News Release
Contact: Barbara Haumann 413-774-7511, Ext. 20
For Immediate Release

GREENFIELD, Mass. (Aug. 13, 2008) -In an historic meeting arranged by the Organic Trade Association (OTA), representatives of the organic community met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill Implementation Team Monday to discuss the implementation of organic provisions within the 2008 Farm Bill.

"This was an historic opportunity to present key information on the significance of these organic provisions to the team charged with developing the rules implementing the Farm Bill," said David Gagnon, OTA's Interim Executive Director.

The OTA-led group included representatives of the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), National Organic Coalition, Center for Food Safety, Rodale Institute, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), Food and Water Watch, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Florida Organic Growers.

OTA made arrangements for the meeting co-hosted by USDA Deputy Under Secretary Floyd Gaibler of the Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services and Lowell Randel, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Congressional Relations. Also attending were agency representatives from the Agricultural Marketing Service, National Resources Conservation Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Risk Management Agency, Agriculture Research Service, and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.