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 ACTION ALERTSFarm Bill News June 11, 2013 The Senate's 2013 Farm Bill, passed last night, although not ideal, does include some provisions for organic certification cost share, organic research, market data and organic crop insurance. Certification cost share melds the program that is currently only open to 16 states with the national program. The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, OREI, was funded at $16 million per year, a cut of 20%. (The House ag committee version retains the full $20 million per year funding from the last Farm Bill.) The Organic Production and Market Data Initiative was funded by the Senate bill at $5 million over the life of this farm bill, to provide for segregated market data to aid the organic marketplace. The Senate also tackled crop insurance for organic farmers, mandating that organic producers could insure all their crops at the organic price, not just the few that are currently offered an “organic price selection.” The Senate's bill funds the National Organic Program at the current level, with a onetime $5 million capital investment to modernize and improve their data systems. Late and lame, farm bill finally clears Senate June 2013 June 3, 2013 The full Senate's review of the Senate Agriculture Committee's Farm Bill is expected to wrap up this week. Several amendments are key to organic and sustainable farmers:
To show your support for these amendments, please contact your Senators. The Obama Administration issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on May 20, urging the Senate to make further reductions in crop insurance and commodity subsidies. The SAP also notes strong support for the SNAP program. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has details about the process and timeline for the Farm Bill in both the Senate and House. NSAC also lists activity on all the major amendments to the bill.
May 22, 2013 The Senate is considering two amendments to the Farm Bill that impact organic: 1) Tester Amendment on Classical Plant & Animal Breeding
Senator Jon Tester is introducing this amendment that aims to reinvigorate classical plant and animal breeding and public cultivar development which will improve choices for American farmers and strengthen U.S. agriculture. 2) Leahy/Cowan Amendment for EQIP Payment Limit
The Leahy (D-VT) and Cowan (D-MA) amendment eliminates the separate payment limit in EQIP for farmers participating in the Organic Initiative so that all farmers are subject to the same payment limitations in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This program helps farmers and ranchers pay for resource-saving measures on their farm. Currently, the Organic Initiative in EQIP puts payment limits on organic farmers at a much lower limit than conventional farmers. To show your support for these amendments, please contact your Senators.
May 20, 2013 Senate and House ag committees marked up their versions of the Farm Bill last week. See a recap of key amendments:
May 15, 2013 The Senate Ag Committee's new five-year farm bill includes reforms to commodity subsidies, improvements to crop insurance, and support for programs aimed at beginning farmers and rural development. A number of amendments made it into the bill, including one that ensures access to FSA credit for farmers producing for local and regional markets. The committee's bill also missed some opportunities for organic and beginning farmers, specifically with equalizing payments for organic and transitioning farmers in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Read an analysis of the bill from MOSES' partner in policy, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
The Senate Ag Committee is meeting today to add amendments to its version of the Farm Bill. The House Ag Committee will meet tomorrow. Learn more about what's in these bills. These are the House Ag Committee members that will be marking up their version of the Farm Bill tomorrow. If any of these members are your representative, please make a call or send an email to request support for organic programs in the Farm Bill. The bill before them shortchanges organic programs, including certification cost share. ALABAMA --
May 13, 2013 Now is a great time to contact your legislators about the support you'd like to see in the upcoming Farm Bill. Both the House and Senate agriculture committees are back at work on the 2013 Farm Bill. The marker bills (see April 25 post below) expand opportunities for organic and sustainable farmers, as well as beginning farmers and ranchers. The lack of a farm bill to date has affected funding opportunities for farmers. Funding no longer exists for Organic Certification Cost Share, Value Added Producer Grants, and the Beginning Farmer/Rancher Program. MOSES is working with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to promote passage of this bill. We are also working on reintroducing these funding opportunities in the 2013 farm bill. You can help by sharing with your legislators how lack of these programs has impacted your farm.
April 25, 2013 To call your Member of Congress: To locate your Member on-line:
See Action Alert Archives to understand the path to the 2013 Farm Bill
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