This week on The American Family Farmer, host Doug Stephan welcomes Julia Barton, Farmer Services Director at the Organic Farmers Association (OFA), for an in-depth look at how OFA is advocating for a healthier, more equitable future for American agriculture.Julia brings over a decade of hands-on experience supporting organic, transitional, and sustainable farmers. In her role with OFA, she works directly with farmers across the country to help them navigate certification, overcome challenges, and find success in the growing organic marketplace.
In this episode, Julia and Doug dive into:
- The mission and values of the Organic Farmers Association
- How federal policy can better support independent organic farmers
- The importance of farmer-led advocacy in shaping the future of food
- What new and transitioning organic farmers need most
- How OFA is building a unified voice for domestic certified organic producers
🌐 Learn more at organicfarmersassociation.org
Website: AmericanFamilyFarmerShow.com
Social Media: @GoodDayNetworks
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The American Family Farmer podcast, sponsored in part by Caldron,
The Safe, proven Way to Lose weight. Check it all
out at toploss dot com. I'm Doug Stephan. This is
the American Family Farmer. Let's get to some good news.
We're going to talk organic farming. Organic farming. Lots of
controversy about it these days because some of the big companies,
(00:21):
the big egg companies that we're not too fond of,
have gotten into this and kind of ruined it for
the farmers who are really doing a good job. And
our discussion on organics this week Julia Barton, farm Services
Director for the Organic Farmers Association at Organicfarmers Association dotr
gee ms Barton, Who is here? So let's first of all, Julia,
(00:45):
talk about the mission of the Organic Farmers Association. What
are you supposed to be providing to your clients, who
I would assume would be organic farmers.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, to our members. First of all, thank you for
having me. Ben happy to share the mission of Organic
Farmers Association, which is to provide US strong and unified
national voice for domestics certified organic producers so that organic
agriculture will become the basis of a viable United States
food and agricultural policy and production system to support a
(01:16):
healthier planet for the benefit of all life.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So a number of words and a number of ideas
here as I go back into history and understand organics.
It was always organic before the Industrial Revolution and since
in the thirties and forties, when there was a lot
of experimentation as to how to get more on the farm,
what to do when, to get rid of the bugs
(01:40):
and the bad stuff, and how to make things grow faster.
We have become susceptible to a lot of things that
are not good. And some even to my friends who
listen to the American family farmer, who are smaller growers,
don't agree with me when it comes to the chemicals
and things that are put onto fields and put onto
(02:04):
produce to keep the bugs away or to make them
grow faster. So let's talk about how the modern organic
farm has come about and how it's managed. I think
that's the place for us to get started.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Junia, Sure, well, and I appreciate you noting that organic
agriculture is not new. So organic agriculture was here before
we got here, and it'll be here when we are gone.
It is based on the principles of health, ecology, fairness,
(02:37):
and care. Those are the international organic principles that are
widely shared among the movement, and organic farmers have been
learning from one another and building upon the work of
indigenous communities around the world since the movement began. So
appreciate you sharing that to get us started. I think
(03:01):
modern organic farming takes lots of different forms, and we
have a base of members across the nation that are
doing all sorts of different types of organic production, from
dairying to grain operations to diversified vegetable and fruit operations,
and it's really kind of exciting to see how the
(03:21):
farmers support one another and learn from each other over time.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, I think that's it. Frankly, I know around here
where I am there are various elements. For example, in
the farm organization of the Farm Bureau and the National
Farmers Union, they take a position. I think the American
Farm Bureau is weaker on it than the National Farmers Union,
but maybe that has to do with politics as much
(03:47):
as anything else. This is not political or ought not
to be. This is about you and your health. And
I say when I say you, because a lot of
the people who listen to this program. Are not necessarily farmers.
They're interested in the topics, did in good food and
that sort of thing. And we have the organic business
has become infested with the influence of the four or
(04:10):
five huge ag businesses and conglomerates, and that hasn't done
the organic movement much good. Elizabeth Miller is here for
a Caldron proven to work in ninety days. That's why
you folks at Caltron sell the product in ninety day increments.
