In addition to hosting field hearings across the country, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture is soliciting public input on the 2023 Farm Bill through an online portal. Comments will be accepted through Friday, June 16, 2023.
CCOF encourages all members to participate by sharing their farm bill priorities with the Committee on Agriculture.
As background, key farm bill titles for organic include the following:
Title II, Conservation funds Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs, including Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). CCOF is advocating that Congress set equal payment limits for organic and general funding pools for all conservation programs, including EQIP and CSP.
Title VII, Research, Extension, and Related Matters— funds organic research. This is the area of the farm bill in which organic priorities have made the largest gains over the past four farm bills. CCOF joins with partner groups such as the Organic Farming Research Foundation to advocate for continuing to protect and increase funding for organic research and extension.
Title X, Horticulture funds many programs important to organic producers, including the National Organic Program, the National Organic Cost Share Program, and the Farmers’ Market and Local Food Promotion Program.
View CCOF’s Farm Bill webpage for additional background and an overview of CCOF’s farm bill priorities.