The Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018, a bipartisan bill that works to increase funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), was introduced recently by Senators Susan Collins, R-ME, and Bob Casey, D-PA.

This bill, which acts as a Senate companion bill to the House’s Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2017 (H.R. 2436), reauthorizes OREI until 2023 and gradually increases funding to USD50m over five years.

“OREI was created over 15 years ago when the organic industry looked very different,” said Kanika Gandhi, policy specialist at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, according to hpj.com. “The organic industry has experienced massive growth over the last few years and all signs indicate that consumer interest in organics will only continue to increase. Yet, despite its growth, domestic organic production continues to lag far behind demand for organic products. It is high time that our national investment in organic agricultural research is increased to catalyze the advancement of domestic production,” she added.

OREI is currently the only federal program focused specifically on research for the organic sector; yet unlike many other farm bill programs, OREI’s funding expires at the end of the 2014 Farm Bill cycle. The Organic Agriculture Research Act, like its House companion, will help to ensure that the funding for the program increases to an amount that will bring it more in line with current demand and growth projections for the organic industry.

The OREI has eight goals that were legislatively-defined by the Farm Bill:

1. Facilitating the development and improvement of organic agriculture production, breeding, and processing methods.

2. Evaluating the potential economic benefits of organic agricultural production and methods to producers, processors, and rural communities.

3. Exploring international trade opportunities for organically grown and processed agricultural commodities.

4. Determining desirable traits for organic commodities.

5. Identifying marketing and policy constraints on the expansion of organic agriculture.

6. Conducting advanced on-farm research and development that emphasizes observation of, experimentation with, and innovation for working organic farms, including research relating to production, marketing, food safety, socioeconomic conditions, and farm business management.

7. Examining optimal conservation and environmental outcomes relating to organically produced agricultural products.

8. Developing new and improved seed varieties that are particularly suited for organic agriculture.