18
Feb
State Bill Supports Organic Transition as Trump Administration Ignores Mounting Crises
(Beyond Pesticides, February 18, 2025) With petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers linked to the climate crisis and extraordinary threats to health and biodiversity, recent actions by the Trump administration are highlighting the critical importance of local and state action to mitigate the hazards. On this point, the headline of a National Public Radio article published last week says, â€Trump funding freeze could leave communities on their own as climate threats grow.†Previously, President Trump as a candidate called climate change a “hoax†and has targeted “‘every one’ of President Biden’s policies designed to transition the United States away from fossil fuels,” according to The New York Times. The Guardian reported last October after Hurricane Helene, “As the hurricane continued to ravage the region over the weekend, the former president dismissed global warming in a Saturday speech, and the following day referred to the climate crisis as “one of the great scams of all time.†When considering the historic Palisade fires that began in January in southern California, according to The Guardian, John Abatzoglou, a climatologist at the University of California, Merced, said, “Climate change is adding fuel to the fire and it is absolutely outpacing our ability to adapt in certain areas.â€
With the apparent absence of federal programs to curtail escalating health and environmental crises, New York State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-NY) has introduced legislation would establish state support to end agricultural dependency on the pesticides and fertilizers contributing to the climate crisis. The legislation, S1306, would exempt farmland that is in transition to certified organic practices from property tax for up to three years. Creative proposals like this will be critical to the elimination of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers that contribute to existential health, biodiversity, and climate crises.Â
Reuters’ P.J. Huffstutter and Leah Douglas reported that: “[T]he U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen some funding for farmers as it goes through a sweeping review, despite assurances from the Trump administration that programs helping farmers would not be affected in the government overhaul. The impact has been immediate and wide-ranging, from cash assistance for ranchers to fix cattle watering systems to help for corn growers wanting to plant cover crops that curb wind erosion.†Among the funding programs affected are several upon which organic farmers depend, including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which helps organic farms and businesses offset certification costs. Without it, certification costs will increase significantly in 2025 and may force some farms to abandon organic certification altogether.Â
In view of the uncertainty introduced by the federal funding freeze and the documented benefits of transitioning to organic production, states need to step in to support and incentivize organic as a common good that protects health and the environment and saves taxpayer costs associated with the externalities of chemical-intensive farming. These costs include those associated with fires, floods, and severe weather; daily health and cleanup expenses associated with contamination of air, land, and water; crop and productivity losses; and depressed ecosystem services (including loss of pollinators).Â
State legislation like S1306 and grassroots-powered action have become more important in tackling these urgent health and environmental crises. Incentives to adopt organic practices are one important and effective way to stop the use of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers that release greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) while enhancing the health of soil microbial life and the drawdown of atmospheric carbon sequestration.Â
- If you are a New York resident, consider reaching out to your elected officials to voice your support for S1306.
- If you live in another state, ask your governor and state legislators to promote similar legislation.Â
>> Tell your state legislators and governor to support the transition to organic with state tax policy.Â
Letter to Governor and State Representative and Senator  (see letter for New York residents below)
Reuters’ P.J. Huffstutter and Leah Douglas reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen some funding for farmers as it goes through a sweeping review, despite assurances from the Trump administration that programs helping farmers would not be affected in the government overhaul. The impact has been immediate and wide-ranging, from cash assistance for ranchers to fix cattle watering systems to help for corn growers wanting to plant cover crops that curb wind erosion.†Among the funding programs affected are several upon which organic farmers depend, including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which helps organic farms and businesses offset certification costs. Without it, certification costs will increase significantly in 2025 and may force some farms to abandon organic certification altogether.
In view of the uncertainty introduced by the federal funding freeze and the documented benefits of transitioning to organic production, states need to step in to support and incentivize organic as a common good that protects health and the environment and saves taxpayer costs associated with the externalities of chemical-intensive farming. These costs include those associated with fires, floods, and severe weather; daily health and cleanup expenses associated with contamination of air, land, and water; crop and productivity losses; and depressed ecosystem services (including loss of pollinators).
As the public looks for opportunities to advance policies and programs that protect health and the environment in the absence of federal programs, New York state Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-NY) has introduced legislation (S1306) that would exempt farmland that is in transition to certified organic practices from property tax for up to three years. State legislation like S1306 has become more important in tackling the urgency of the health, biodiversity, and climate crises. Incentives to adopt organic practices are one effective way to address the crises by eliminating petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers that release greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) and enhancing the health of soil microbial life, which enhances atmospheric carbon sequestration.
Please introduce or cosponsor a bill in our state, similar to the New York bill, to promote widespread transition to organic practices, filling gaps left by action at the federal level.
Thank you.
Letter to Governor and State Representative and Senator (see letter for the residents of other states below)
Reuters’ P.J. Huffstutter and Leah Douglas reported that: “[T]he U.S. Department of Agriculture has frozen some funding for farmers as it goes through a sweeping review, despite assurances from the Trump administration that programs helping farmers would not be affected in the government overhaul. The impact has been immediate and wide-ranging, from cash assistance for ranchers to fix cattle watering systems to help for corn growers wanting to plant cover crops that curb wind erosion.†Among the funding programs affected are several upon which organic farmers depend, including the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which helps organic farms and businesses offset certification costs. Without it, certification costs will increase significantly in 2025 and may force some farms to abandon organic certification altogether.
In view of the uncertainty introduced by the federal funding freeze and the documented benefits of transitioning to organic production, states need to step in to support and incentivize organic as a common good that protects health and the environment and saves taxpayer costs associated with the externalities of chemical-intensive farming. These costs include those associated with fires, floods, and severe weather; daily health and cleanup expenses associated with contamination of air, land, and water; crop and productivity losses; and depressed ecosystem services (including loss of pollinators).
As the public looks for opportunities to advance policies and programs that protect health and the environment in the absence of federal programs, New York State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-NY) has introduced legislation (S1306) that would exempt farmland that is in transition to certified organic practices from property tax for up to three years. State legislation like S1306 has become more important in tackling the urgency of the health, biodiversity, and climate crises. Incentives to adopt organic practices are one effective way to address the crises by eliminating petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers that release greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) and enhancing the health of soil microbial life, which enhances atmospheric carbon sequestration.
Please support S1306. Request a hearing on the bill: https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/S1306
Thank you.
