The 2012 Farm Bill

Congress is currently debating the Farm Bill and OFRF is taking action to protect organic programs. 

OFRF's 2012 Farm Bill policy platform includes advocating for the following initiatives:

• Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI)
• Organic Data Initiative (ODI)
• National Organic Certification Cost-share Program (NOCCSP)
• National Organic Program (NOP)
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative
• Organic Crop Insurance

The Farm Bill is an omnibus bill that is reauthorized about every five years. The 2008 Farm Bill contained 15 "titles" authorizing everything from commodity programs and price supports, to agricultural conservation and research, to domestic food programs such as food stamps. In 2008, a new Farm Bill Title X, Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, was developed to cover horticulture specialty crops and organic agriculture.

Organic agriculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors of agriculture, creating jobs in rural America and lucrative market opportunities for American family farmers. For 10 years, the industry grew at an average annual rate of 20 percent, and continued to experience positive growth during one of the worst economic downturns in the country’s history. The organic farming sector is a $29 billion industry in the U.S., served by over 14,500 organic family farmers.

The continued growth of organic agriculture requires continuing the modest but important investment in programs, reauthorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, that provide research and market information to farmers, help offset the costs of organic certification, and enforce the organic standards.