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USDA Rescinds Organic Directives
New North Carolina Insurance Program Benefits Small and Contract Farms
Good News for Georgia Poultry Growers
Action Alert for The Fair Contracts for Growers Act (S. 91)
Farmers, buyers, NGOs force Monsanto to Pull GE Wheat
Proceedings of the Summit on Seeds and Breeds for 21st Century Agriculture Now Available

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USDA Rescinds Organic Directives

Yielding to public pressure, the USDA has rescinded four objectionable directives for the National Organic Program. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman's early-June decision followed a campaign mounted by the organic community and consumer organizations and an article in the New York Times. After announcing the decision she and her organic program chain of command met with a small delegation of organic leaders, including Michael Sligh of RAFI."We've written a follow-up letter to the Secretary, thanking her for rescinding the ill-conceived directives," said Sligh. "We are now seeking clarification on the exact status of the directives and are vigorously addressing the large, looming structural deficiencies in the National Organic Program."

Here is how Sligh, director of RAFI's Just Food program, described the directives and the problems they would present:

These and the other recent "directives" or "interpretations" were proffered without prior review by or consultation with the National Organic Standards Board.

A June 22 letter was faxed to Veneman with key questions designed to further clarify the process in effect at USDA. The letter requested a reply by July 22. The letter's full text can be seen at http://www.rafiusa.org/whatsnew/Organicdirectives_letter.html

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New North Carolina Insurance Program Benefits Small and Contract Farms

By Scott Marlow from NCDA Press Release

In 2005, North Carolina will be one of 16 states, and the only state in theSoutheast, to participate in the USDA Risk Management Agency pilot Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite (AGR-Lite) program. According to a USDA press release, this plan "provides protection against low revenue due to unavoidable natural disasters and market fluctuations that affect income during the insurance year."

AGR-Lite insures a farmer's gross revenue based on a five year average from IRS Schedule F tax forms and other IRS form farm income. Farmers with gross revenue of less than $512,821 are eligible for up to $250,000 of liability. If the farmer can demonstrate that history of revenue, they can receive the insurance regardless of the crops produced.

This program will assist farmers who have been ineligible for crop insurance programs due to the mixture of crops they produce, or because of the ownership structure of production. Many small farm operators have been unable to access crop insurance programs because they produce a large number of crops, often for specialty prices not reflected in crop insurance. According to NC Secretary of Agriculture Britt Cobb "Only 21 of more than150 commodities produced in our state are eligible for conventional crop insurance programs. That's less than 15%. Beginning with the 2005 crop year, this new program will enable small farmers to cover previously uninsurable commodities."

In addition, farmers who produce poultry or other commodities under production contracts where the integrator retains ownership of the commodity will now be eligible for insurance on that production. In the past, such as during the floods following Hurricane Floyd, farmers were not eligible for crop insurance payment for animals destroyed during natural disasters because they did not own the animals.

According to RAFI Farm Advocate Benny Bunting, "This program is a great first step for diversified farms in North Carolina, and it is a great achievement for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture that North Carolina has been selected as one of the pilot states. In the future, we hope to see expansion of the program and additional development of the eligibility. For example, we hope that provisions can be made in the revenue history to substitute county averages in disaster years."

According to Jason Rohrig, Director of RAFI-USA's Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund which provides cost-share grants and technical support to tobacco farmers and tobacco-dependent communities for the development of alternative enterprises, " We are very glad to see this program. For many of the farms that we work with there is no other insurance program that covers their new enterprise, and that insurance is crucial for them in seeking bank financing and for the long-term development of their enterprise."

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Good News for Georgia Poultry Growers

Despite heavy lobbying by the Poultry Federation, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed HB 648 on May 12th at 2 pm. The legislation is now law and provides for the regulation of poultry contracts and the enforcement of fair contract standards. Among the grower rights now protected under Georgia state law are:

See RAFI e-Bulletin # 22 for more information on the Georgia legislation:
http://www.rafiusa.org/pubs/pubebulletins/e-Bulletin22.html

To see the full text of the bill: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/versions/hb648_HB_648_AP_8.htm

To see the Illinois legislation: http://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp? name=093-0522

To see the Kansas Law: http://www.kslegislature.org/cgi-bin/statutes/index.cgi and search for Statue 16-1701.

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Action Alert for The Fair Contracts for Growers Act (S. 91)

Please call your Senators today. Ask them to cosponsor S. 91. You can reach any member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

The number is often busy, so just keep trying. If you would rather use the web to look up contact information: http://congress.org/congressorg/home/.

