Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Response from Senator Harkin

October 11, 2005

Ms. Dawn Ziemer

Thank you for contacting me. I am always glad to hear from you. Organic agriculture is an important industry to the state of Iowa. Currently, Iowa has roughly 100,000 acres dedicated to this type of production. The number of producers making the transition into organic agriculture in Iowa is increasing rapidly, which also mirrors the national trend.

It is important to me that organic standards remain strong to ensure an even playing field across the entire organic industry. Earlier this year,the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that some of USDA's ruleswere inconsistent with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. This will require USDA to issue new rules for synthetic ingredients and feed requirements for dairy cattle. The organic community has differing opinions on how to respond to this case, which has caused some contention and concern across the industry. There was a legislative proposal that would respond to the Harvey case, but many in the organic community felt that there should be more time among stakeholders to reach a consensus. This proposal was not included in the fiscal year 2006 Senate agriculture appropriations bill. It is my hope that common ground can be reached on this issue within the organic community in the near future.

Your views on the Harvey case are helpful to me. The many letters, emails and phone calls I get from Iowans each day helps me keep track of what issues matter most to Iowa and often alert me to problems or issues that deserve closer attention. That helps me better do my job of serving Iowa.

I will continue to do whatever necessary to strengthen the organic industry and work to protect the National Organic Program. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other matter, please don'thesitate to write or contact my office.

Again, thanks for sharing your views with me. Please don't hesitate tolet me know how you feel on any issue that concerns you.

Sincerely,

Tom Harkin
United States Senator

TH/

Please do not reply to this email. To contact me, please log on to mywebsite at http://harkin.senate.gov/.

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