It does nothing but work. Let everybody know how well
(04:34):
it works.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Absolutely, And I was going to say, also, you know,
we take care of our customers too, so if you
ever wanted to reorder, we're not jacking up the price.
We're not doing anything crazy trying to get more money
out of you. We are here to help. If you
order something and you like that special that you got,
and you call back later and you want to order
you don't see it on the website, we will absolutely
still honor that special. We are good about taking care
(04:55):
of our customers, making sure our customers are happy with
the product. You get a team of support, you get
a dedicate parsonal and culturing and consulting We've all been
here for a really long time.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Though.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
We're good at our job helping people lose the right way.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Use the discount code, dougdug and you get free shipping
among all the other benefits. It's just nothing but good
toplaws dot Com back on the American Family Farmer. Hi,
Doug Stephan here, Julia is the farm Services director for
(05:28):
the Organic Farmers Association. In terms of the group's organization
and how long you've been around, how did this come about,
How did you and the others who are part of
this get started? What was the need that you fulfilled?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yes, thank you for asking. The Organic Farmers Association was
founded by organic farmers for organic farmers to provide a
strong national voice on domestic organic farmer issues. And I
think there was a need in the movement at the
time to center the farmer voice, because sometimes the farmer
(06:06):
voice can be back burnered to other interests. As you
noted in the first part of the segment, sometimes interests
of consolidation, fiscal interests can.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Overshadow where there's a buck to be made large, and
that's really what drives this stuff is a buck. People
were recognizing that run these big conglomerates that people were going,
they were searching for they were sourcing organic foods because
at the time the organic stuff was obviously much healthier.
(06:41):
A lot of attention being paid to what Monsanto has
done to the food supply and others like it, Dow Chemical, Dupond,
all of these big companies that have sold billions of
dollars worth of product to farmers in the name of
making things better. Well, we all know if we've got
any sense that they don't make things better when it
(07:02):
comes to our health and well being food. I don't
mean to make this a lecture, but food is medicine.
Good food keeps you healthy, and if you don't have good,
healthy food, then you have a lot of people in
the population who we're sick. And that's exactly what we
have now at the hands of the ilk of Monsanto
and Dow and DuPont and the others. So I make
(07:25):
that statement without having any connection to you, but I'm
guessing that you and your members would agree that that's
maybe sort of an insightful overview of what's going on.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
We do agree that food is medicine, and I'm glad
you brought that up, because we just had an issue
I think it was two issues ago of our Organic
Voice magazine, which is a publication I invite you and
your listeners to check out that shares information from organic farmers,
from our team at OFA, and from researchers to close
(08:00):
the loop back with organic farmers on the issues that
everyone is facing and keeping everyone informed. So we did
an issue on food is medicine not long ago, because
it's true and I think organic farmers really understand that
in the way that they work with nature in order
to produce food for their communities. I also wanted to
note that you know the bit that you shared about
consolidation in the food system and the first segment. Organic
(08:24):
Farmers Association and our members are really concerned about that
and have been working through a grassroots process of several
work groups to address various issues that are top of
mind for organic farmers. So if any of your listeners
happen to be organic farmers, we would invite those invite
them to join our work groups. We have an interest
form on our website, and we're also always listening for
(08:46):
other issues that are top of mind for our members
that we might need to gather on and identify problems,
and you know, when you get farmers together, they tend
to come up with solutions that work. For organic farmers,
it's really be part of that process. Yeah, they're in it.
They get it right right, and they're used to solving
their own problems because they've often had to.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
One of the things that is cool is understanding that
we all are responsible for ourselves individually and collectively. If
you choose to be a farmer, that's a huge responsibility.
