A letter submitted to USDA this week from the No Organic Checkoff Coalition urges the Agricultural Marketing Service not to establish a checkoff for organics.
The letter tells USDA a mandatory federal organic checkoff is not “the correct vehicle to address the obvious need for organic marketing and research.”
The group, representing 755 signatories including 25 organic farmer organizations and businesses, says they have not seen “any convincing evidence” the checkoff program would support increased organic production.
The coalition claims there is a lack of industry support for an Organic Checkoff and argues that ‘organic’ is not a commodity.
Further, the coalition says, organic research is not a priority in the checkoff proposal being considered by USDA and provided by the Organic Trade Association.
On the other hand, the Organic Trade Association says nearly 1,300 organic stakeholders support the proposal, including 75 percent of certified organic farmers.
