which lowers supply of a crop
enough that prices go up – and receive no payments.
Vicki Morrone
Organic Vegetable and
Crop Outreach Specialist
Michigan State University
C.S. Mott Sustainable
Food Systems
303 Natural Resources
Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://safs.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
