Washington, DC
December 14, 2007
In a 79 to 14 vote, the U.S.
Senate today approved its version of the Farm Bill that included
funding and direction for key organic priorities, according to
Caren Wilcox, executive director of the
Organic Trade Association
(OTA).
"The Senate Farm Bill includes important steps to help
strengthen the safety net for organic producers and
manufacturers," Wilcox said. "These measures include funding for
organic research, data collection, and transition to organic
production, as well as eliminating the crop insurance premium
for organic producers." Currently, organic producers must pay a
5% surcharge for crop insurance; yet, in times of loss, the
producers receive not the usually higher organic crop price, but
the lower conventional price.
The Senate version of the Farm Bill:
- recognizes that increased
funding is essential for the National Organic Program at the
U.S. Department of Agriculture at the full authorized level;
- includes $5 million for
organic data collection to help provide better price and
yield information for organically-grown crops;
- includes $22 million in
new money for certification cost share to aid organic
farmers;
- bars USDA from charging a
premium surcharge on organic crop insurance, unless
validated by loss history on a crop-by-crop basis;
- adds organic production as
an eligible activity in the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program;
- adds to the Soil and Water
Conservation Protection Loans a priority for those
converting to organic farming practices and adds conversion
to organic production as an eligible loan purpose;
- provides $80 million over
the life of the bill for organic agriculture research and
extension; and
- includes a sense of the
Senate resolution that funding for organic research should
be commensurate with organic agriculture's share of the
market, currently about 3 percent.
"We in the organic community
appreciate all the support we have received for our priorities
in the Senate. Thank you to Chairman Harkin, Senator Leahy, who
led efforts to create a national organic program, and Senator
Chambliss. With their leadership and interest, organic
agriculture and processing will have access to the many federal
programs typically reserved for non-organic production and
processing." Wilcox said.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based
business association for organic agriculture and products in
North America. Its more than 1,650 members include growers,
shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations,
distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and
others. OTA's mission is to promote and protect the growth of
organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public
and the economy. |
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