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Organic farmers hope to be better represented in next farm bill

Organic farmers are looking for better representation in the next farm bill. 

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) executive director Lori Stern says organic farmers seem to be in the minority compared to conventional crop and livestock producers.

“In the past, it’s just not been very front and center. It’s a smaller staff at the USDA that works on organic farming, and across the USDA programs farmers interact with. But I’m really hopeful that there are some conversations that are happening that I think will be fairly impactful.”

Speaking to Brownfield at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin, she says the pandemic has exposed a fragile domestic food system that would benefit by having more small meat processors.

“And I think issues like that are coming to the forefront even before the farm bill, and we’re seeing some funding in those areas. And hopefully that trend will also kind of continue into the farm bill if you look at more localized food systems and how we get food out to communities.”

Stern wants the 2023 Farm Bill to better support smaller more localized food systems that include small and mid-scale farms and meat processors.

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