Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2025) — The Organic Trade Association (OTA) continues to urge Congress to invest in organic agriculture. The OTA believes it is vital to enable the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue operating for the benefit of our farmers and other OTA business members, however, the budget as approved falls far short in certain areas and must be reconsidered– mainly, the full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) provides no additional resources for the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and the National Organic Program (NOP) despite organic food sales continuing to grow at twice the rate of total retail sales.
We need Congress to find a long-term budget agreement to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted functioning of our government and to turn its focus to updating and bolstering key programs in the future Farm Bill, which is vital to support organic regulation and prevent fraud, provide important research and risk management tools for farmers, and implement policies that strengthen the resiliency of domestic organic supply chain. Funding is also critically important for certain key organic “orphan programs” that ensure the integrity of imported organic goods, support organic farmers in making planting and marketing decisions, and provide financial assistance to farmers obtaining or renewing their organic certification. OTA urges Congress to include these vital programs in a long-term spending bill to ensure stability and support for organic farmers and the consumers who rely on domestically grown and produced organic products.