Ask to speak to the Senator's agriculture staff person. If you get voice mail just leave a message. Ask your Senators to protect the rights of farmers and keep arbitration truly voluntary. Ask your Senator to cosponsor S. 91.

You can mention that the Senator should have received a Dear Colleague letter from the bill sponsors, Senators Grassley and Feingold, outlining many of the problems with arbitration. Note that you hope the Senator will pay attention to this letter and the information provided because arbitration is a critical issue for farmers and the rural communities they support. (To view the Dear Colleague letter visit the RAFI-USA website - http://www.rafiusa.org/whatsnew/GrassleyFeingold_letter.html).

If it is easier, you can also just fax your Senator the text of Grassley and Feingold's letter and include a cover page saying you hope your Senator reads this letter and will sign on as a cosponsor of S. 91.

The Fair Contracts for Growers Act (S. 91), sponsored by Senators Grassley (R-IA) and Feingold (D-WI) provides for greater fairness in livestock and poultry contracts.The bill ensures that the decision to arbitrate is truly voluntary and that farmers are not coerced into waiving their rights. It specifies that if a livestock or poultry contract provides for the use of arbitration to resolve disputes, arbitration may be used to settle a dispute only if, after the dispute arises, both parties agree in writing to use arbitration. The poultry experience shows that forced arbitration clauses effectively prevent farmers from resolving a dispute in court - even in the case of extreme fraud or illegality on the part of the company. Instead farmers are forced into a forum that is biased against them. Arbitration can be very expensive and beyond the means of most farmers. A grower in Texas was recently billed over $20,000 for her portion of the initial costs, with payment due before the arbitration process could begin. In comparison, court filing fees run around $200.

The arbitrators are unlikely to have any knowledge of the industry or the complexities of grower payment methods. Their decision and its basis do not even need to be given in writing. In general, neither the grower nor the company has the right to appeal to anyone, including the courts, if they believe the decision is flawed.

An amendment to the Senate 2002 Farm Bill identical to S 91 enjoyed strong bipartisan support and passed with a 64 to 31 vote. (It was later dropped in conference.) A similar measure that provided voluntary arbitration in contracts between car dealers and car manufactures passed as part of a larger appropriations package and is now law.

If forced arbitration is not stopped in livestock and poultry contracts, it could easily spread to other sectors of agriculture where contract production is just beginning. Arbitration can be a useful tool if it is a mutually agreed upon method of settling a dispute. However, the law should not permit large companies to use arbitration to deny family farmers access to justice.The lead sponsor of this legislation is Senator Grassley of Iowa. The bill has been cosponsored by:

Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI]
Sen Harkin, Tom [IA]
Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY]
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT]
Sen Johnson, Tim [SD]
Sen Edwards, John [NC]

To read S. 91: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:s91is.txt.pdf .

To see which Senators voted for the Senate Farm Bill amendment providing greater fairness in the arbitration process for livestock and poultry farmers: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=1&vote=00366.
(Remember that since this vote occurred in the previous session, Senators elected in 2002 will not be listed. Be sure and thank any Senator that voted for the amendment and remind him or her S. 91 is
basically identical to that amendment.)

To see which Senators cosponsored legislation to provide greater fairness in the arbitration process for car dealers: http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d107query.html and search for Bill S. 1140. (Remember that since this bill was introduced in the previous session, Senators elected in 2002 will not be listed.)

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Farmers, buyers, NGOs force Monsanto to Pull GE Wheat

After seven years of developing and promoting genetically engineered (GE) wheat, Monsanto announced on May 20 that it was giving up the struggle.

"It's about time that companies like this recognize that the free market forces have spoken--consumers, farmers, and buyers don't want it," said Michael Sligh of RAFI.

The company threw in the towel because of massive rejection from wheat buyers, farmer reluctance to plant GE wheat, and consumer opposition to bioengineered foods.

RAFI and many other NGOs led a long and effective campaign against the GE wheat, raising issues that included contamination of non-GE wheat, assignment of liability for GE contamination, the question of recompense for non-GE farmers whose crops are damaged, environmental impact of GE crops, and consumer choice.

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Announcing publication of the Proceedings of the Summit on Seeds and Breeds for 21st Century Agriculture. Proceedings of summit convened by RAFI to develop a blueprint for re-invigorating public domain plant and animal breeding to meet the needs of a more sustainable agriculture. Printed document (200 pages) is available for $25 from RAFI-USA, PO Box 640, Pittsboro NC 27312, (919) 542-1396.