Last week, USDA announced that it will conduct the first-ever, wide-scale survey of organic farming in the United States. The goal is to better understand how organic farming fits into the larger U.S. agriculture picture. This comes after the appointment of Kathleen Merrigan - who has spent a good part of her career working to promote and advance organic farming practices - to be Deputy Secretary. And I'm guessing by now we all know about the organic garden that has been planted at the White House. Plus, the area around the Whitten Building will apparently be transformed into an organic garden.
I don't begrudge the Administration for their zeal for organic foods. There are consumers out there that share that zeal. I have long been a supporter of innovative, value-added agriculture. If you can find your niche, great. In fact, as Secretary of Agriculture, I supported a number of organic farming initiatives, including increased funding for the Organic Cost Share Program to offset certification costs which can be burdensome. But, the President and USDA must support all of agriculture. Conventional agriculture and organic farming are not mutually exclusive.
Today is a good opportunity to urge the Administration not to let their fervor for organic production cloud their judgment regarding the production methods for traditional crops. Traditional farming and ranching operations are the backbone of agriculture in the United States. Fertilizers, pesticides, and modern plant and animal genetics help our farmers and ranchers fight disease, attack insects and pests, ensuring a safe and abundant food supply. These hard-working Americans literally feed the world, and play an increasing role in our energy security.
It is fine to romanticize that farming should return to its agrarian beginnings-where every farm family owned a few acres, a dairy cow, a couple pigs, and a chicken coop, but it is far from realistic...
We do agriculture the best of any place in the world, and I've been around the world many times. We cannot afford to enact policies or neglect agriculture in a way that minimizes the importance of this very important piece of our economy, and its importance in feeding the world.
Senator Johanns, none of us here are romanticizing agriculture. We care about our own health, the health of our environment, and our very ability to survive in a world with declining oil reserves and global warming. In Johanns' defense, at least he didn't refer to Merrigan as "whats-her-name" like Grassley did. FYI, he's up for re-election in 2014. I'll be fundraising for whoever runs against him.
