Transcript document

Organic Regulations and Issues Update
Presented to Organic Fertilizer Association of California
and California Association of Pest Control Applicators
December 10, 2008
Claudia Reid
CCOF Policy Director
Who is CCOF?
• Nonprofit organic certification and trade association since 1973
• Organic Certification
• Trade Association - education, promotion, marketing & PR support
• Political Advocacy
• Certification throughout North America for processors, private labelers,
brokers, retailers, and producers
• More than 1,500 farmers, 400 processors, and 1,000 certified product
categories
• Currently certify 80% of California’s organic acreage and more than half a
million acres
• More than 35 years of organic certification experience, fully accredited by
USDA, and one of the oldest and largest certifiers in North America
• Developed first organic standards that lead to the California Organic
Products Act of 1990 and ultimately the National Organic Program
Organic is more than input
substitution
Organic production:
“responds to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural,
biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of
resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve
biodiversity.”
National Organic Program, Section 205.2
Organic Consumers
Thank you to Karen Klonsky and Roberta Cook of UC Davis
and Catherine Greene of USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
for providing some of the slides on organic statistics.
Most Consumers
• Don’t know what “organic” or “certified organic”
means.
• Don’t understand how food is grown, processed or
distributed.
• Need to make a connection with the food they eat.
• Want food produced the good the old-fashioned way,
the sustainable way, the organic way.
• Want cheap food.
Consumers Most Likely to Buy
Organic Foods All or Most of the Time
Ages 18-30
10%
Ages 31-42
9%
6%
Ages 43-61
Older
3%
Source: Harris Poll of 2,392 Americans – Sept. 2007
U.S. Consumers Most Likely to Buy
Organic Foods All or Most of the Time
East
5%
South
7%
Midwest
7%
West
10%
Source: Harris Poll of 2,392 Americans – Sept. 2007
Forces Driving Organic Growth
• Greater availability
• Improved taste and quality
• USDA organic standards
• More competitive pricing
• Financial investments in organic and natural companies
Issues Hindering Organic Growth
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Production
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Marketing
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Price
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Regulatory
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Management
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2008 = Economy
Organic Market Trends
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Organic sales have been growing at double digit rates.
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Growth is expected to continue but at a slower rate.
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Produce still dominates.
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Livestock and poultry sales are now growing at a
faster rate than produce.
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The National Organic Program seems to have had a
positive impact on sales.
Organic Export Opportunities
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NOP budget nearly doubled in 2008 to $2.6 million
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Japan interested in equivalency
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Optimistic about Canadian equivalency
Source: Organic Trade Association, Summer 2008
Who Regulates Organic?
• International
– International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM)
– Canada
– Japan
– Australia
• National Organic Program (NOP)
• National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
• Departments of Agriculture
– California’s SOP
– County Agricultural Commissioners
CCOF is involved
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Will be involved in new IFOAM North America
Already accredited for Canadian Organic Regime
Involved in Japan and Australia harmonization efforts
Works with NOP program staff routinely
Testifies at all NOSB meetings
Works with any State Dept of Ag where we certify (29 states)
Heavily involved in effort to reform SOP in CA
Interacts with Ag Commissioners on specific issues such as
SOP reform or LBAM
Farm Bill Opportunities For Organic
and Transitional
Total Mandatory Spending on Organic Agriculture: 2002 and 2008 Farm
Bills
TOPIC
2002
2008
Certification cost share programs
$5 million
$29.5 million
Research
$15 million
$78 million
Production and market data collection
No specific funding
for organic
TOTAL$20 million
$112.5 million
$5 million
In 2000, separate from the Farm Bill process, an additional $5 million was allocated for certification cost
share for farms in specific states.
