On Thursday, June 28, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) released all 12 of the Committee’s spending bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 – a departure from the panel’s normal process of debating the measures separately. The committee recommended a $2.3 billion (or 9%) increase in spending on the agriculture bill (which funds USDA and FDA) over FY 2022, which ends September 30. If adopted, this would bring total spending to $27.1 billion for FY 2023. The Senate bills will now move to the full Senate for passage, after which point the Senate and House bills (the House passed their bill on July 20, 2022) must be conferenced before heading to the President’s desk.
National Organic Program
The Senate Appropriations Committee (“the Committee”) has provided the National Organic Program (NOP) with $22.2 million in discretionary funding for FY 2023, which is $2.2 million more than last year’s funding levels and $600,000 less than the House appropriated. The Committee also included key report language similar to language requested by OTA that will enhance oversight and improve transparency in NOP’s performance and budget expenditures. The report language (also included in the House bill) will ensure that NOP implements provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill related to oversight of the global organic supply chain, including the creation of a standardized electronic import certificate. The Committee incorporated OTA recommended language instructing NOP to provide details on the status of the $5 million in mandatory funding provided by the 2018 Farm Bill for NOP technology upgrades.
The Committee report language is as follows:
“The Committee provides $22,261,000 for the National Organic Program [NOP]. A healthy market for organic products requires a clear product distinction backed by a trusted, verified, and enforced label. The Committee recognizes that the NOP, which enforces the organic regulations and ensures they evolve to keep pace with consumer expectations, is essential. In light of recent reports of inadequate enforcement of organic standards, the Committee directs USDA to provide all resources needed for the NOP to deliver the strongest possible oversight before allowing the USDA organic seal to be granted to domestic and international operations and products, including a continued focus on proactive risk-based investigations and oversight, enhanced training for certifiers, and standards development. In addition, the Committee requests that the National Organic Program provide a full report outlining the breakdown of key expenditures such as compliance and enforcement activities and standards development, as well as technology upgrades.”
NOP is responsible for developing and enforcing consistent national standards for organically produced agricultural products sold in the United States and is a top priority for the Organic Trade Association (OTA). NOP also accredits third-party organizations to certify that farms and businesses meet the national organic standards.
Organic Transition Research Program
The Committee appropriated $7.5 million for the Organic Transitions Research, Education, and Extension (ORG) program for FY 2023, level funding from FY 2022. This is half a million more than the House appropriated and $2.5 million less than OTA recommended. Demand for organic continues to outpace our ability to produce in the United States; without a significant investment in organic research and transition, the industry will be unable to achieve its full potential and help producers bring in higher premiums for practices that better protect people and planet. OTA will continue to advocate for $10 million in ORG funding in the final FY 2023 bill.
The Senate bill also includes report language directing the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (the agency that administers ORG) to use the additional $500,000 provided by the Senate “to focus specifically on research topics related to the role of organic agriculture with regard to climate change.” Additionally, the Senate included the following report language instructing NIFA to better prioritize organic within other research programs:
“USDA’s National Organic Standards Board [NOSB] has identified key organic research priorities, many of which would help to address challenges that have limited the growth in organic production in this country. The Committee encourages NIFA to give strong consideration to the NOSB organic research priorities when crafting the fiscal year 2023 Request for Applications for AFRI and the Organic Transition Program. Given the growing demand for organic products, the Committee also encourages USDA to increase the number of organic research projects funded under AFRI and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.”
ORG helps farmers fill knowledge gaps and overcome barriers to transitioning to certified organic in order to become successful organic producers. ORG provides critical grant funding to colleges and universities conducting research that helps organic producers become more competitive and better understand the economic and environmental benefits of organic production.
Organic Data Initiative
The Organic Production and Market Data Initiatives (ODI) received flat funding at $1 million from the Senate Appropriations Committee, in line with OTA’s request. OTA urges Congress to adopt the Senate’s funding levels in the final, conferenced bill.