One of the things one of the words that's come
down the pike in the last ten years. So I know,
we had a whole series of programs a couple of
(09:29):
years ago on regenerative agriculture and what that is. I
think it's just another way of saying the stuff is
produced organically, isn't it? Using what's there? Before we had
all of the I mean, I'll tell you a quick
experience from my time in Ohio. I went to school
in Ohio and I worked on a farm when I
(09:49):
was at school, and one of the things, and this
was a number of years ago, but it was very telling.
There was a group of organic farmers who wanted to
point out the difference between soils that are treated with
a lot of the natural things, like I have. What
I use on my farm is sort of a witch's
brew of chicken manure, com manure and some I have
(10:15):
a large compost facility. Put that all together, and that
on one side of the road was used for the soil.
The other side of the road was all the chemicals
and stuff that I used to treat corn and many
and beans and things. And the soil on the one
side of the road that was treated with chemicals was
(10:36):
like a rock. It didn't breathe. When you dug a
shovel into it, it came out big clumps, like a
big you know, a shovelful of cement, versus the stuff
on the other side of the road. It was all
nice and soft, and the stuff had obviously an easier
time growing. So I mean, that's one of many things
(10:56):
that have been discussed here and what I've seen myself
over the years. And it's pretty easy to look at
this stuff. But then you are fighting because a lot
of farmers have felt like we have such a hard
time in this country with farming. Having people understand the
value of the food, of good food, so people buy
cheap food they don't appreciate the farmers who are doing
(11:20):
it the right way, and they don't. Look at the
state of farming in general in our country, it's very disrespected.
Yet here we are, we have all the knowledge, but
people don't. They'd rather spend the money on buying stuff
that's bad for them other than stuff that's good for us.
It's a hard I'm feeling like I'm doing a talk
show here. Anyway, it is something I'm very passionate about.
(11:45):
So let's talk a little bit about regenerative and how
that applies.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Sure, and your passion is coming through, Doug, I do.
I'm curious. Now, where were you working on a farm
in Ohio? And where did you go to school in Ohio?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I went to school Ti and Ohio.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Oh Heidelberg.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Okay, are you an Ohio lady?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I am. I am in northeast Ohio now, And while
we're talking about Ohio, we should mention the Ohio Ecological
Food and Farm Association, which is a really important organization
in Ohio serving organic and sustainable and regenerative producers and
also a member of Organic Farmers Association, so we work
together frequently. But I'll note ofa the Ohio Ecological Food
(12:29):
and Farm association is doing a lot of work on
soil and celebrating soil within the state of Ohio, but
also nationally. We know that organic farming is rooted in soil,
so I appreciate you kind of, you know, going right
to the foundation of what grounds us and nourishes us
(12:49):
in organic farming. I think there are many commonalities between
kind of the folks that are working in organic farming
and those that are working in regenerative farming and organic farming,
indeed regenerative. I think what the regenerative folks don't have
figured out is something that took a long time to
(13:10):
develop in organic, which is, you know, a set of
transparent standards that anyone can read and a system by
which there's a little bit of a check and balance
to know that the farmer is indeed doing what they
say they're doing, which is the rigor of organic certification.
I will note too, that the organic movement is bigger
(13:32):
than certification, So there are many organic farmers who are
not certified organic through a third party certifier, but are
doing the important foundational work of organic farming. And we
farmers get that.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Yeah, well it's yeah, it's important to understand all of
that for sure. What's the website we're talking making reference
to it? What's your website? Where do people go to
dig more into what the Organic Farmers as Sociation is doing?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yes, thank you for asking. It is an Organic Farmers
Association dot org and there's lots of good information on there.
