Farm Headlines, Friday June 10, 2016

General Mills Announces Partnership to Help Dairy Farms Go Organic

General Mills this week announced a strategic sourcing partnership with the largest organic cooperative in the United States. The partnership with Wisconsin-based Organic Valley will help about 20 dairy farms add around 3,000 acres to organic dairy production. The program will assist General Mills to double the organic acreage from which it sources ingredients by 2019. Since 2009, General Mills has increased the organic acreage it supports by 120 percent. Also, General Mills will launch the Organic and Regenerative Agriculture Transition Council. The council, according to the company, will bring together sustainable agricultural leaders, farmers and industry stakeholders with the mission of advancing organic agriculture practices. General Mills attributes the moves to USDA data that says demand for organic food is increasing in the Unites States, but supply has not been able to keep up.

Anti-Organic Checkoff Groups Sends Letter to USDA

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.

Source:  NAFB News