Organic Processing Vo1.5 #2

DIALOGUE

OP: The Farm Bill also supports renewable resources and helps farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses who want to improve their own energy systems through grants and loan guarantees for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems. Please tell us more about this.

Congress builds on the successes of that title and includes added funds for what will be named the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

This program provides grants and loan guarantees to farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency projects. In its short existence, the program has already proven popular and successful, with about $100 million in federal funding leveraging approximately 10 times that much in other funding for projects. Some of the most common projects have been wind power systems and more efficient grain dryers and irrigation pumps.

Harkin: Organic farms have an opportunity to increase our nation’s energy security using domestic, homegrown resources, but there are too few resources to help farmers to transition to use of renewable sources of energy.

I started to change that in the The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 by including the first-ever energy title, with a program of grants and loans for ranchers and rural small businesses to help them transition to renewable sources of energy and improve energy efficiency. The Senate Farm Bill currently moving through

OP: Do you have any suggestions of how those who support organic can get
involved to further support these efforts in the future?

Harkin: Much of what I’ve learned about the needs of this industry has come from producers and organizations dedicated to expanding the industry, so I encourage all who are interested in promoting organics to continue to push Congress to fully fund initiatives that help with this expanding industry. Interested readers can contact myself and other members of the Senate Agriculture _{Committee by filling out the web form at www.agriculture.senate.gov.}

Foreword Contributed by Tracy Lerman, the policy program assistant at The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), a non-profit leader in grantmaking, policy, education and networking initiatives that support organic farmers’ immediate information needs while moving the public and policymakers toward greater investment in organic farming systems. For more information on the Farm Bill and more, visit www.ofrf.org.