There are many webinars. Many of our farmer members have
presented on those webinars. There's also a farm bill marker
bill tracker. Organic Farmers Association has been working hard on
(14:22):
a in coalition with many other groups on a couple
of really important marker bills that we hope will make
it into the next farm bill. One having to do
with organic dairy data collection in order to hopefully build
a functional safety net for organic dairy, and another that
(14:43):
has to do with organic imports. That's the Organic Imports
Verification Act, which is essentially asking that organic imports be
treated similarly to grain that's grown domestically in terms of
testing to level the playing field for domestic organic green growers.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
All right, so again, that website is Organic Farmers Association
dot org. We continue. Let me talk seriously for a
moment regarding the whole or natural world. I have a
sponsor for my programs every weekend. Companies called Calitron. They've
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(15:24):
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help yourself, but then at the end of the day,
(15:45):
you'll want to have something that is the key to
making it easier or for you to keep the you
lose the weight. It's hard work. Sometimes all the people
taking the pill say, oh no, the drugs are great,
you don't have to do anything. Well, well, that's kind
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There's a lot of different components, but Caltron this weekend
(16:08):
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com for Caltron. All right, back for a couple more
minutes here with Julia Barton farm Service as director for
the Organic Farmers Association at Organic Farmers Association dot r G.
(17:10):
The guiding principles we've been talking about here what it
takes to be certified, however, tends to get in the
way of some people doing that. And I will admit, honestly,
on my farm, I do everything organically, but I found
that the certification process for dairy anyway was onerous, so
I didn't do it.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah. Well, we were talking a little bit earlier about
the work groups, and we do have a work group
that's specifically working on kind of practical certification. So I
would love if you'd like to join us, Doug, to
put your head in the group on how to make
that work better for farmers because, as you know, the
farmers know how to do the practices on the farm,
(17:53):
and the paperwork is a little bit more of a lift.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
So that's a problem.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Ye. I like to work together with the community, you know,
the certifiers and trade groups and the farmers first and
foremost to make sure that organic certification maintains its rigor,
but that it's also not overly burdensome for the low
risk you know, small and mid scale organic farmer.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Well, I think one of the things that is an
essence here is understanding that farmers are doing this with farmers,
farmers helping farmers. It's not somebody sitting in an office
somewhere that is dictating. That's how it started, but now
we have some different leadership and it's something worth checking out.
So again i'd send you to the Organic Farmers Association
(18:40):
dot org if you have a practical experience here you
want to be a participant, help yourself. Julia very nice
talking with you and meeting you. Julia is the farm
Services director for the Organic Farmers Association. Julia Barton here
with Doug Stephen here on American Family Farmer Origan Family
(19:01):
Farmer podcast sponsored in part by Caldron, Which is the
safe way for you to lose weight and keep it
off
The American Family Farmer podcast, sponsored in part by Caldron,
The Safe, proven Way to Lose weight. Check it all
out at toploss dot com. I'm Doug Stephan. This is
the American Family Farmer. Let's get to some good news.
We're going to talk organic farming. Organic farming. Lots of
controversy about it these days because some of the big companies,
(00:21):
the big egg companies that we're not too fond of,
have gotten into this and kind of ruined it for
the farmers who are really doing a good job. And
our discussion on organics this week Julia Barton, farm Services
Director for the Organic Farmers Association at Organicfarmers Association dotr
gee ms Barton, Who is here? So let's first of all, Julia,
(00:45):
talk about the mission of the Organic Farmers Association. What
are you supposed to be providing to your clients, who
I would assume would be organic farmers.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, to our members. First of all, thank you for
having me. Ben happy to share the mission of Organic
Farmers Association, which is to provide US strong and unified
national voice for domestics certified organic producers so that organic
agriculture will become the basis of a viable United States
food and agricultural policy and production system to support a
(01:16):
healthier planet for the benefit of all life.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
So a number of words and a number of ideas
here as I go back into history and understand organics.
It was always organic before the Industrial Revolution and since
in the thirties and forties, when there was a lot
of experimentation as to how to get more on the farm,
what to do when, to get rid of the bugs
(01:40):
and the bad stuff, and how to make things grow faster.
