Download a pdf of this article to read & share. By Harriet Behar The Organic Farmers Association applauds the release of the final Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule, a significant improvement to the USDA organic regulations. All operations will need to be in full compliance by March 2024. Spurred by a few high-profile cases of fraudulent organic sales, this new regulation closes many loopholes and seeks to enhance the quality of organic audits and oversight. Organic farmers will see these changes in the certification process and the organic supply chain, as well as being required to d ..read more

May 2023 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director National Organic Standards Board The NOSB held their spring meeting over 2 weeks in April, starting with 2 days of virtual testimony and followed by an in person meeting in Atlanta, Georgia the following week. Some of the big topics the board discussed included:  A proposal outlining why certified organic producers should automatically be considered climate-smart. Discussion of the realities of crop insurance for organic farmers.  Discussion of the possible use of geolocation technology to aid in deterring fraud. A list of “sunset” materials ..read more

April 2023 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Work on 2024 Spending Bills is Underway Amid heated debate over raising the debt ceiling so that the federal government can continue to run essential programs, Congress is starting the annual process of putting together the “appropriations” bills that set the spending levels for each federal agency, including USDA. Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Subcommittees in both the House and Senate ask members of congress and the public to submit their budget requests for Fiscal Year 2024 in April. OFA submitted test ..read more

March 2023 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Organic Farmers Visit Washington D.C. Last week, members of OFA’s Policy Committee and Governance Committee traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for our Farm Bill priorities. Over the course of the week farmers visited the offices of nearly 50 members of Congress to advocate for policies that will strengthen the National Organic Program and support organic farmers, including the following issues: Organic Integrity Assistance for Organic Dairy Farmers Organic Research Making USDA Programs work for Organic Farmers Climate & Conservation Increas ..read more

February 2023 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Strengthening Organic Enforcement Final Rule Released At Last! National Organic Program enforcement and stopping organic import fraud have been top priorities for Organic Farmers Association members since our founding. After several years of advocacy, the new Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rule was finally released in January, with an implementation date set for March 19, 2024. Our full 2020 comments on the rule can be read here. The final rule is a long overdue step towards the robust enforcement needed to protect the integrity of the or ..read more

January 2023 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Leadership Changes in Congress A divided Congress with narrowly held majorities on both sides means a difficult path for the 2023 Farm Bill.   This month marks the start of the 118th congress, with Republicans narrowly in the majority. Representative Kevin McCarthy (California) was elected House Speaker early on Saturday, on the 15th round of voting. This was the first time in 100 years that multiple rounds of voting were required to elect a House speaker. Because the Republican majority is so slim, just 20 House members on the far right ..read more

December 2022 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director All Midterm Election Results Are Now In One month after the midterm elections we know the final outcome of all the national races. After John Fetterman’s win in Pennsylvania and Rev. Warnock’s victory in the runoff in Georgia, the Democrats will maintain their Senate majority despite Kyrsten Sinema’s recent decision to register as an independent. Meanwhile, Republicans have taken control of the House, but with a smaller majority than they had hoped for. Representative G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania has been elected as the new Chair of the House Agr ..read more

November 2022 By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director Today is Election Day With many tight midterm races around the country, we are expecting changes in the committees working on annual spending bills and the 2023 Farm Bill.  Once the votes have been counted and election results determined, each party will convene conferences in both the Senate and the House to determine their nominees. Whichever party comes away with the majority will appoint the committee chairs, and the percentage of a party’s representation in each chamber will determine how many seats they get on each committee. Then in Ja ..read more

October 18, 2022 Kate Mendenhall, Executive Director RE: General Comments to the NOSB via Webinar Testimony Thank you, NOSB members, for the opportunity to speak before you today.  My name is Kate Mendenhall, I am the Executive Director of the Organic Farmers Association.  OFA represents a strong national voice for domestic certified organic farmers. Today I will be addressing Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification topics. Proposal: NOSB Technical Support:  We have spoken to this point before and support research assistants for NOSB members.  We have concerns about ..read more

On October 7, 2022, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) suspended the warehouse and grain dealer licenses for Global Processing Inc. of Kanawha, Iowa. As a result of this action, Global Processing Inc. shall not operate as a warehouse operator or grain dealer within Iowa until further order of the Department and must surrender any warehouse and grain dealer certificates to the Department.   The company also has grain facilities in Minnesota and Nebraska. Global Processing Inc.’s licenses were suspended in Iowa in accordance with Iowa Code Chapters 203 and ..read more