| From what I've heard, until recently, the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) had less than a dozen people on its staff. In other words, the USDA is enormous, and NOP is tiny (I think it's still tiny, just a bit less tiny than before). NOP falls under AMS - the Agricultural Marketing Service. It's just one of the many areas within the USDA (and, in fact, Kathleen Merrigan - who now holds the #2 spot at USDA - used to be in charge of AMS). Until now, you could very easily work at USDA and have nothing to do with organics, ever.
The latest news is that Merrigan pledges integration of organics across the entire USDA:
Merrigan stated that, "here is where I'd like to fulfill a promise I made to many of you...and that is, organic should be integrated across all the agencies, not just the NOP, but each and every agency at USDA should have some engagement with the organic sector." In addition to the integration, Merrigan said, "Organic can no longer be stove-piped at USDA."
Additionally, she spoke about an Organic Production Survey that USDA is conducting - the "first ever wide-scale survey of organic farming in the United States." The survey results will be used to "shape policy and priorities with an eye toward helping small organic producers grow their operations into mid-sized farms and ranches."
Another great bit of news about Merrigan and organics? She wants to strictly uphold and enforce organic standards:
"We spent a lot of time developing standards, and now let's make sure they have the teeth and that they are followed and adhered to," said Merrigan. |
