US: NSAC comments on Farm Bill

Programs and policies that affect organic agriculture are found across multiple titles of the farm bill. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has combed through the draft farm bill recently introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and provided an overview of how the bill would affect some of the programs and policies most important to the organic industry. "Overall, the bill is mixed when it comes to organic agriculture. It fails, unfortunately, to address some very significant issues concerning conservation and crop insurance access, as well as certification support for producers transitioning to organic. However, organic research and data initiatives receive support in the Chairman’s draft, and generally fared better than other areas of organic agriculture."

The bill also proposes several changes to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which is the Federal Advisory Board that considers and makes recommendations on a wide range of issues regarding organic production. The organic community is currently analyzing these changes and submitting their feedback, and NSAC will monitor the debate as it moves forward.

Here you can find a summary of the key takeaways on how the Chairman’s mark addresses a subset of organic policies and programs in the draft farm bill.