All Things Organic™ 2007 Conference: Keynote Address: Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns

Secretary Johanns will discuss the President’s 2007 Farm Bill proposals to expand federal support for organic farmers and organic commodities. The proposals would fund new research on organic farming techniques and outcomes and establish comprehensive price reporting on organic commodities so farmers can make more informed planting and marketing decisions. They also call for expanding the Organic Certification Cost Share Program to all 50 states and raising the amount of the annual reimbursement to help small organic farmers. The proposals call for $7.8 billion in additional funding for USDA’s conservation programs and would include organically farmed land in the uses eligible to participate in an expanded Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). To help develop the export market for organic commodities, the proposals would expand the scope of USDA’s Market Access Program and provide it with $250 million in additional funding.