Policymakers optimistic about future of organic agriculturePolicymakers optimistic about future of organic agriculture

Two top agriculture officials expressed unbridled excitement for the future of the organic agriculture industry on Dec. 5, capping off the Organic Grower Summit with words of encouragement for the nearly 600 in attendance.

USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt and Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, both expressed optimism for a sector they believe is on the rise.

“I really believe we are in one of the most exciting eras we’ve seen in agriculture in generations,” Ross said in keynote remarks at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Spa.

Moffitt, the USDA’s under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, pointed to globalization of markets as both a challenge and an opportunity for the industry, noting that consumers “now have access to organic food year-round.”

Organic ag was “hyper-local” in its infancy, but globalization “has grown market opportunities for producers here and abroad as well,” Moffitt said. She also credited the early success of the USDA’s new organic certification standards for “making sure all are competing on the same level playing field.”

The two women were among a final slate of speakers that wrapped up the two-day summit presented by Farm Progress and Western Growers. The final panel, titled “What’s next for organics?” was moderated by Western Growers Chief Executive Officer Dave Puglia, who noted that regenerative practices are “clearly on the ascent in agriculture.”

Related:Organic Grower Summit names 2024 Grower of the Year

The closing panel also included Victor Smith, whose JV Smith Co. has farming, cooling and distribution operations in the U.S. and Mexico; and Colby Pereira, chief operating officer of California-based Braga Fresh Family Farms.

Ross noted the buzz around regenerative organic agriculture, which some conference speakers referred to as “organic plus” because of its heightened emphasis on soil health and employee well-being.

She noted the summit fell in the middle of California’s Healthy Soils Week, which recognizes efforts to ensure that the soil has the right nutrients to support robust crop growth.

The CDFA’s theme this year was A Circular Economy for Healthy Soils, which celebrates efforts to replace some commercially produced fertilizers with nutrients recycled from agriculture and municipalities. This cycle not only conserves resources but can often decrease costs or create new revenue streams for producers, the CDFA notes.

A hot topic

Regenerative organic ag was a dominant topic during the summit, with two separate panels on Dec. 4 devoted to it and many of the trade show vendors catering to the practice.

Ross told the attendees their efforts are helping agriculture build climate resilience. “You’re all here because you are leaders who are willing to share knowledge,” she said. “When I was growing up on my parents’ farm in Nebraska, my dad would have loved to come to a conference like this but it wasn’t available.”

The seventh annual summit also included sessions on technology, pest management, production challenges and the stringent new federal requirements for organic certification, called Strengthening Organic Enforcement. The new rules took effect in March and require certification at every point in the supply chain.

The summit honored Grower of the Year Dick Peixoto of Watsonville, California, during the Dec. 5 keynote session.

Moffitt, a late addition to the summit’s lineup, is overseeing an ambitious specialty crop initiative that included a combined $70.2 million on 21 research and Extension projects nationwide that address key challenges for both conventional and organic producers. Earlier this year, Ross said she’d like to work with the USDA to make California a “preferred choice” for organic produce.

In the past three years, the USDA’s Organic Transition Initiative has spent $300 million to help producers switch to organic, adding more than 18,000 new certified acres and helping another 60,000 acres begin the transition, Moffitt noted.

With President-elect Donald Trump set to lead a new federal administration beginning Jan. 20, Moffitt’s office has prepared information for his transition team but has yet to begin discussions, she told Farm Press.