On March 21-24, 2023 NOFA-NY’s Katie Baildon, Liana Hoodes, and Zaid Kurdieh headed to Washington D.C. They joined other members of the National Organic Coalition (NOC) for the 2023 D.C. Fly-in where they met with Congressional offices to urge them to support NOC’s top priorities for advancing organic in the 2023 Farm Bill including:
- A proposed Opportunities in Organic Program, which will establish a suite of flexible, easy-to-access tools to reduce barriers to organic agriculture.
- Strengthening organic integrity, which is all about ensuring the continuous improvement of USDA’s organic standards.
- Expanding organic research, which will provide tools to address production, marketing and environmental challenges.
- Strengthening USDA’s conservation programs for organic farmers, which highlights that organic farming is climate-smart and environmentally sound.
The NOFA-NY team met with the offices of four of our congressional reps Congressman Molinaro (NY-19), Congressman Langworthy (NY-23), Senator Gillibrand, and Senator Schumer.
NOC Members at the 2023 D.C. Fly-in
NOC Coalition Meeting with USDA
Katie and Zaid in front of the Capital Building
Zaid Kurdieh, Ed Maltby and Liana Hoodes in front of the Capital Building
Katie Baildon is NOFA-NY’s policy manager, Liana Hoodes is NOFA-NY’s policy advisor, and Zaid Kurdieh is the owner of Norwich Meadows Farm and a member of NOFA-NY’s Board of Directors.