Organic Farming Advocates Welcome Proposed Federal Standards

Organic dairy cows on a Vermont farm Credit: Anne Wallace Allen ©️ Seven Days

Proposed federal rules governing care of organic livestock would help ensure that Vermont’s organic dairy farmers are competing on a level field against producers that milk thousands of cows.

The process of creating the U.S. Department of Agriculture rules, at least 20 years in the making, ground to a halt under the Trump administration. It has restarted, and on Tuesday, the USDA published a Request for Comment from farmers, advocates and consumers. That’s an important step toward creating that level field, animal welfare advocates said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), then-chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, added organic standards to the 1990 farm bill, setting early parameters for the industry. He said Tuesday he was glad to see the Biden administration taking action to defend organic standards.

“I urge Vermont farmers to weigh in on the proposed change,” Leahy said.

Organic farming has grown immensely in the last few decades, with huge operations supplying food and milk around the country. There’s a widespread belief that not all organic operations are using the same standards, a phenomenon described in a New Yorker article last year called “The Great Organic-Food Fraud.” The piece described the case of Randy Constant, a Missouri corn and soybean grower who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 over $142 million in fraudulent organic grain sales.

Because Vermont’s organic dairy farmers compete against factory farm-size operations with thousands of cows, it’s vital that the same standards apply, Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said on Tuesday. The rules cover issues such as how dairy cows are housed and how much time they spend outside, which affects the cost of raising the animals.

“The organic community for a long time has really wanted to enforce these rules,” Tebbetts said. “A 3,000-cow organic dairy needs to be treated the same way as a farmer in Vermont that has 40 Jerseys on a back hill.”

The rules also cover treatment of poultry, a small sector in Vermont. The proposal would require year-round access to the outdoors, direct sunlight, shade, clean drinking water, space for dust bathing and other measures. It sets space requirements for egg-laying chickens, and would prohibit cages or indoor environments that restrict movement.

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, or NOFA, has certified about 200 Vermont dairy farms as organic. They’re competing in a global industry that was worth around $21 billion in 2021, according to dairyreporter.com, a trade publication.

While demand for organic dairy products is rising, the prices paid to farmers are not. Vermont’s congressional delegation and its Agency of Agriculture work to provide financial and technical support for the farms and promote Vermont products. Giving consumers more confidence in organic products would help the industry, Tebbetts said.

“When the consumer buys the milk, they need to know there are certain standards behind that, because they’re paying a premium,” he said. “We have focused in Vermont on following the regulations.”

The USDA’s public comment period ends October 11.