WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is cosponsoring legislation to reduce the barriers to sustainable organic farming practices. The Opportunities in Organic Act would reduce the high costs associated with establishing and maintaining an organic farm by addressing high certification costs and improving technical assistance from existing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs.

Organic agriculture has a wide array of environmental and health benefits, including enhancing soil fertility and structure, which can boost crop yield and help reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. By reducing the use of fossil fuel-based fertilizers and toxic pesticides, organic farms further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the health of farmers, farmworkers, and consumers who might otherwise be exposed to dangerous pesticides.

“While organic practices have tremendous health, environmental and economic benefits, producers face inefficient financial and logistical barriers to establishing organic farming practices,” said Senator King. “The Opportunities in Organic Act helps farmers with the high costs and hurdles associated with entering the organic business—a win-win for rural producers and consumers.”

The Opportunities in Organic Act helps mitigate challenges farmers and producers face when transitioning to organics by modernizing USDA’s reimbursements for organic certification and expanding the department’s available expertise for organic agriculture. Specifically, the bill would expand the existing National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program into a comprehensive Opportunities in Organic Program by:

• Increasing USDA’s technical assistance for producers to advance organic practices;
• Making organic practices more accessible for agricultural producers from socially disadvantaged groups and underserved regions by increasing cost-share payments for organic certification and granting USDA flexibility to exceed current cost-share caps; and
• Providing additional support for non-governmental organizations working to help producers transition to organic practices.

King is joined on the legislation by U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Tina Smith (D-MN).

Senator King is a staunch advocate for the Maine agriculture industry. Last year, he introduced the American Grown Act , bipartisan legislation to prioritize domestic horticulturists and farmers, and strengthen the American floral industry. Senator King cosponsored the Honor Farmer Contracts Act which released withheld federal funding and allocated it back to farmers as Congress had intended. Additionally, he is an original sponsor of the bipartisan Dairy PRIDE Act which combats the mislabeling of non-dairy products and requires accurate labeling of dairy and non-dairy products as mislabeling is harmful to dairy farmers selling their products in a crowded marketplace. Senator King also cosponsored the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give milk producers a greater voice in dairy pricing.

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