The Committee’s report language directs the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to coordinate with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to improve tracking and transparency in organic. The report language is as follows:
“The Committee recognizes that accurate data for the production, pricing, and marketing of organic products is essential to maintaining stable markets, identifying fraud, creating risk management tools, tracking production trends, and increasing exports. Therefore, the Committee directs the Secretary to require mandatory reporting on an annual basis by accredited certifying agents on aggregate production areas certified by crop and location in order to accurately calculate organic acreage and yield estimates on a country-by-country basis. The Committee provides $500,000 for AMS to coordinate with NASS for activities related to expanding organic price reporting and organic data collection.”
ODI helps to fill the gap in organic data by funding basic informational collection activities on organic agriculture. USDA’s NASS, AMS, and Economic Research Service participate in ODI to provide much-needed organic sector statistics, economic reports, and prices.
Organic Certification Cost-Share Program
The Organic Certification Cost-Share Program (OCCSP) was not provided with any discretionary funding for FY 2023 by the Senate Appropriations Committee, nor the House. OTA requested $5 million in FY 2023 discretionary funding to cover the popular program's funding shortfalls. Given the high demand for organic products and current supply challenges, we will continue to urge Congress to prioritize making organic certification more accessible by providing adequate funding for programs like OCCSP in the final FY 2023 bill. OCCSP is able to operate without discretionary funds by leveraging $40.5 million in new and carried over mandatory funding provided by 2018 Farm Bill; the farm bill makes these funds available from FY 2019-FY 2023.
The Committee included the following in their report language:
“The Committee directs the Farm Service Agency to brief the Committee within 90 days of enactment of this act on actions being taken to correct the accounting error that caused National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program [OCCSP] and other Farm Bill program reimbursements to be cut below mandated levels.”
OCCSP provides cost share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products who are obtaining or renewing their organic certification under NOP. OCCSP makes organic certification accessible to a diverse range of organic producers who may not otherwise have the resources to obtain or retain federal certification.
Report Language Roundup
In addition to clarifying language on the aforementioned programs, the Senate Appropriations Committee included the following guidance related to organic programs and/or practices.
Organic Dairy: “The Committee recognizes the importance of consumer confidence in the integrity of the USDA Organic Seal and notes the work that USDA has done to increase training and certifier consistency with respect to dairy operations. The Committee directs AMS to seek strong enforcement of organic dairy production standards and resolve significant variations in standard interpretation that exists among organic certifiers, as well as among organic dairy producers. AMS shall continue to conduct critical risk-based oversight, particularly for large, complex dairy operations, as it has in the past four fiscal years.”
Soil Health: “The national organic standards require farmers that voluntarily chose to certify their operation as meeting organic practices to use farming practices that improve soil health, such as crop rotations, cover cropping, and pasture-based livestock practices. By improving soil health, these farming practices also increase the carbon sequestration potential of the soil, and improve the farm’s resilience to extreme weather events and patterns. To maximize the climate benefits of organic agriculture, the Committee urges the National Organic Program to increase enforcement efforts to ensure full compliance with the soil health and pasture requirements of USDA organic standards.”
Cover Crops Research and Outreach: “The Committee recognizes the importance of developing profitable and practicable cover crop options for use in dairy, grain, and vegetable production systems, including for use in no-till organic systems and as forages. Therefore, the Committee provides an additional $1,000,000 to support research with the purposes of improving measures of soil health and resiliency; varietal development; optimal dairy forage species combinations; timing and strategies for cover crop seeding and termination; forage integration into organic dairy systems; and mitigation of environmental and extreme rainfall impacts on water quality and soil security for diverse cover crop systems.”
Small Fruits: “The Committee recognizes the need to support research to promote sustainable and organic production of berry and grape crops with the goal of reducing pesticide use and improving quality and yield. The Committee provides an additional $1,000,000 to support research to improve the ability to forecast pest and disease spread, implement precision management strategies, and improve the overall quality of fruit.”
Organic Data Analysis: “The organic industry has grown at a tremendous rate over the past several years and accurate data for the production, pricing, and marketing of organic products is essential. Therefore, the Committee encourages the Economic Research Institute to continue and expand the efforts relating to organic data analysis.”