The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ORGANIC AGRICULTURE LISTENING SESSION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6049 on July 11, 2018.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE LISTENING SESSION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, on Monday, I hosted and chaired a Listening Session on Organic Agriculture at our State capitol in Harrisburg.
Agriculture is a key economic driver in Pennsylvania and remains the Commonwealth's number one industry. One in seven jobs in Pennsylvania is connected to agriculture, a fact especially important in rural areas, generating some $7.4 billion in sales in 2017.
Yet agriculture in Pennsylvania and around the country goes well beyond our local communities. Our farmers not only feed, clothe, and provide energy and fiber for all Americans, but also to many other nations around the world.
Pennsylvania agriculture is diverse and encompasses a wide array of commodities and production methods. Monday's listening session was specifically focused on the organic agriculture sector in Pennsylvania.
I was proudly joined by my colleagues, Congressman Scott Perry and Congressman Tom Marino, as well as Pennsylvania's agriculture deputy secretary, Cheryl Cook. We heard from a number of expert panelists, including: Leslie Zuck of Pennsylvania Certified Organic; Dr. Kristy Borrelli of Penn State extension; Scott Sechler of Bell & Evans; Ken Rice, an organic livestock feed seller; Andrew Kline, an organic beef and milk producer; and Hannah Smith-Brubaker of the Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Association, or PASA.
We heard some tremendous testimony from the all-star panel, and I thank them for their insights. Over the past decade, organic agriculture has flourished around the Nation. From 2015 to 2016, the number of certified organic farms nationwide increased to more than 14,000, and the number of certified acres increased by 15 percent, according to the USDA.
Pennsylvania has been a leading State in organic agriculture with more than 800 farms across the Commonwealth. With some farms transitioning and others just starting out in agriculture, organic is being supported in a variety of ways. Through Pennsylvania Certified Organic, Penn State's extension activities, stakeholder organizations, and the State Department of Agriculture, many are working to help farmers who wish to transition to organic farming.
There have also been a variety of supports put in place at the Federal level. Title X of the farm bill is the horticulture portion of the law which covers specialty crops, local and regional foods, and organic agriculture.
The 2014 farm bill included $34 million annually to organic producers. This includes support for USDA's Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, the National Organic Program, and the Organic Data Initiative. The farm bill also authorizes the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program, the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program, the Market Access Program, the EQIP Organic Initiative, and our bedrock agricultural conservation programs.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, the House and Senate have been working diligently to write the next farm bill as the current law expires in September. Writing a new farm bill is timely, as rural areas have been hit hard by farm recession in recent years with the average farm income roughly half of what it was just 5 years ago.
Since both the House and Senate have passed versions of the farm bill, I look forward to working out the differences in conference. This new law will certainly continue to support both traditional as well as organic agriculture on many fronts, and I look forward to getting the final bill across the finish line.
Honoring World War I Heroes in Clinton County, Pennsylvania
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of two World War I heroes from Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
Private First Class Ira Cranmer Keller and Corporal Beale Marshall Darby are the hometown soldiers for which the county's Keller & Darby Memorial Park is named. Private First Class Keller was 24 years old and the first Clinton County soldier to be killed during World War I. Corporal Darby was only 18 years old and is the second hometown soldier to lose his life in the Great War.
Their families donated land in North Bend to be used as a public park, forever commemorating their sacrifice for our freedom. This Sunday, there will be a formal memorial and rededication ceremony. A World War I Soldiers' Commemorative Monument will also be unveiled in the park.
Mr. Speaker, a century later, we are celebrating the lives of these two soldiers and honoring the sacrifice that they made to this great Nation. To this day, the park honors these North Bend heroes, as their families intended. It is a place where we will always remember the sacrifices that come with our freedom, and we will never forget.
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