The Organic Trade Association (OTA) today called the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2007 Farm Bill proposals for organic agriculture a good step in the right direction but cautioned that organic farmers need more resources to meet the needs of domestic and worldwide markets.

"While organic farmers and the rest of the organic business community appreciate being mentioned in the proposal, organic farmers need a Farm Bill that reflects a farm-to-table strategy," said Caren Wilcox, OTA's Executive Director.

"OTA proposed a comprehensive plan to integrate organic production into USDA's many programs," Wilcox said. "Organic farmers need access to the same resources that conventional farmers receive from USDA. The Department acknowledged a few of those needs today, recommending market data and price collection efforts that will bring information about organic agriculture and trade closer to parity with information given to conventional farmers."

For example,

• Each week USDA publishes the wholesale prices of a long list of commodities, fruits, and vegetables - but only those conventionally grown.

• USDA also collects trade data, how much of each crop is imported and exported and at what price. But, again, only for conventional crops.

"Such information, considered basic for today's savvy farm businesses, is not available to growers of organic crops, the vast majority of whom are small, family-run operations," Wilcox said.

Furthermore, USDA called for a small increase in cost-share support for current organic farmers, but appeared to offer little technical assistance to enhance transition from conventional farming to organic.

The OTA plan focuses on four priorities:

1) Fostering transition to organic agriculture and trade by providing technical assistance to aid in the conversion of farmland from conventional to organic;

2) Eliminating hurdles to organic agriculture and trade by creating appropriate risk management tools and developing an organic export policy and strategy;

3) Initiating and funding organic agriculture and economic research as privately funded research is limited, and there is much to be learned about the fundamentals of organic production; and

4) Maintaining and enhancing current agency programs so the National Organic Program (NOP) can keep pace with the growing organic sector. Credibility of the organic standard is critical to the organic industry, and that credibility will be either enhanced or short-circuited by the actions of the NOP.

USDA today proposed spending $61 million for organic agriculture over 10 years, whereas OTA has called for that amount and more to be included in each year of the coming Farm Bill.

"USDA's proposal is a first step, and the Organic Trade Association looks forward to working with Congress to advance organic agriculture even further in the 2007 Farm Bill. A few of OTA's requests were included in this proposal, and for organic farmers to be most successful, OTA will keep working for more," said Wilcox.

The mission of the Organic Trade Association is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy. OTA envisions organic products becoming a significant part of everyday life, enhancing people's lives and the environment. As a membership-based business association, OTA focuses on the organic business community in North America. OTA's nearly 1,550 members include farmers, processors, importers, exporters, distributors, retailers, certifiers, and more.