OEFFA Applauds Bipartisan Bill to Support Domestic Organic Farmers, Promote Organic Integrity

On June 24, 2026, Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) and Congressman Zach Nunn (IA-03) introduced the Organic Imports Verification Act (OIVA). The bipartisan bill would safeguard domestic organic producers and consumers from fraudulent organic imports. 

By centering long-standing needs, like those voiced by organic farmers in Congresswoman Brown’s state, OIVA would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test high-risk imports of organic feedstuffs, leveling the playing field for America’s organic producers and promoting integrity in the growing organic sector. This bill mirrors companion legislation in the Senate introduced by Senators Ricketts (NE), Smith (MN), and Scott (SC) last year. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) endorses this legislation and celebrates its potential to promote trustworthy organic products and fairness for our organic farmers.

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Verifiable standards are at the heart of organic integrity. U.S. organic producers have invested time, money, and care into their products and deserve an equitable playing field. For too long, they have faced a marketplace flooded with imports whose verification processes do not match those of the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). 

OIVA would help meet the demands of our rapidly growing organic sector by determining high-risk organic feedstuffs, creating residue testing parameters for these high-risk imported goods, and establishing corrective action for feedstuffs with substances prohibited in organic certification. Notably, the bill would require the NOP to present an annual report to Congress on its high-risk organic feedstuff residue testing, helping to strengthen consumer trust in organic goods. 

“All of our grain is tested when it’s delivered at the mill, but imports get bypassed,” shared organic grain farmer Scott Myers of Woodlyn Acres Farm in Dalton, Ohio. “I’ve seen this elsewhere in my own community. The American farmer needs to be able to compete and have a level playing field. Domestic organic grain farmers already do all the work and follow the rules; we should be acknowledged for that.” 

For more than a decade, organic grain farmers in OEFFA’s network have expressed issues like those OIVA embarks to address. It is evident that organic voices like Myers’ are centered in OIVA, and we are grateful for the time Congresswoman Brown has spent with farmers in our network and beyond to hear their on-the-ground needs. Improving oversight and verifiability with organic feedstuffs will help support the continued success of these Ohio producers, and of organic farming communities across the country. 

“We appreciate Congresswoman Brown and Congressman Nunn for introducing the Organic Imports Verification Act,” said OEFFA Federal Policy Coordinator Nicole Wolcott. “While advocating in DC with farmers in OEFFA’s network and those of our partners at the National Organic Coalition and the Organic Farmers Association, we have shown the impact of fraudulent organic imports on our farmers’ businesses. We appreciate the enthusiasm this legislation has received across Congress and the time and effort farmers have put in to voice their own needs and produce reliable, organic crops.”

America’s organic farmers deserve a fair marketplace that recognizes and honors their integrity and helps bolster confidence in our growing organic sector. The opportunity to sell as organic in the U.S. should receive the same scrutiny as domestic organic products and be earned through dedication to the organic label. OEFFA thanks Representatives Brown and Nunn for their leadership in OIVA’s introduction and urges legislators to include this vitally important bipartisan, bicameral legislation in the next farm bill. 

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Learn more about OEFFA’s efforts to help maintain and improve the integrity of organic agriculture at action.oeffa.org/organic-agriculture.