Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields Act of 2023” or the “O DAIRY Act of 2023”.
Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields Act of 2023
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide support for organic dairy producers and processors, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Extension of ELAP to certain losses incurred by organic dairy farmers
Emergency assistance for livestock, honey bees, and farm-Raised fish— Section 1501(d)(2) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(d)(2)) is amended—
by striking “used to reduce” and inserting the following: “used—
“(A) to reduce”
in subparagraph (A) (as so designated), by striking “fever.” and inserting the following: “fever; and
“(B) to reduce losses incurred by organic dairy farmers that are beyond those covered by other disaster programs of the Department of Agriculture, including losses that are caused by an increase in organic feed or other input costs that result in a cumulative decrease in net income of more than 10 percent in any 1 calendar year.”
Streamlined payment process— Section 1501 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(g) Streamlined payment process—The Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, shall streamline the process for making payments under this section.”
Sec. 3 Improved data collection for organic dairy
In general— The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the Secretary) shall provide support for regional and national programs to collect and publish cost-of-production data for organic milk, including data relating to—
the costs of major organic feedstuffs, including—
corn;
corn silage;
soybeans;
sorghum;
oilseeds;
small grains;
forage crops;
pasture;
hay; and
any other major organic feedstuff, as determined by the Secretary;
with respect to the costs described in paragraph (1), prices for—
major organic feedstuffs produced domestically; and
imported major organic feedstuffs; and
all other costs relating to the production of organic milk.
Organic All Milk Price Survey— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a survey, to be known as the “Organic All Milk Prices Survey”, which shall be analogous to the existing All Milk Prices Survey of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, to gather and report monthly data about the amounts that organic dairy farmers are being paid for the organic milk produced by those organic dairy farmers and the prices received for organic milk cows, including—
national data; and
data relating to, at a minimum, the 6 regions with the greatest quantity of organic dairy production, as determined by the Secretary.
Organic milk reporting—
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, using data collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Economic Research Service, or the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall publish new periodic reports that include, or add to existing periodic reports, data for organic milk, which shall be equivalent to data reported for conventionally produced milk.
Requirement— Reports published under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum—
organic cost-of-production data by State;
regional data relating to the quantity of organic milk production;
organic mailbox price for the 6 regions with the greatest quantity of organic dairy production, as determined by the Secretary; and
major organic feedstuff prices.
Sec. 4 Safety net program for organic dairy farms
Proposal— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a proposal to establish new organic dairy safety net programs to ensure that such programs provide adequate support for organic dairy farms based on cost data specific to organic dairy.
Considerations—
In general— The Secretary shall accept written and recorded comments with respect to the development of a proposal under subsection (a).
Public availability— Comments accepted under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public.
Requirement— In developing a proposal under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that—
all organic dairy operations are eligible to participate in the programs proposed to be established pursuant to that proposal; and
those programs prioritize support for small dairy operations (as determined based on the small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System code described in section 121.201 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)).
Report to Congress— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that—
includes recommendations relating to the implementation of the proposal developed under subsection (a); and
describes any actions taken by the Secretary to implement that proposal.
Sec. 5 Investments in organic dairy processing infrastructure
Infrastructure investment funding program— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to provide funding for investments in infrastructure to enhance regional organic milkshed markets that seek to drive a greater affinity for regionally sourced and processed organic dairy products by incentivizing support for—
the development of new organic dairy processing plants that support multiple regional small dairy operations (as determined based on the small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System code described in section 121.201 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation));
initiatives that establish institutional purchasing of local organic dairy products;
investment in infrastructure on farms and in sites that aggregate raw milk to gain transport and processing efficiencies;
the establishment of on-farm organic dairy processing and storage;
producers and processors that want to expand regional organic processing infrastructure serving regionally produced organic milk from multiple regional small dairy operations (as determined based on the small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System code described in section 121.201 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)), including by—
supporting work to finalize business plans; and
providing processor start-up capital; and
initiatives that support increasing regional processing capacity to facilitate co-packing and tolling for regionally produced organic milk from multiple regional small dairy operations (as determined based on the small business size standard for the applicable North American Industry Classification System code described in section 121.201 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)).
Regional organic dairy market specialists—
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish regional positions in each major organic dairy producing region, to be known as “Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialists”—
to conduct research on the marketing of organic dairy, including research relating to—
quality standards, including changes in those standards over time;
cost-of-production data;
consolidation of, and lack of competition among, buyers;
requirements for certification, including changes in those requirements over time;
direct marketing of value-added products at the farm level; and
the establishment and promotion of new or existing regional organic dairy brands that source regional milk; and
to provide reports, recommendations, and advice to the Secretary, organic dairy producers and processors, Congress, and the public with respect to the matters described in clauses (i) through (vi) of subparagraph (A) and other matters relating to the marketing of organic dairy, including a report describing the options, costs, and feasibility of establishing an organic dairy insurance program through the Department of Agriculture.
Requirement— A Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialist may be—
an employee of the Department of Agriculture; or
a position at a relevant institution of higher education.
Research teams— A Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialist shall establish a research team to assist the Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialist in conducting the research described in paragraph (1)(A).
Period of support—
In general— The Secretary shall enter into a commitment to provide support for Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialists, and the research teams established under paragraph (3), for a period of 5 years.
Renewal of support— Subject to the availability of appropriations, at the end of a 5-year period of support, the Secretary may renew the support of a Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialist (and the research team of that Regional Organic Dairy Market Specialist) for 1 or more successive 5-year periods, pursuant to such commitments as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028—
$20,000,000 to carry out subsection (a); and
$5,000,000 to carry out subsection (b).