We have become susceptible to a lot of things that
are not good. And some even to my friends who
listen to the American family farmer, who are smaller growers,
don't agree with me when it comes to the chemicals
and things that are put onto fields and put onto
(02:04):
produce to keep the bugs away or to make them
grow faster. So let's talk about how the modern organic
farm has come about and how it's managed. I think
that's the place for us to get started.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Junia, Sure, well, and I appreciate you noting that organic
agriculture is not new. So organic agriculture was here before
we got here, and it'll be here when we are gone.
It is based on the principles of health, ecology, fairness,
(02:37):
and care. Those are the international organic principles that are
widely shared among the movement, and organic farmers have been
learning from one another and building upon the work of
indigenous communities around the world since the movement began. So
appreciate you sharing that to get us started. I think
(03:01):
modern organic farming takes lots of different forms, and we
have a base of members across the nation that are
doing all sorts of different types of organic production, from
dairying to grain operations to diversified vegetable and fruit operations,
and it's really kind of exciting to see how the
(03:21):
farmers support one another and learn from each other over time.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, I think that's it. Frankly, I know around here
where I am there are various elements. For example, in
the farm organization of the Farm Bureau and the National
Farmers Union, they take a position. I think the American
Farm Bureau is weaker on it than the National Farmers Union,
but maybe that has to do with politics as much
(03:47):
as anything else. This is not political or ought not
to be. This is about you and your health. And
I say when I say you, because a lot of
the people who listen to this program. Are not necessarily farmers.
They're interested in the topics, did in good food and
that sort of thing. And we have the organic business
has become infested with the influence of the four or
(04:10):
five huge ag businesses and conglomerates, and that hasn't done
the organic movement much good. Elizabeth Miller is here for
a Caldron proven to work in ninety days. That's why
you folks at Caltron sell the product in ninety day increments.
It does nothing but work. Let everybody know how well
(04:34):
it works.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Absolutely, And I was going to say, also, you know,
we take care of our customers too, so if you
ever wanted to reorder, we're not jacking up the price.
We're not doing anything crazy trying to get more money
out of you. We are here to help. If you
order something and you like that special that you got,
and you call back later and you want to order
you don't see it on the website, we will absolutely
still honor that special. We are good about taking care
(04:55):
of our customers, making sure our customers are happy with
the product. You get a team of support, you get
a dedicate parsonal and culturing and consulting We've all been
here for a really long time.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Though.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
We're good at our job helping people lose the right way.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Use the discount code, dougdug and you get free shipping
among all the other benefits. It's just nothing but good
toplaws dot Com back on the American Family Farmer. Hi,
Doug Stephan here, Julia is the farm Services director for
(05:28):
the Organic Farmers Association. In terms of the group's organization
and how long you've been around, how did this come about,
How did you and the others who are part of
this get started? What was the need that you fulfilled?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yes, thank you for asking. The Organic Farmers Association was
founded by organic farmers for organic farmers to provide a
strong national voice on domestic organic farmer issues. And I
think there was a need in the movement at the
time to center the farmer voice, because sometimes the farmer
(06:06):
voice can be back burnered to other interests. As you
noted in the first part of the segment, sometimes interests
of consolidation, fiscal interests can.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Overshadow where there's a buck to be made large, and
that's really what drives this stuff is a buck. People
were recognizing that run these big conglomerates that people were going,
they were searching for they were sourcing organic foods because
at the time the organic stuff was obviously much healthier.
(06:41):
A lot of attention being paid to what Monsanto has
done to the food supply and others like it, Dow Chemical, Dupond,
all of these big companies that have sold billions of
dollars worth of product to farmers in the name of
making things better. Well, we all know if we've got
any sense that they don't make things better when it
(07:02):
comes to our health and well being food. I don't
mean to make this a lecture, but food is medicine.
