S. 4951: Opening Programs to Organic Farms Act

This bill would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to study and report on obstacles that certified organic farms, and farms that may want to switch to organic production, face when trying to use USDA programs.

What the report would cover

Within 180 days after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Agriculture would have to send Congress a report and also post it publicly on the USDA website. The report would examine barriers in a wide range of USDA programs, including:

• conservation programs
• farm credit
• disaster assistance
• risk management and crop insurance
• export promotion and market development
• technical assistance
• rural development
• data collection
• federal procurement
• organic certification cost-share programs

Information the report must include

The bill would require the USDA to look at several specific issues, including:

• how many organic farms apply for USDA programs, how many are approved or denied, and how much funding they receive
• where these farms are located, their size, and what type of production they do
• why some farms do not participate or are denied
• whether program rules, payment formulas, ranking systems, forms, or recordkeeping requirements create barriers
• whether crop insurance price settings, disaster valuation methods, or conservation standards work well for organic farms
• whether farms have trouble providing organic certification documents or finding supply-chain support
• whether USDA staff have enough training and knowledge about organic farming
• whether USDA has enough organic-specific data

Training and follow-up

The bill also asks USDA to assess whether its staff need more organic-specific training and technical assistance, including staff in agencies such as the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Risk Management Agency, Rural Development, and Foreign Agricultural Service.

The report would need to describe any administrative steps USDA plans to take to reduce the barriers it identifies, and it would also include any recommendations for changes to federal law.

Ongoing updates

For three years after the initial report is submitted, USDA would have to send Congress and post publicly an annual update. Each update would describe:

• progress in removing the barriers identified in the report
• administrative actions that have been completed or are underway
• any barriers that still remain
• any new recommendations for statutory changes

Relevant Companies

None found