OTA - Regulatory

USDA Announces $185 Million in Funding to Advance Organic at Organic Week 2023

vbatcha — Wed, 17 May 2023 15:22:37 +0000

May 17, 2023

Last week, the Organic Trade Association gathered with organic businesses from across the supply chain, coalition partners, scientists, advocates and policymakers in the nation’s capital for Organic Week 2023. Leaders in organic farming, business and science discussed complex organic issues including plastics in the supply chain, cultivating diversity in the sector, and projects to maximize the industry’s climate benefits. Attendees met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss organic priorities and the upcoming Farm Bill, celebrated our 2022 Leadership Award winners and received breaking announcements from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack on funding and programs to advance organic. The jampacked week left us inspired, invigorated and ready to fight harder than ever to advance the industry.

In a big win for organic, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an estimated $185 million in funding for programs to grow the organic market and support organic producers with transition and certification during Organic Week’s policy conference!

The agency pledged $75 million to help improve domestic organic supply chains with pinpointed market development through its Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) Program and officially invited organic stakeholders to apply for the funding. The grant program will strengthen the supply chain and expand organic processing capacity to create critical new paths to market for climate-smart organic farmers and increase consumer access to organic foods and products. There are two funding levels, including simplified equipment-only grants ranging from $10,000-100,000 as well as larger market development and promotion grants ranging from $100,000-3,000,0000. OTA encourages its members and all organic stakeholders to take advantage of this opportunity offered by USDA and to apply to become part of this program. USDA is accepting applications for the program through July 11, 2023.

Secretary Vilsack also shared that the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) was restored to the previous reimbursement level of 75% of certification costs up to $750 per certification scope. An estimated $10 million in funding will be distributed through the program, which is critical for attracting new, young farmers to organic. The application period will remain open until October 31st, 2023, for costs incurred from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023. Contact your local USDA Service Center to apply. OMDG and OCCSP are both part of the agency’s historic $300 million Organic Transition Initiative announced in 2022.

The Secretary announced the agency’s Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) will be accepting applications by the end of the month and expediting payments to producers. ODMAP was originally announced in January after the efforts of the OTA’s Animale Feedstuff Relief Taskforce worked with Congress and USDA to address a growing crisis in organic dairies. The program will provide $100 million in support of organic dairies as they face dwindling supply and rising costs of organic feedstuff due to unprecedented shocks to the global trade. As the program is implemented, OTA and USDA are committed to reviewing the program to ensure the $100 million reaches the organic dairy farmers who need it most.

Organic industry advocates for thriving American farmers and resilient supply chains on Capitol Hill

After a productive and collaborative Policy Conference, Organic Trade Association members flocked to Capitol Hill to advocate for organic policy priorities in the upcoming Farm Bill. Member advocates representing 34 states met with more than 160 Congressional offices to promote policies centered around ensuring organic standards keep pace with marketplace demands and provide supportive research and risk management tools to organic farmers. They also called for conservation and climate-smart programs to acknowledge the contributions of organic farming practices in protecting natural resources, and policies that strengthen the resiliency of the organic supply chain. This successful message for organic resonated with both Democratic and Republican offices. Many offices in the House of Representatives expressed interest in joining the House Organic Caucus and several staff from visited offices requested more information on the Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Organic Standards as OTA looks toward following up a strong showing on the Hill with the introduction of our signature legislation.

Regulatory Round-up, April 2022

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 21:28:10 +0000

April 5, 2022

Over the last week, a flurry of regulatory activity has taken place across organic agriculture. In addition to the formal publication of the Origin of Livestock Final Rule in the federal register, which was previously announced during Organic Week by USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) has submitted 63 pages of recommendations across four unique comment opportunities in the past week. These regulatory comments represent over a decade of work by OTA to safeguard organic and firmly entrench it as the gold standard for agricultural products. This work reflects OTA and the organic industry's commitment to continuous improvement, modernization, and climate-smart agriculture.

Prioritizing NOP Rulemaking on Organic Standards

The National Organic Program (NOP) recently opened a comment period to gather feedback on how to prioritize the backlog of National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recommendations for organic practice standards (e.g., greenhouse/container production, mushroom production, strengthening organic seed usage). OTA’s comments urged NOP to prioritize capacity-building for ongoing development and implementation of standards, and to devote additional resources and staffing exclusively to standards writing and development. OTA also presented NOP with a multi-stage action plan (developed by OTA’s Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Organic Standards Task Force) to advance all outstanding recommendations over a reasonable timeframe. The Association's action plan streamlines the workload by grouping multiple NOSB recommendations together into a single action, which will help to ensure efficient and resourceful rulemaking.

