Reporting by Samuel Fromartz
The Organic Trade Association, the main trade group for the organic food industry, said it was filing paperwork early next year for a “transitional” organic designation at the USDA that would benefit farmers going through the three-year process of converting a conventional farm to organic production. The aim of the program would be to provide economic incentives for farmers to go organic at a time when demand is growing strongly but supplies of items like organic livestock feed still fall far short, spurring greater imports.
The three-year transition period can be a barrier to entry into organic production. Farmers must follow organic farming methods but they cannot qualify for the organic premium that the certified organic label carries. Since they face higher potential costs but no gain in revenue for three years, transitioning may not work economically.
Laura Batcha, OTA executive director, said the proposed transitional designation would be managed under a “Process Verified Program” at the USDA. Once the paperwork is filed, it’s unclear how long it would take to set up the program but OTA spokeswoman Maggie McNeil said, “We’d like to get this in place by the 2016 crop year, which begins in the fall.”
Producers transitioning to organic who voluntarily entered the process-verified program would get inspected each year by an organic certifier, showing that they are meeting the full scope of organic standards and therefore qualify for a potential premium for verified transitional foods.
Under organic rules, transitioning producers don’t need to be inspected annually. They submit affidavits that they have avoided prohibited substances on their farm for the three years. The verified label would go beyond organic rules and require inspection each year of transition.
The new designation, which would be overseen by the National Organic Program, is not aimed at consumers, Batcha said, since no new food label is envisioned. Rather it’s aimed at the trade, given that organic processors and handlers can often sell transitional products for a premium to buyers that want verified non-GMO or pesticide-free products. The producers following a verified but pre-organic designation would qualify for those markets, since the organic methods they adopt in transition bar the use of GMOs and synthetic pesticides. Currently, Washington State’s organic program has a similar designation that has worked well for transitioning apple growers, Batcha said.
In a sign of continued growth, the OTA also said U.S. organic exports reached $3.2 billion 2014, while imports were around $1.3 billion. The U.S. is now the world’s largest exporter of organic produce.
Organic exports have gotten an estimated 58-percent boost from equivalency agreements negotiated by the USDA, which allow companies to sell U.S. organic products in the EU, Canada, Japan and other markets without additional certification, according to a study commissioned by the OTA.
Among $550 million worth of organic exports tracked by the USDA–which largely exclude processed organic food–the study found that the top sellers were apples, lettuce, grapes, spinach and strawberries, with Canada the top export market. Coffee amounts to the largest organic import, at $330 million. Organic soybeans rank No. 2 followed by imported organic corn. Organic corn and soybeans are used for livestock feed, which has been in short supply as the organic dairy, poultry and meat sectors continue to grow.
Batcha also said the OTA was hoping a proposed but controversial organic checkoff program would be approved by the USDA in 2016, with the bulk of funds raised going to organic farming research and extension programs. She said OTA polling showed both organic farmers and processors supported the checkoff by a ratio of two-to-one. She noted that $2 million alone in matching funds raised from a checkoff program could bring a USDA organic extension agent into each state to advise on farming.