By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director
Republicans Win White House, Senate
Republicans fared well in the November 5 election with former President Donald Trump winning another term in the White House and a new majority in the Senate. (At the time of writing, control of the House was still undecided.)
With Republican control of the Senate, Senator Boozman (R-AR) is expected to take leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Other committee changes are assured, with Senate Ag Committee member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and House Ag Committee member Marc Molinaro (R-NY) failing to win reelection, and several House races still undecided.
OFA will be tracking further election results and watching for news of possible cabinet nominees in the coming weeks.
With the election behind them, members of congress will have time to return to work on the currently expired Farm Bill. While most Farm Bill programs will continue to operate until the end of the year, there is a growing urgency to pass a new Farm Bill or another extension as soon as possible.
Organic Cost-Share Must Be Protected
The organic certification cost-share program (OCCSP), a vital resource for organic farmers, relies on the Farm Bill for authorization every five years. Because OCCSP is a very small program, cost-share does not have “permanent baseline” funding status. When the 2018 Farm Bill was extended last November, the extension was crafted in a way that preserved funding for cost-share and other so-called “orphan” programs, programs without mandatory baseline funding. If the current Farm Bill is again extended, provisions must be included so that cost share funding is maintained.
Urge Your U.S. Senators to Support the WEATHER Act
This season has brought unprecedented extreme weather events. Current federal crop insurance options do not cover many small, diversified, and organic farms impacted by disasters such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience (WEATHER) Act of 2023 (S. 3401) is a bill that calls for the development of an index-based insurance policy that would better support farmers facing income losses after extreme weather events by reducing administrative hurdles and ensuring that insurance payouts are based on agricultural income losses. The policy would likely function similarly to the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance program which provides financial payments to farmers quickly after a disaster.
Send a message to your Senators asking them to include the WEATHER Act in the upcoming Farm Bill!
USDA Provides Funding to Assist Organic Dairy Producers
The USDA recently announced two programs to support organic dairy producers. The USDA announced the availability of $58 million in funding for organic dairy producers through the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) on September 26. This program aims to help producers offset marketing costs incurred in 2024.
The ODMAP program was first launched in 2023 with $104 million allocated, but less than half of those funds were distributed in the first round of disbursements. This was partially due to a lack of data collection about organic dairy marketing by USDA.
Improvements to the program for 2024 include an increased the payment rate to $1.68 per hundredweight (from $1.10) and raised the eligible production level to nine million pounds (from five million). These improvements address the needs of organic dairy producers and provide much-needed relief.
Producers can apply for ODMAP until November 29 at their local USDA Service Center. To be eligible, applicants must provide documentation of 2023 production, proof of organic certification, and complete an application form.
On October 28, the USDA announced a new program, the Organic Dairy Product Promotion (ODPP), allocating $15 million to expand access to organic dairy products in educational institutions and youth programs. Funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), the program will help children and young adults access organic dairy products while also creating new markets for small and mid-sized organic dairy farmers. The program will be administered nationally through the four regional Dairy Business Innovation Initiative (DBI) regions. These regional centers may subaward these funds directly to organic dairy businesses, educational institutions including K-12 schools and colleges/universities, and other organizations able to implement the program.
OFA will continue to work for policies that support organic dairy producers in the upcoming Farm Bill.
Join today and support organic farmers!
Organic Farmers Association members support a strong voice for organic farmers in Washington, D.C.
The Organic Farmers Association is the ONLY national organization where solely independent certified organic farms determine its policies and work agenda. OFA was founded on the belief that the voice of farmers like you should carry the most weight in agricultural policy decisions.
In recent years, OFA has made a difference by putting significant pressure on the USDA to finalize the Origin of Livestock Rule to help organic dairies and finalize the Strengthening Organic Enforcement Rule to stop organic fraud and increase enforcement. We testified and advocated to allow paper pots for small-scale vegetable growers, introduced the ODAIRY Act of 2023, and advocated for stronger animal welfare standards for organic livestock and poultry production (OLPS Rule).
We have proved that farmer voices are stronger when we work together. Join us in this movement by becoming a member today!
Farm
Membership
U.S. certified organic farmers should select this membership. Only farm members are eligible to vote on Organic Farmers Association policy positions and priorities. International farmers, or farms that are not certified organic, should select the Supporter Membership.
Supporter Membership
Not a certified organic farmer, but want to support the organic farmers that make our planet and food systems a better place? Supporter members will be connected to the discussions about policies that affect organic farmers, and be called to advocate on their behalf.
Organization Membership
Organizations that have a significant membership (or stakeholders) of certified organic farmers should select this membership. Organization Members receive the tools they need to advocate for policies important to organic farmers and extend their network.