No Organic Checkoff Coalition
Contact: Kate Mendenhall (585-944-2503)
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Organic farmers no longer required to pay into programs competing with the organic market
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 6, 2016) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced they will extend the organic farmer exemption from conventional commodity checkoffs to ALL organic farmers, effective February 29, 2016. A coalition of over 20 organic farmer-based organizations and organic businesses that oppose the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA) proposed organic checkoff applaud the USDA’s finalization of this checkoff exemption rule. Organic farmers are no longer required to pay into conventional checkoff promotion programs that promote products directly competing with their organic products.
“This is a big win for the organic sector—checkoff programs are not a good match for independent organic farmers,” said Kate Mendenhall, a spokesperson for the coalition.
Many organic farmer organizations supported the organic exemption in the 2014 Farm Bill to ensure all organic farmers may receive equal exemption rights. Previously only farmers who made 100% of their farm business as certified organic could participate in the exemption; now all farmers and processors, even if part of their business includes conventional crops or livestock, can exempt their organic products.
“It’s important to recognize that this exemption is not tied to OTA’s proposed organic check-off. They are very separate,” explained Ed Maltby, Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Association, one of the coalition members. “These new regulations allow for all organic operations to exempt themselves from commodity checkoffs and the promotional component of some marketing orders. This will stay in effect permanently unless an organic check-off is passed.”
The coalition of organic farming organizations and businesses represent rank-and-file organic farmers and ranchers who believe they will not be well-served by a federally mandatory checkoff program to promote organic products. Conventional family farmers, subject to mandatory participation in any of the 22 checkoff programs that tax farmers on their production, have long alleged that the proceeds generated from research and promotion programs have benefited the interests of corporate agribusiness rather than independent farmers.
While this organic checkoff exemption will help those producers who have split organic and conventional operations, it will not affect the majority of organic farmers says northern New York organic farmer, Liz Bawden. “I know of very few organic farmers who currently pay into the existing conventional checkoffs. If you have been 100% certified organic, you have been exempt from the federal checkoff,” explains Bawden. “This exemption will not change anything at all for most of us; unlike the proposed organic checkoff, which indeed will.”
Over 720 people, mostly farmers, have signed a petition to exempt organic farmers from conventional checkoffs and to stop the OTA’s proposed organic checkoff, claiming lack of organic industry support for an organic-specific checkoff program.
Washington organic dairy farmer Janet Baker claims, “We as dairymen have been disenchanted with the national check-off programs. We were led to believe that they would be more efficient than our local programs, but history is not proving this to be true. The current program being offered (pushed) by the Organic Trade Association does not have the support of organic producers and would be primarily to the benefit of processors, using organic producers’ money.”
The No Organic Checkoff Coalition believes that organic farmers would be well served to hold onto their marketing money and invest it into their farming businesses, not commit it to a new federally mandatory organic checkoff program.
For more information on why organic farmers oppose OTA’s organic check-off research and promotion program proposal, see www.noorganiccheckoff.com.
The federally administered check-off programs from which organic operations may now be exempt include a variety of commodities including milk, eggs, blueberries, beef, and more. For the complete list, see the USDA site on check-off programs. The marketing order programs from which organic operations may now be exempt can be found on USDA’s website. Farmers can access the exemption form here: http://bit.ly/ExemptForm.
The No Organic Checkoff coalition is made up of over 20 not-for-profit organic farmer-member organizations as well as organic businesses. The coalition was organized specifically to SUPPORT the FAIR act to exempt organic farmers from conventional checkoff programs and to OPPOSE the creation of a new federal organic checkoff program. Coalition members include: Bardessono Vineyards, Cornucopia Institute, Eden Foods, Family Farm Defenders, Food and Water Watch, Fruited Plain Seeds, Hoosier Organic Marketing Education (HOME), Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Association (NODPA), Northeast Organic Farming Association Interstate Council (NOFA-IC), Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT-NOFA), Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts (NOFA/Mass), Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ), Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Inc. (NOFA-NY), Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island (NOFA-RI), Northern Plains Sustainable Ag (NPSA), Organic Consumers Association (OCA), Organic Crop Improvement Association, International (OCIA), Organic Farmers’ Agency for Relationship Marketing (OFARM), Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), Stephens Land and Cattle, Wood Prairie Farm
