Organic farming in St. Lawrence County could get a boost from federal legislation currently being proposed.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is joining 14 fellow lawmakers in reintroducing the Opportunities in Organic Act, legislation designed to help farmers and other agricultural producers transition to organic practices and build successful and sustainable businesses.

The senators’ legislation would help eliminate steep barriers farmers often face to enter the industry, including high certification costs and insufficient technical assistance from existing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, said a press release from Gillibrand's office. 

The bill is led in the House of Representatives by Reps. Alma Adams (D-NC-12) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19).

According to the St. Lawrence County 2017 Ag Census, there are about 75 organic farms (16 with sales under $5,000 and 59 with sales over $5,000) in St. Lawrence County, out of 1,253 farms countywide. However, organic farms in the county produce about $10 million in sales, about 10 percent of the total ag sales for the county estimated to be around $191 million. 

“American farmers are the backbone of our Upstate economy. It is vital that the federal government continues to invest in their critical contributions as they deliver fresh, healthy food to our communities,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Our Opportunities in Organic Act will promote sustainable farming and help eliminate the steep barriers that farmers face when transitioning to organic methods. I will continue fighting to ensure organic farmers in New York and across the nation have the resources they need to thrive for generations to come.”  

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.