Good food keeps you healthy, and if you don't have good,
healthy food, then you have a lot of people in
the population who we're sick. And that's exactly what we
have now at the hands of the ilk of Monsanto
and Dow and DuPont and the others. So I make
(07:25):
that statement without having any connection to you, but I'm
guessing that you and your members would agree that that's
maybe sort of an insightful overview of what's going on.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
We do agree that food is medicine, and I'm glad
you brought that up, because we just had an issue
I think it was two issues ago of our Organic
Voice magazine, which is a publication I invite you and
your listeners to check out that shares information from organic farmers,
from our team at OFA, and from researchers to close
(08:00):
the loop back with organic farmers on the issues that
everyone is facing and keeping everyone informed. So we did
an issue on food is medicine not long ago, because
it's true and I think organic farmers really understand that
in the way that they work with nature in order
to produce food for their communities. I also wanted to
note that you know the bit that you shared about
consolidation in the food system and the first segment. Organic
(08:24):
Farmers Association and our members are really concerned about that
and have been working through a grassroots process of several
work groups to address various issues that are top of
mind for organic farmers. So if any of your listeners
happen to be organic farmers, we would invite those invite
them to join our work groups. We have an interest
form on our website, and we're also always listening for
(08:46):
other issues that are top of mind for our members
that we might need to gather on and identify problems,
and you know, when you get farmers together, they tend
to come up with solutions that work. For organic farmers,
it's really be part of that process. Yeah, they're in it.
They get it right right, and they're used to solving
their own problems because they've often had to.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
One of the things that is cool is understanding that
we all are responsible for ourselves individually and collectively. If
you choose to be a farmer, that's a huge responsibility.
One of the things one of the words that's come
down the pike in the last ten years. So I know,
we had a whole series of programs a couple of
(09:29):
years ago on regenerative agriculture and what that is. I
think it's just another way of saying the stuff is
produced organically, isn't it? Using what's there? Before we had
all of the I mean, I'll tell you a quick
experience from my time in Ohio. I went to school
in Ohio and I worked on a farm when I
(09:49):
was at school, and one of the things, and this
was a number of years ago, but it was very telling.
There was a group of organic farmers who wanted to
point out the difference between soils that are treated with
a lot of the natural things, like I have. What
I use on my farm is sort of a witch's
brew of chicken manure, com manure and some I have
(10:15):
a large compost facility. Put that all together, and that
on one side of the road was used for the soil.
The other side of the road was all the chemicals
and stuff that I used to treat corn and many
and beans and things. And the soil on the one
side of the road that was treated with chemicals was
(10:36):
like a rock. It didn't breathe. When you dug a
shovel into it, it came out big clumps, like a
big you know, a shovelful of cement, versus the stuff
on the other side of the road. It was all
nice and soft, and the stuff had obviously an easier
time growing. So I mean, that's one of many things
(10:56):
that have been discussed here and what I've seen myself
over the years. And it's pretty easy to look at
this stuff. But then you are fighting because a lot
of farmers have felt like we have such a hard
time in this country with farming. Having people understand the
value of the food, of good food, so people buy
cheap food they don't appreciate the farmers who are doing
(11:20):
it the right way, and they don't. Look at the
state of farming in general in our country, it's very disrespected.
Yet here we are, we have all the knowledge, but
people don't. They'd rather spend the money on buying stuff
that's bad for them other than stuff that's good for us.
It's a hard I'm feeling like I'm doing a talk
show here. Anyway, it is something I'm very passionate about.
(11:45):
So let's talk a little bit about regenerative and how
that applies.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Sure, and your passion is coming through, Doug, I do.
I'm curious. Now, where were you working on a farm
in Ohio? And where did you go to school in Ohio?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I went to school Ti and Ohio.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Oh Heidelberg.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Okay, are you an Ohio lady?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
I am. I am in northeast Ohio now, And while
we're talking about Ohio, we should mention the Ohio Ecological
Food and Farm Association, which is a really important organization
in Ohio serving organic and sustainable and regenerative producers and
also a member of Organic Farmers Association, so we work
together frequently. But I'll note ofa the Ohio Ecological Food
(12:29):
and Farm association is doing a lot of work on
soil and celebrating soil within the state of Ohio, but
also nationally. We know that organic farming is rooted in soil,
so I appreciate you kind of, you know, going right
to the foundation of what grounds us and nourishes us
(12:49):
in organic farming. I think there are many commonalities between
kind of the folks that are working in organic farming
and those that are working in regenerative farming and organic farming,
indeed regenerative. I think what the regenerative folks don't have
figured out is something that took a long time to
(13:10):
develop in organic, which is, you know, a set of
transparent standards that anyone can read and a system by
which there's a little bit of a check and balance
to know that the farmer is indeed doing what they
say they're doing, which is the rigor of organic certification.