Source: Organic Trade Association, Summer 2008
California Organic Program (SOP)
• Cost share sign ups going on now
• http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/i_&_c/organic.html
• Ray Green, Manager, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA
95814 • (916) 445-2180 FAX (916) 445-2427 •
[email protected]
• Cost Share Letter
Cost Share Application 2007-2008
Cost Share Application 2008-2009
2008 Farm Bill Opportunities
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EQIP
Organic Production and Transition Assistance
Beginning Farmer and Rancher
Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers
and Ranchers
• Risk Management Education
• Direct Loan Limits and Direct and Guaranteed Loan Set-asides
for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
Thank you to the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition for providing information on 2008 Farm Bill programs
Environmental Quality Incentive
Program (EQIP)
The 2008 Farm Bill substantially increases the total funding available for to the EQIP program,
including more than adequate funding for organic conversion. Total funding provided by the
new farm bill for EQIP is as follows:
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Funding
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
$1,200 M
$1,337 M
$1,450 M
$1,588 M
$1,750 M
5 year cost
$7,325 M
10 yr cost
$16,075 M
Organic Production and
Transition Assistance (EQIP)
• $20,000/year, max of $80,000/6 years available
• Must do OSP and pursue NOP certification
• Does not include technical assistance payments
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Natural Resources Conservation
Service
(NRCS)
http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/2009/index.htmlAdd info re
NRCS
• Alan Forkey, Program Manager
Phone: 530-792-5653
Email: [email protected]
• Roney Gutierrez, Program Specialist
Phone: 530-792-5649
Email: [email protected]
• Current EQIP Program Fact Sheets
• NRCS EQIP National Program Information (including Program, Contract
and Funding Information)
• USDA Service Center eForms Web Site - for instructions and information
Food Safety and Competition
from Imported Products
Organic sales typically increase when food
recalls are announced; perceived as safer.
Food safety regulations trump organic.
Tension between food safety “super” metrics and
biodiversity. Tension over lack of
harmonization.
Energy, Water and Climate Change
• After cars, the food system uses more fossil fuel than
any other sector of the economy.
19%
• The way we feed ourselves contributes more
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else
we do.
37%
Source: Michael Pollan, New York Times, Oct. 2008
Energy, Water and Climate Change
• Between 1910 and 1983, U.S. corn yields grew 346%, and energy
consumption for agriculture increased
%.
810%
• In the 1890s, roughly
% of cropland in the United States was used to
grow grain to feed horses, almost all of which worked on farms.
25%
• Cheap and abundant fossil fuel has shaped the farming system that
Americans have come to think of as normal.
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% of the water used by humans in the world goes to irrigate crops.
70%
• We’re now at a crossroads where we’re running out of water, and we’re
running out of oil – two crucial inputs to farmers.
Source: Deep Economy by Bill McKibbon
Energy, Water & Climate Change
• Organic corn/soybean cropping systems use about 1/3 less fossil
fuel energy than non-organic.
• Organic soil can sequester about 1,000 pounds of carbon per acre
foot of soil each year.
• Organic farming methods
– retain nutrients
– better hold these nutrients in place for plant uptake
Source: Pesticides and You, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2007
Energy, Water and Climate Change
• Organic agricultural practices can be the most effective strategy currently
available for mitigating CO2 emissions.
• High correlation between increased soil carbon levels and very high
amounts of mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi help slow down the decay of
organic matter.
• Carbon was sequestered into the soil at the rate of
– 875 lbs/acre/year in a crop rotation utilizing raw manure
– 500 lbs/ac/year in a rotation using legume cover crops.
• Implementing organic farming practices on a national basis will depend on
two factors:
– a strong bottom-up demand for change
– a top-down shift in state and national policy to support farmers in this
transition.
Source: Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming, The Rodale Institute, 2008
PCAs and CCOF
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What do PCAs need to know about organic?
US regulators
CA regulator
Resources
– CCOF
– OMRI
– WSDA
Certification Process Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Application
- Drafting Organic System Plan and
associated record keeping
systems (OSP)
Review (OSP)
Inspection (to OSP)
Review (Inspection Report + OSP)
Conditions and resolution
Major or Minor – Different time
frames
Certification
Annual renewal (update OSP, and
repeat steps 2-6)
Potential PCA
Interaction
Resources
• CCOF: www.ccof.org and CCOF Magazine –
Updates, articles, quarterly magazine, online
directory, etc.
• Organic Trade Association: www.ota.com –
Market information, online directory,
resources, etc.
• National Organic Program:
www.ams.usda.gov/nop – FAQs, labeling
photos, etc.
• ATTRA: http://attra.ncat.org/organic.html –
Publications and resources in production
methods for organic crops and livestock.
Resources
• Organic Materials Review Institute
(OMRI)- www.omri.org
• WSDA
http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/Organic
THANK YOU
Claudia Reid, Policy Director
916-443-6480
[email protected]
www.ccof.org