Fitting a square peg in a round hole: Applying U.S. farm policy to organic farms

Abstract

The suite of U.S. federal farm programs available to organic farmers includes conservation programs through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), risk management through crop insurance, and the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (commonly referred to as Organic Cost Share or just Cost Share). Of these programs, the Organic Cost Share is the most widely used. Many organic farmers do not enroll in conservation pro­grams or purchase crop insurance. The under­utilization of federal farm programs by organic producers is well known in the organic community, but there is a lack of systematic evidence about the rationale for not applying for or using programs. Using qualitative data collected through structured interviews, we find that many organic producers want to participate in the Organic Cost Share, EQIP, CSP, and crop insurance. Many are success­ful, but others face institutional, cultural, and programmatic barriers that prevent them from participating. A key recommendation from this study is the creation of specialized, highly trained crop insurance and conservation agents with expertise in organic farming systems to facilitate the application process and program use for conservation programs and crop insurance. The Organic Cost Share Program would have more impact if its funds were used to support beginning organic farmers in addition to small-scale farm operators.