1. USDA’s Organic Working Group Update
Supporting organic agriculture across all USDA agencies

2. USDA Strategic Plan & Organic Agriculture
Goal: increase the number of certified organic operations to 20,000 by 2018 – exceeded by 2016
Strategy:
Research and education
Outreach to farmers through field offices
Risk management tools (crop insurance)
Reduce paperwork / eliminate duplication
Make certification simpler – small & beginning farmers

3. USDA Organic Working Group
The Organic Working Group (OWG) is led by AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer, has members from all across USDA
The OWG tracks progress against the Secretary’s annual goals for organic
External speakers present at OWG meetings and brown bag lunches
Coordination with local & regional, sustainability & food waste, beginning farmers, and veterans efforts

4. Departmental Guidance
USDA strategic plan on organic follows Secretary Vilsack’s departmental guidance, issued May 2013
Organic Working Group continues to do annual goal-setting, striving to achieve cross-agency objectives on:
Training and outreach
Field office capacity building
Compliance and regulatory alignment
Data collection and analysis
Conservation
Research

5. Marketing Programs

6. Organic Exemption
Organic Exemption Rule: As of February 2016, organic exemption extends to “split” operations (producing or handling organic or 100% organic products), who can apply to no longer pay assessments for market promotion activities into Research & Promotion Programs or Marketing Orders
Organic Research and Promotion Program: AMS received a revised proposal for a research and promotion program and continues to analyze the proposal, in preparation for a proposed rule later this year.

7. Conservation Programs

8. Conservation Planning with Transitioning Producers
Natural Resources Conservation Service National Organic Farming Handbook
Published summer 2015
Guide for conservation planning and implementation on organic farms
Describes organic systems
Identifies key resources
nrcs.usda.gov/organic

9. Training with Field Staff
Ongoing education and capacity building for field offices
Environmental benefits of organic agriculture webinar series, 2015: water quality, energy and climate change, biodiversity, soil health
CAP 138, biodiversity, organic technical handbook

10. Organic conservation buffer initiative
Conservation Buffers
Organic conservation buffer initiative
USDA Farm Service Agency
20,000 acre target for Conservation Reserve Program buffers on organic lands
May cost share shrub and tree planting, pollinator habitats, etc. planted in blocks or strips

11. Risk Management & Disaster Assistance

12. Expanding Crop Insurance Tools
Crop insurance tools for organic producers
Insurance programs:
Whole Farm: revenue-based, for diversified farms
Contract price elections: based on market contracts
Price elections: crop-by-crop prices for 70% of conventionally-insured crops
Transitional option – producers with contracted price incentives during the transition may apply for higher crop insurance coverage

13. Disaster Assistance
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) now allows separate market prices to be established for organic crops and sales to direct markets
Provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops
Protects against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses, or prevent planting

14. Data & Analysis

15. Organic Production Surveys
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the 2014 organic producer survey in September 2015
NASS’ 2015 Organic Producer Survey is in process, results will be published in September
Two years of sequential survey data – unprecedented level of information and data trends
NASS also conducting organic certifier survey for acreage and livestock head data

16. Organic Production Surveys: GE Crop Data
Data collection on crop losses due to GE presence:
USDA continues to collect data on economic losses due to GE presence in organic products as a part of the Organic Producer Survey
92 producers reported $6.1 million in losses between
Survey received 17,000 responses overall, with a 63% response rate
Follow-up questions clarified crops produced,
NASS individually contacts each producer
Data privacy rules limit details that can be shared with the public, non-statistical (regulatory) USDA agencies

17. GE follow-on snapshot
Full info is online at

18. Coexistence
AC21 committee on 21st Century Biotechnology continues to discuss strategies for USDA to support local and regional solutions to coexistence
Convening local dialogues on coexistence, using framework from state pollinator plans
Providing guidance for farmers considering coexistence impacts within farms and with neighbors
Coordinated framework review continues, more information should be available this summer

19. New Data on Organic Farmers
Telling the story of organic with data
According to the Agricultural Census, organic producers were:
More likely to be beginning farmers
Younger: 26% under 45 years old, compared to 16% of all principal operators
More likely than other farms to participate in direct sales markets

20. Profit Potential of Certified Organic Field Crop Production
Economic Research
Profit Potential of Certified Organic Field Crop Production
Organic producers are less likely to work off-farm
Despite higher per-acre costs, organic has greater returns

21. Research

22. Proceedings of USDA Organic Research Conference
Introducing organic language into Requests for Application (RFA) of traditional research programs, such as:
Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI)
Agricultural Food & Research Initiative (AFRI)
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Continued incorporation of NOSB research priorities in RFAs for Organic Research & Extension Initiative and Organic Transitions Grants

23. Training and Outreach

24. Organic champions
Establishing field-level networks of organic champions
Coordinating with other cross-cutting initiatives, such as:
Beginning farmer and rancher coordinators
Value chain coordinators
Community economic development coordinators
Bridges to Opportunity

25. Tools for Transition – In Depth
eorganic.info/ToolsForTransition

26. Organic Literacy Initiative Snapshot
30,000 + trained

27. Feel free to contact me with questions or comments
Betsy Rakola
Organic Policy Advisor to the Secretary
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Please think of me as a resource. My job is to make USDA programs work for the organic community. I can only do that if I hear from you.