Key provisions of the bill include improved coordination of organic research at the USDA, increased funding for the USDA’s Organic Research and Extension Initiative, and a new statutory grant program to assist producers transitioning to organic practices.
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Booker’s bill, also introduced in the House by Representative Gabe Vasquez, would require the USDA to release frozen grant funds and prohibit the termination of existing contracts.
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Members of Congress faced fiery town halls with concerned farmers and laid-off USDA employees during last week’s recess.
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Farmers, organic organizations and the Organic Farmers Association will be in the nation’s capital on March 4th to advocate for supportive policies on key issues, including the next Farm Bill, USDA funding freezes and fraudulent imports.
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Kailee Tkacz Buller recently served as the president & chief executive officer of the National Oilseed Processors Association and the Edible Oil Producers Association, in addition to having previously held numerous leadership roles across the USDA in the first Trump administration.
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Big Ag having such tremendous influence in D.C. makes it exceedingly challenging for organic.
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He is expected to work to eliminate processed foods from school lunches and push for the removal of dyes from cereals and other items.
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It is unclear how closely Brooke Rollins will be working with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is a big advocate for organic and regenerative.
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RFK, Jr. and his antagonistic attitude toward GMOs and toxic pesticides is not sitting well with Big Ag.
Read Article The Safe School Meals Act targets “toxic ingredients” on school trays across America, proposing standards that would keep kids safe from poisons that can’t be seen on the plate.
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Gov. Walz seems to understand the connection between food and climate change, and he also established a universal free school breakfast and lunch for Minnesota kids, which allowed kitchen workers to prepare lunches from scratch, with locally grown produce.
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The Farm Bill framework from the Senate Agriculture Committee will allow the National Organic Program to keep pace with the growth in the organic sector in a variety of different ways.
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$83M is remaining in unspent funds in the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program.
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Legislation to avert a government shutdown and extend the 2018 Farm Bill includes $8 million in funding for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program.
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Congress did not pass this critical omnibus bill by the September 30th deadline. Here’s what to expect.
Read Article The Opportunities in Organic Act of 2023 is designed to help farmers pursue organic agriculture by offering a suite of easy-to-access tools, expert technical assistance and flexible funding for underserved farmers and ranchers.
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Instead of leveling the playing field for small farmers, the bill would allow global corporations to pull money and resources out of rural communities and undermine the resilience of our food supply.
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A very troubling and disheartening development for those who believe that genetically-engineered food is not the way forward.
Read Article Shockingly, this was the first big and official White House meeting to discuss food and nutrition issues in more than 50 years.
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Center for Food Safety’s Bill Freese gives his take on what this all means.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied requests by conservationists and members of Congress to phase out the use of agricultural pesticides on national wildlife refuges.
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In the just-passed $1.5 trillion spending package to fund federal government activities for the rest of fiscal year 2022, the National Organic Coalition scored important funding gains and increased enforcement efforts for soil health and pasture requirements.
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U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has reintroduced legislation to protect children and farmworkers by banning dangerous pesticides like paraquat, neonicotinoids and organophosphates.
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It took Danone terminating the contracts of 89 organic dairy farmers to get the full attention of politicians.
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