April 2024 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director More Organic Development Grants Awarded The Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) program supports the development of new and expanded organic markets to help increase the consumption of domestic organic agricultural commodities. The program focuses on building and expanding capacity for certified organic production, aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, distribution, and development of consumer markets. Last month, USDA announced a second round of funding through the program that will provide $40.5 million fo ..read more

Pryor Garnett (Garnetts Red Prairie Farm) is a long-time member of OFA and the current Governing Council President. April’s Member Spotlight belongs to OFA’s newly elected Governing Council President, Pryor Garnett of Garnetts Red Prairie Farm in Sheridan, Oregon. Like all good farmer stories, Pryor’s starts with a twist. Despite being a farm owner since 2009 and farming himself since 2016, Pryor still calls himself a beginning farmer. That’s because Pryor spent most of his career before farming as a patent lawyer. While Pryor was a dedicated gardener for many years, he always thought he’d be ..read more

Policy, Farmer Services, and Communications Interns Explore Organic Careers This spring, Organic Farmers Association welcomed three interns to the team to learn, contribute, and experience organic agriculture advocacy in action. As a part of the Organic Career Network (OCN), OFA has set a goal to increase diversity and equity in the organic sector including support for the exploration of career opportunities in the industry. OCN connects organic organizations to underrepresented students who are interested in exploring career pathways in the organic industry. The OCN aims to provide students ..read more

This month’s member spotlight is on Scott Myers of Woodlyn Acres Farm in Dalton, Ohio. Scott is a 4th generation farmer who didn’t start out in farming, but rather as a vocal music major at OSU before changing his major to economics. Scott Myers after meeting with his Congressman’s office during the 2023 OFA Farmer Fly-In. That was a wise choice as Scott’s studies helped him solve the puzzle of how to help make his family’s farm more profitable, and the answer was in hay. Wayne County, where Scott’s farm is located, is the largest dairy area in the state, and where there’s dairy, there should ..read more

Noah Wendt, Kate Mendenhall, and a staffer for Senator Chuck Grassley’s office during the 2024 Farmer Fly-In. This Month’s Member Spotlight is Noah Wendt of A&W Farms in Cambridge, Iowa. Noah is a first generation farmer who, while he didn’t grow up on a farm himself, was always interested in the crops and livestock he saw his extended family grow and raise. Noah was pushed by family not to go into the volatile agriculture business as a farmer, so he did the next best thing—he went to ag business school. Regardless of his parents’ attempts, Noah was drawn back to try his hand at production ..read more

March 2024 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Agriculture Appropriations Bill Passes After more than five months of extensions, Congress has passed a $459 billion 6-bill funding package that includes the Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration bills. Passage of the legislation follows months of debate and Congress must still pass a second spending bundle that includes military, health, education, and labor programs by March 22. Overall, agriculture programs received a “haircut.” While funding remained nearly flat for many organic-specific programs, organic farmers will still feel the ..read more

Organic Farmers Association Heads to Washington, D.C. to Advocate for Farm Bill Policies  Members and staff of the Organic Farmers Association will be in the nation’s capital March 4-7 to meet with representatives in the House and Senate, as well as staff on the House and Senate Agriculture committees, to advocate for Farm Bill policies and their potential impact on the organic farming community. This influential year marks the reauthorization of the Farm Bill, a piece of extensive agricultural legislation that is updated every five years and has a major impact on food and farming systems ..read more

February 2024 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Agriculture Appropriations Deadline Postponed Again Last fall, Congress passed a resolution to extend a short-term government funding patch through the new year, and to extend the Farm Bill until September of 2024. But last month, lawmakers were again unable to reach agreement on the annual appropriations process and passed another extension for funding bills. The new deadline for the agriculture bill is March 1—just days before OFA’s annual Farmer Fly-in to D.C. It’s too soon to say if they will be able to make a deal by then. Either way, OFA wil ..read more

Have you heard this one before? The farmer delivers product to a buyer and expects payment 30 days later. A check arrives in the mail a month later; the farmer cashes it. And then….bankruptcy. The next thing our farmer pulls out of the mailbox is a clawback letter, demanding that she give the money back!  Can this outrageous scenario possibly be legal? It’s as alarming as it is legal. But, farmers don’t have to be the victims. There are proactive steps a farmer can take to mitigate the impact a buyer bankruptcy might have on their operation. Let’s explore the legal details through a diffe ..read more

December 2023 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Appropriations Package Delayed Again Last month, Congress passed a resolution to extend a short-term government funding patch through the new year, and to extend the Farm Bill until September of 2024. The Farm Bill extension includes funding for all programs, including organic certification cost-share and other programs that were at risk due to a lack of baseline funding.  Now, lawmakers must pass 2024 funding bills. This large package of bills has been divided into two tranches with different deadlines. Agriculture spending is in the earlier ..read more