Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/19/20

The Agriculture Department blew past the 180-day deadline set by Congress to finalize its origin of livestock rule, and senators who sit on the panel overseeing the agency’s budget are turning up the heat on USDA to finish the job. The organic industry has been pushing for years for USDA to close a loophole in the rules governing how livestock are transitioned to organic production. But the Trump administration has dragged its feet in making the fix, leading Congress to set a timeline for completion in last year’s appropriations law.

Because of the loophole, “some producers continuously cycle cows in and out of organic management, putting smaller producers in states like ours at a significant financial disadvantage and placing the integrity of the organic label at risk,” wrote Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The pair urged USDA to finish the rulemaking “without further delay.”

USDA is also facing pressure from 70 farm organizations that said the department “is letting down organic dairies” and that “continued delays in implementing this rule will prolong the dire economics facing organic dairy farmers, as well as jeopardize consumers’ trust in the organic label,” per a letter sent to members of Congress.