State eliminates organic program

The Missouri Department of Agriculture's elimination of its organic certification program is "kicking organic farmers in the teeth," an advocate of the program said.

The program, begun in August 2003, was dropped as part of a $1.9 million reduction in the agency's budget for fiscal 2005-2006.

"This is a real blow," said Andy Ayers, owner of Riddle's Penultimate Cafe & Wine Bar in the St. Louis suburb of University City. The cafe serves many locally grown organic foods. "A lot of people I know have spent many volunteer hours to establish this program for the state. ... The governor is literally kicking organic farmers in the teeth."

Advocates cite a growing demand for certified organic foods. The state's charge for an annual review of seeds, fertilizers, soils and other inputs was $100. Now, organic farmers will have to turn to private organizations to get their vegetables, fruit, grains and livestock certified.

"It's $500 to $1,000 and on up," said Sue Baird, the organic program coordinator whose job was eliminated April 1.

But Bryan Truemper of Farrar Out Farms in Perry County said that there aren't enough farmers in Southeast Missouri to have a big hit here. The organic farm he runs with his wife grows 20 different kinds of vegetables on five acres.

"There's only a handful of us around here," he said. "Most of them are in the more populated areas, like St. Louis and Kansas City. So I don't see it having a big impact around here."

Truemper said his farm chose not to seek state certification to begin with, which means he can't officially market his crops as organic. But he said they do follow the organic guidelines.

"It's a nice label and it helps sell things, but if you talk to your customers and get to know them, then they know what you're selling," he said. "Price was a factor for us anyway. But since we're direct marketing everything, we chose not to spend the $100."

But Truemper said he could see how it could affect other organic farms.

Ag department deputy director Matt Boatright said the discretionary part of the state's $40 million agriculture budget was about $10 million in the current fiscal year. It's being cut 20 percent.

"There was not enough money to get through '05," he said. "We're all sharing the pain. Not a single department is being spared."

Jill Lucht, director of member services of the Missouri Farmers Union, said cuts have been targeted at small and mid-sized family operations. She cited the recent dismissal of the state's agritourism director, who helped show farmers how they could add income to their operations by having tourist attractions. Also eliminated was the state's demonstration program for sustainable agriculture, which has helped some of the state's leading organic and natural farmers get started.

Some organic operations are an acre or less, and they're a small segment of the state's 107,000 farms. But they are among the fastest growing sectors in the state's ag economy.

In 1997, about 5,000 acres were certified organic. In 2004, the total was about 33,000 acres, Baird said.