What is happening with the Farm Bill?
Senator Stabenow Releases Farm Bill Text
Earlier this week, the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Stabenow released the full text of her 1,397-page proposed Farm Bill, aligning with the framework she introduced this past May. The bill includes numerous organic provisions that the National Organic Coalition (NOC) has advocated for, including:
Increased reimbursements for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program,
An authorization to continue parts of USDA’s Organic Transition Initiative,
Expanded funding for organic research, and more.
The Push to Finalize the Farm Bill
NOC and other food and farming organizations have been urging Congress to complete the Farm Bill by the end of the year. However, the tight timeline and narrow legislative window in the post-election ‘lame duck’ session make this a challenging goal.
Senator John Boozman, the leading Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, has rejected Senator Stabenow’s proposal and is instead advocating for a second one-year extension of the Farm Bill.
Passing a One-Year Extension
A one-year Farm Bill extension would likely be tied to a year-end stop-gap measure to fund the federal government or any other “must pass” year-end legislation. Since Congress missed the September 30 deadline to pass new funding legislation, the government is currently operating under a ‘continuing resolution’ (CR), which temporarily extends existing funding levels, including those for the USDA, until new legislation is enacted.
Congress is exploring attaching an additional ‘economic farmer assistance’ package to the one-year extension to help farmers affected by recent economic crises. Providing this aid now using emergency budget procedures could ease future Farm Bill negotiations, which will restart in 2025, by addressing some of the most costly and pressing priorities for Agriculture Committee leaders in advance.
Organic Priorites
NOC’s primary goal is to secure funding for vital organic programs that are at risk of expiring. Without Congressional action, programs including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program will lapse, forcing thousands of organic farmers to face significantly higher certification costs.
What Are ‘Orphan’ Programs?
Unlike larger programs that automatically receive funding through Farm Bill extensions, smaller initiatives like the Organic Certification Cost Share Program are sometimes referred to as ‘orphan programs’ because they lack ‘permanent baseline’ funding status.
Other threatened programs include:
The Organic Data Initiative – Essential for collecting data to support organic agriculture.
The Organic Certification Trade and Tracking Program (OCTT) – Provides critical technology systems for the USDA National Organic Program to enforce organic regulations and prevent fraud.
If funding for these programs lapses, it could have devastating consequences for the organic sector.
Take Action: Advocate for Organic Programs
NOC is calling on advocates to take immediate action. Contact your Members of Congress to urge them to protect organic programs in the upcoming Farm Bill extension. This essential funding will lapse without Congressional action, which will raise costs for farmers and could hamper efforts to adequately enforce the organic standards and to address fraud in organic imports.