Organic produce industry hopeful about new administration
Organic produce trade organizations seem optimistic about the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden and his appointment of Tom Vilsack as secretary of agriculture, but opinions of organic grower-shippers vary.
Addie Pobst, organic integrity and logistics coordinator for Viva Tierra Organic Inc., Sedro-Woolley, Wash., said the organic industry will have to wait and see what impact Vilsack, who served as agriculture secretary during President Barack Obama’s administration, will have on the industry today.
“Certainly, Vilsack’s tenure and his leadership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture wasn’t a shining example of support for the organic industry,” she said.
But that was several years ago, she conceded.
“It’s entirely possible that in today’s climate, there’s a little better awareness at the USDA about the strength of the organic market and the importance of the organic consumer,” she said.
“I would hope that we would be given more of a voice in decisions that might impact our segment of the market.”
The organic segment was smaller and less well established when Vilsack was secretary from 2009-17, she said.
Brent Shammo, national marketing representative for Starr Ranch Growers, Wenatchee, Wash., wasn’t sure what, if any, effect Washington, D.C., will have on the future of organics.
“The organic industry is being driven by consumers, not by politics,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to matter one way or the other.”
Michael DuPuis, quality assurance and public relations coordinator for Divine Flavor LLC, Nogales, Ariz., said Divine Flavor will concentrate on its own role.
“For us, we need to keep an eye on doing what we can control — being able to produce the healthiest and freshest product we can for our consumers and to be reliable partners for our retailers regardless of any administration changes,” he said.
“It’s important for us to own up to our responsibility as responsible producers and farmers to make sure we focus on doing what the consumers deserve and being a reliable source of produce.”
Cherie France, marketing manager for Porterville, Calif.-based Homegrown Organic Farms, said the organic produce industry is so resilient that it can deal with whoever is in the White House or whatever the pandemic throws at it.
“If COVID has taught the produce industry anything, it’s that we are very flexible and can pivot very quickly,” she said.
“The industry can bob and weave and respond in a way that is going to be for the betterment of the farmers at the end of the day.”
“Farming is based on learning and adjusting,” France said. “We’ll figure out how to adjust.”
Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers sees the change in administrations as an opportunity.
The organization said in a statement:
“The new administration creates an opportunity to realize CCOF’s vision of a world where organic is the norm in both farming and food.
“The pandemic, while devastating, has shown how versatile the organic food and farming sector is and has increased consumer focus on health and good food, bolstering organic sales over the past eight months.
“We hope to continue to expand access to organic food to every community in the nation. We see an opportunity to recognize organic as a crucial part of the solution to the country’s most pressing problems, from public health to economic recovery and climate change.”
A statement from the Washington, D.C.-based Organic Trade Association said OTA looks forward to working again with Vilsack.
“Mr. Vilsack understands the importance and great potential of the American organic sector,” OTA said.
Vilsack oversaw a period of unprecedented growth for organic farmers and businesses, the association said.
“The Organic Trade Association looks forward to working with Mr. Vilsack to reinvest in organic agriculture and move our nation toward economic stability for farmers and rural communities, improve access to healthy food and foster a more climate-friendly system of farming,” the statement said.
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