Organic Report Fall 2021 - Flipbook - Page 19
ADVOC ACY
Scoring the first six months of 2021 for organic
W
hen President Biden and Vice
President Harris were sworn
into office, the Organic Trade
Association released a memo to the
transition team at the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and the White
House outlining key priorities and
immediate actions the new
administration could take to support
organic. The first six months of a new
President’s term are symbolic, as actions
taken during this time often set the tone
and direction for the remainder of the
next four years, and signal key priorities
of the administration.
In their first days in office,
President Biden and Vice President
Harris have taken sweeping actions on
climate change, signed into law the
American Rescue Plan providing
nearly $2 trillion in assistance for
businesses and Americans impacted
by COVID, and are currently in the
midst of negotiations on a massive
infrastructure package to change our
transportation and energy sectors.
But what does this mean for organic?
In February, Thomas Vilsack was
confirmed by the Senate to serve as the
Secretary of Agriculture, returning to
the Department after serving for eight
years under President Obama. In his
confirmation hearing, Secretary Vilsack
laid out his vision for USDA.
1. Transforming U.S. agriculture as a
solution to fight climate change
2. Fighting hunger and nutrition
insecurity
3. Restoring openness and
competitiveness of U.S. agriculture
markets
4. Advancing equity.
In our transition memo, we laid
out five key immediate wins for
organic in the first year of the new
administration. How did USDA
fair? It was a mixed bag.
Organic Report • Fall 2021
MID-YEAR ORGANIC SCORECARD
✔ Restore leadership with
experience in organic
Secretary Vilsack has nominated Jenny
Lester Moffitt to serve as Under
Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory
Programs at USDA, the agency in
charge of the National Organic
Program. Moffitt has deep-rooted
connections to the organic industry,
having managed her family’s organic
walnut farm and served as the Under
Secretary of California’s Department
of Food and Agriculture, representing
the largest organic producing state in
the nation.
✔ Restore the Organic and
Sustainable Agriculture Policy
Advisor Role
We requested that USDA hire a
sustainable and organic advisor
position within the Secretary’s office
to ensure organic interests are
represented at the highest level within
the Department. Secretary Vilsack
announced the position will be
restored.
✔ Restore full funding for organic
certification cost-share
USDA has announced $20 million in
new funding for the organic
certification cost-share program,
reversing the cuts from last year which
limited reimbursement rates to 50% of
certification fees.
✘ Reinstate the Organic Livestock
and Poultry Practices rule
Secretary Vilsack recently stated that
the Department intends to send a new
proposed rule to the White House
Office of Budget and Management on
Organic Livestock and Poultry
Practices (OLPP) within six to nine
months. This action will be taken to
restore the rule that was finalized by
Vilsack under the Obama
administration and subsequently
withdrawn by Secretary Perdue under
the Trump administration. OLPP —
otherwise known as the animal
welfare rule — will ensure all
organically raised poultry has
adequate outdoor access. The rule is
widely supported by the organic
industry and consumers, and has
already gone through over a decade of
stakeholder feedback. Failure to
implement OLPP in a timely fashion
will undermine consumer trust in the
Organic seal, halt progress on animal
welfare, and lead to market failure
within the organic poultry sector.
The Organic Trade Association is
*currently
involved in active litigation
with USDA on the withdrawal of the
OLPP rule. We hope to reach a
favorable settlement with the
Department that ensures the rule will
be reinstated and implemented as
soon as possible
✘ Publish a final rule on the Origin
of Livestock
The Origin of Livestock rule, which
has been 18 years in the making, is yet
again stalled. Despite Congress
passing a law requiring USDA to issue
a final rule over six months ago,
USDA has missed the deadline. Rather
than issue a final rule as required by
Congress, USDA reopened the
comment period for a third time on
the proposed rule from 2015. The
continued stalling will harm organic
dairy farmers who abide by strict rules
for the transition of dairy animals and
further disrupt the market.
The Organic Trade Association will
continue to push for a final rule and
hold USDA accountable to close the
loophole and meet the needs of
organic dairy farmers and the
expectations of consumers.
*
Megan DeBates is Vice President for
Government Affairs
at the Organic Trade Association.
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