*MEDIA STATEMENT*
The Organic Trade Association strongly supports the Organic Dairy Data Collection Act, HR 6937, legislation introduced by Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Marcus Molinaro (R-NY) to require the Agriculture Department to provide better and more useful national and regional organic dairy data collecting and reporting. This type of data has long been available to conventional dairy farmers, and domestic organic dairy farmers also need to have access to such information.
Farmers, like all business managers, depend on solid and trustworthy data to make decisions. With continued fluctuations in market conditions from global events, weather, and a huge array of factors impacting organic dairy farmers, it is important for producers, stakeholders, and USDA to have access to accurate data. The Organic Trade Association is grateful for the vision and work of Reps. Pingree and Molinaro in introducing this important legislation and looks forward to working with the sponsors in the House of Representatives to ensure passage.
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About the Organic Trade Association
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing more than 10,000 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA's Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA's mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace.