| April 21, 2005:
Missouri’s organic certification program,
not quite two years old, has been eliminated as part of $1.9
million in state department of agriculture budget cuts. Missouri’s
growing cadre of organic farmers—who had relied on the
state’s $100 organic certification fee—will now
have to turn to private certifiers, whose fees are typically
much higher.
Although a Missouri Department of Agriculture spokesman said
all programs were sharing the burden, the director of the
Missouri Farmers Union was quoted in published reports as
saying that the cuts have been targeted at smaller farming
operations. As part of those cuts, the state’s organic
program coordinator and agritourism director positions were
both eliminated, along with the Show-Me State’s demonstration
program for sustainable agriculture.
At least one Missouri organic farmer is pursuing a federal
complaint, alleging that the state has breached its statutory
obligation to provide services and, by jeopardizing existing
certification, subjected farmers to an “unlawful taking.”
For more on this story visit:
www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/business/technology/11383795.htm
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