I will note too, that the organic movement is bigger
(13:32):
than certification, So there are many organic farmers who are
not certified organic through a third party certifier, but are
doing the important foundational work of organic farming. And we
farmers get that.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Yeah, well it's yeah, it's important to understand all of
that for sure. What's the website we're talking making reference
to it? What's your website? Where do people go to
dig more into what the Organic Farmers as Sociation is doing?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yes, thank you for asking. It is an Organic Farmers
Association dot org and there's lots of good information on there.
There are many webinars. Many of our farmer members have
presented on those webinars. There's also a farm bill marker
bill tracker. Organic Farmers Association has been working hard on
(14:22):
a in coalition with many other groups on a couple
of really important marker bills that we hope will make
it into the next farm bill. One having to do
with organic dairy data collection in order to hopefully build
a functional safety net for organic dairy, and another that
(14:43):
has to do with organic imports. That's the Organic Imports
Verification Act, which is essentially asking that organic imports be
treated similarly to grain that's grown domestically in terms of
testing to level the playing field for domestic organic green growers.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
All right, so again, that website is Organic Farmers Association
dot org. We continue. Let me talk seriously for a
moment regarding the whole or natural world. I have a
sponsor for my programs every weekend. Companies called Calitron. They've
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(15:24):
dot com. They are the way recognized by the naturalists,
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you can take the drugs. This is compatible if you
decide that you want to lose weight using the drugs,
help yourself, but then at the end of the day,
(15:45):
you'll want to have something that is the key to
making it easier or for you to keep the you
lose the weight. It's hard work. Sometimes all the people
taking the pill say, oh no, the drugs are great,
you don't have to do anything. Well, well, that's kind
of a fallacy. You do have to. There's an exercise thing.
There's a lot of different components, but Caltron this weekend
(16:08):
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(16:49):
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minutes here with Julia Barton farm Service as director for
the Organic Farmers Association at Organic Farmers Association dot r G.
(17:10):
The guiding principles we've been talking about here what it
takes to be certified, however, tends to get in the
way of some people doing that. And I will admit, honestly,
on my farm, I do everything organically, but I found
that the certification process for dairy anyway was onerous, so
I didn't do it.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah. Well, we were talking a little bit earlier about
the work groups, and we do have a work group
that's specifically working on kind of practical certification. So I
would love if you'd like to join us, Doug, to
put your head in the group on how to make
that work better for farmers because, as you know, the
farmers know how to do the practices on the farm,
(17:53):
and the paperwork is a little bit more of a lift.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
So that's a problem.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Ye. I like to work together with the community, you know,
the certifiers and trade groups and the farmers first and
foremost to make sure that organic certification maintains its rigor,
but that it's also not overly burdensome for the low
risk you know, small and mid scale organic farmer.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Well, I think one of the things that is an
essence here is understanding that farmers are doing this with farmers,
farmers helping farmers. It's not somebody sitting in an office
somewhere that is dictating. That's how it started, but now
we have some different leadership and it's something worth checking out.
So again i'd send you to the Organic Farmers Association
(18:40):
dot org if you have a practical experience here you
want to be a participant, help yourself. Julia very nice
talking with you and meeting you. Julia is the farm
Services director for the Organic Farmers Association. Julia Barton here
with Doug Stephen here on American Family Farmer Origan Family
(19:01):
Farmer podcast sponsored in part by Caldron, Which is the
safe way for you to lose weight and keep it
off
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