Organic Producers Won't Contribute to Promotion Programs

May 6, 2002

A last-minute change to the 2002 farm bill exempts farmers who produce only organic products from paying assessments to mandatory commodity promotion programs, according to the Organic Trade Association. The provision exempts only farmers who solely produce and market 100% organic products. It does not exempt those who grow both organic and non-organic products nor handlers of organic products.

"This is a major victory for organic farmers, who have often felt disenfranchised because the dollars they pay into such programs generally are not used to promote their products," said Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the OTA. "In fact, they have been voicing increasing frustration with such requirements."

The provision requires the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations regarding eligibility for and compliance with such an exemption within a year of the bill's enactment.

With this change, a proposal that would have allowed certified organic producers and handlers to credit some of their assessments to a national voluntary generic research and promotion check-off program for organic products was dropped.

Other last-minute changes to organic provisions within the farm bill secured $5 million for a national organic certification cost-share program, and removed language that would have set aside money specifically for marketing value-added organic products. However, the amount of money allocated for marketing value-added products, including organic products, was raised to $240 million, from an original $75 million.