DIALOGUE
Better Funding For Farming
Means a Stronger Future
For Organic
An Interview With Senator Tom Harkin
Foreword By Tracy Lerman, Organic Farming and Research Foundation
S
enator Tom Harkin of Iowa, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee,
has a long history of supporting organics. Due largely to Harkin’s advoca-
cy, the 2007 Farm Bill has over $100 million in play for organic agricultur-
al programs.
This funding from the Farm Bill is incredibly impor-
tant not only to organic farmers, but organic proces-
sors as well. With the organic industry’s double-digit
growth year after year, U.S. farmers and ranchers have
struggled to keep up with growing demand, and U.S.
processors and retailers have often needed to rely on
foreign agricultural imports.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture spends
less than 1.5 percent of agricultural research and edu-
cation dollars on organic programs even though organic has grown to
represent over 3 percent of the retail food market. Thus, organic advo-
cates have been pushing for a “fair-share” of USDA research dollars.
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