As you probably heard, last week the Farm Bill Conference Committee completed its work, followed by approval from both the House and Senate. President Bush today vetoed the bill based on its lack of commodity subsidy reform but both the House and Senate votes had enough of a margin (more than a 2/3 majority) to override the veto.

Although nothing is over until it really is over, it is safe to assume that the final content of the 2008 Farm Bill has been determined and will not change in the face of a Presidential veto. While there is disappointment with the lack of meaningful subsidy reform in the 2008 Farm Bill (and that larger fight will need to continue), the organic community has made some very significant gains. By coupling these wins with the many other wins for beginning farmers, food security, local food systems and conservation practices, we will be preparing fertile ground for a new era in farm policy. 

Beyond the details of program funding and policy language, there is an important lesson here about the politics of our food system: grass-roots action by family farmers can have an impact. The strong support in this bill for organic agriculture is largely thanks to your calls, faxes, letters, emails and office visits! We did not meet every one of our goals, but your actions made the outcome far better than it might have been. None of our wins were guaranteed and active opposition was in play throughout the process. We will need to get much stronger to implement and defend what we have gained, but this legislation has the clear stamp of organic grass-roots power. OFRF salutes all the OFAN members and others who raised their voice during the last year to call for healthy farms and foods.

Organic Research the Big Winner
Among the wins in the 2008 Farm Bill is an historic fivefold increase in funding for organic agriculture research. The bill provides $78 million in mandatory funding and allows up to $25 million/year in annual appropriations for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), USDA’s organic agriculture research competitive grants program. (The 2002 bill funded this program at $15 million.) While total federal spending on organic agriculture research is still far short of what it needs to be, $78 million is a tremendous step forward.

Goodlatte Pesticide Provision Removed
Another victory was the removal of a particularly nefarious provision included in the House version of the Farm Bill. This provision, inserted by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) at the behest of the pesticide industry, would have prohibited the USDA from barring the use of specific pesticides when implementing their conservation programs. The inclusion of this provision was met with widespread opposition and its removal from the final bill owes much to sustained pressure from the grassroots.

Other Big Wins for Organic
Some of the other organic provisions in the bill are:

$22 million for the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, up from $5 million in the 2002 Farm Bill.
$5 million for the Organic Marketing and Data Collection Initiative, the first mandatory funding this program has received.
A new provision included in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program providing assistance to farmers converting to organic farming systems.
Requirements for USDA to develop fair crop insurance policies for organic producers that address the 5% surcharge currently charged to organic growers and the conventional payout price for organic crop losses.
$1.1 billion increase in funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and simplification and streamlining of the application process for organic certification and CSP.
Visit our website for a summary of the organic provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Follow up Action is Forthcoming
Although the Farm Bill is all but certain to be passed, nothing will really be final until Congress votes on whether to override President Bush’s anticipated veto. A veto override is likely and we will keep you posted on the Congressional drama. If and when the legislation is finally resolved, we’ll also be letting you know who in Congress needs to be thanked, who deserves to be “spanked” and what to expect in the coming months. So stay tuned, and of course, if you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or just want to say hi, contact Tracy Lerman, Policy Program Assistant at tracy@ofrf.org or               831-426-6606       .