Upcoming Issues for Spring 2022 NOSB Meeting

OTA has submitted comments on multiple topics to help inform the Spring 2022 NOSB Meeting. The Association's comments address a variety of issues, including: restricting the use of highly soluble nitrogen fertilizers in crop production, clarifying the use of cell and protoplast fusion in seeds used in organic agriculture, and strengthening NOP risk mitigation when accrediting certifiers. OTA will also provide oral comments next week. The public NOSB Meeting will take place on April 28-30 via online webinar.

Allowing Paper-based Planting Aids (Paper Pots and Tapes)

NOP recently proposed an amendment to their regulations that would formalize and clarify the allowance of paper-based crop planting aids (including paper pots, seed tape, and collars) under a new definition that sets minimum composition requirements for biobased and cellulose content. OTA’s comments supported the NOP proposal and NOSB and NOP conclusions that the use of these materials are consistent with organic farming principles and necessary for use on organic operations. Allowance of paper pots and tapes is critical to the success of organic operations at all scales due to the absence of natural alternative products and management practices that would achieve the equivalent level of efficiency, crop quality, and waste reduction.

Ensuring Food Safety, Requirements for Agricultural Water on Produce

In response to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed amendment to the Produce Safety Rule under Food Safety Modernization Act concerning requirements for pre-harvest agricultural water for produce (other than sprouts), OTA submitted comments verifying that the amendment did not conflict or duplicate the requirements of USDA organic certification. The trade association raised concern in its comments, however, that the rule’s ambiguity may present challenges to producers. OTA called for FDA to dedicate resources, tools, and technical assistance to help organic operations understand and comply with this final rule.

Origin of Livestock Webinar Announced, April 20

On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, from 1:00pm-1:30pm Eastern, NOP will hold an informational webinar to provide an overview of the changes this rule makes to the USDA organic regulations and how they may impact organic farms and businesses. USDA has also released this helpful infographic to explain how the new rule works.

Webinar details:

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 1:00pm, Eastern Time
Click this Zoom link to join: https://www.zoomgov.com/s/1601769899
Join by phone: US: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666
Webinar ID: 160 176 9899
International numbers available: https://www.zoomgov.com/u/ac4jNxLv1K

Hot off the Press—Our Updated GORP Guide

admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 21:25:52 +0000

February 28, 2022

In 2021, the Organic Trade Association’s Retailer Council took on the task of modernizing the Good Organic Retail Practices (GORP) guide. This tool is an important asset in helping retailers ensure both organic compliance with the National Organic Program, and establish best practices that build consumer confidence and protect organic integrity.

Since it was first published two decades ago, our GORP training guide has been widely distributed, and has assisted a great diversity of retail establishments. Since then, the retail environment and organic industry have changed dramatically. The updated GORP guide not only reflects these changes, but has been adapted to include the virtual marketplace, and streamlined to reflect today’s pace of business.

Some of the important questions addressed in this user-friendly guide include:

Does my retail establishment need to be certified?
What are the requirements for handling and merchandising organic products?
How may I market organic products in-store and online?
Are there different requirements for organic retailers by department?
What about private label and products made in-store using organic ingredients?
When is it ok to use the USDA Organic seal?

In addition to what’s outlined above, the GORP guide provides direction for retailers’ backend operations, including practical tips about receiving, storage, record-keeping, pest control, and labeling.

Organic regulations are unique in that it was the industry that recognized the need for federal oversight to create a level playing field for producers and handlers of organic products. Made up of farmers, food manufacturers, as well as all segments of the food system including retailers, these early adopters of organic recognized that a common standard for growing and labeling organic products was essential to the success of the organic “brand.”

The continued success of organic in the marketplace hinges on all of us safeguarding the integrity of these products, and retaining the trust that consumers have shown in the USDA Organic label since Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990.

The Organic Trade Association’s GORP guide is an educational resource and introduction to handling, storing, and selling organic products in the United States. It is designed to provide insight on how to protect the organic integrity of the products through retail channels. Organic products are certified to strict standards and regulated and enforced by the federal government. By adopting these practices and following basic good organic handling methods, your retail operation will protect organic products from prohibited materials, maintaining the segregation between organic and non-organic products, and doing your part in maintaining consumer confidence and organic integrity.

The GORP guide is available at no cost to all of the association’s retailer members. To get your copy, visit OTA.com.

This article was originally published in the Spring 2022 Organic Report, you can view the full magazine here.