Organic Dairy Data Provision in House Version, Missing from Senate Farm Bill Discussion Draft
A provision to improve the collection and publication of organic dairy data is already in the House version of the Farm Bill. It has bi-partisan support and broad backing across the organic industry. Yet it is currently absent from the Senate Farm Bill discussion draft, despite organic dairy farmers grappling with rising input costs and unstable markets, without comprehensive, transparent data on cost-of-production and pay prices.
Right now, USDA lacks organic-specific data, meaning farmers have to rely on conventional dairy statistics that don’t capture organic market realities. This lack of information hampers farmers’ abilities to respond to challenges and make data-driven business decisions to stay competitive.
NOC is asking, at a minimum, that the Senate include the House provision, which:
Directs USDA to collect and publish cost-of-production data for organic milk, including the costs of major organic feedstuffs, domestically produced or imported.
Directs USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to gather and report monthly data about the amounts that organic dairy farmers are being paid for organic milk.
Directs USDA NASS, the Economic Research Service (ERS) or Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to publish reports on the cost-of-production data by state, regional data on the quantity of organic milk production and prices.
Better data on organic milk prices, feed costs, and production expenses will improve market transparency and help farmers, businesses, researchers, and policymakers make better-informed decisions that strengthen the organic dairy sector.
NOC supports the more expansive O DAIRY Act, previously introduced by Peter Welch (D-Vt.). So while including the House provision on organic dairy market data in the Senate Farm Bill is a start, there is much more to be done.
Because the Senate Farm Bill legislation is still a discussion draft, there is still time to improve it. NOC’s Action Alert includes this provision and many others that support meaningful investments in organic agriculture and family-scale farms. Now is the time to write to your Senators about what matters most to you. You can use our action alert as a base and personalize the message to emphasize provisions that matter most to you and why.