[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Baucus):
  S. 1976. A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to include a 
provision on organic conversion in the environmental quality incentives 
program; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today with Senators Leahy and 
Baucus to introduce the Organic Conversion Assistance Act to help 
provide needed technical and conservation assistance to farmers and 
ranchers converting to organic agriculture. I wanted to thank Senator 
Leahy for his leadership on organic agricultural issues and Senator 
Baucus for his long-time support for Montana's farmers and ranchers.
  My wife and I have spent our careers farming organically on our farm 
near Big Sandy, MT. Nearly 20 years ago we were struggling to get ahead 
and trying to decide if we could really make it farming while so many 
of our neighbors were packing up and moving away. We knew at that time 
that if we didn't make some changes to our business we would end up 
like so many of our neighbors leaving rural Montana for jobs in town.
  In 1988, we took what was then a risk and converted our farm to 
organic production. Our motivations were mostly economic but partly for 
health reasons. We wanted to farm on our own terms and to make more 
money. When I farmed conventionally I felt beholden to one big company 
after another from buying fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fuel, to 
selling my grain to a corporation and shipping it by rail at high 
prices and we rarely came out ahead. Every season after I would spray 
for weeds and bugs, I would feel sick for a week afterwards.
  Organic agriculture let us take control of our farm and our 
livelihood. More and more farmers are converting to organics as 
consumer demand soars. Organics is now the fastest growing sector of 
the food industry expanding at a rate of over 20 percent a year. In 
Montana, we lead the Nation in organic wheat production and are a close 
second in the production of organic barley, peas and lentils. Consumer 
demand for organic products is growing so fast that we are now 
importing a significant portion of the organic food that is found in 
our grocery stores.
  In the U.S. we grow the highest quality and safest food in the world. 
I believe that increased production of domestically produced organic 
foods will help meet consumer demand, help keep farmers on the land, 
and because organic agriculture needs fewer inputs it helps conserve 
our land, and clean up our air and water. But if the U.S. is going to 
keep pace with imported organic products we need to get more acreage 
under organic production here at home.
  The legislation I am introducing today will provide conversion 
assistance to farmers making the transition from conventional to 
organic agriculture. Currently it takes 3 to 4 years to become 
certified organic, but during that period of time producers cannot 
receive the higher price that organics fetch in the market place. 
Furthermore, the shift towards a new way of farming and ranching 
creates technical challenges for many producers as they change the way 
they do things. Offering technical and educational assistance as well 
as cost-share funds for conservation initiatives under a certified 
organic plan will provide a needed helping hand to farmers. Making the 
conversion will help keep farmers on the land by putting a bit more 
money in their pockets and help our rural communities be viable. Many 
States have already adopted similar assistance programs and 
agricultural producers nationwide would benefit from having a 
consistent and available program in years to come.
  I would appreciate the support of my colleagues as this legislation 
moves forward.
                                 ______