Organic, etc. agriculture

AN ACT Relating to expanding opportunities for organic, 1
regenerative, climate-smart, and sustainable producers; amending RCW 2
15.86.070; adding new sections to chapter 15.86 RCW; creating a new 3
section; and providing an expiration date. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that Washington 6
state has the second most diverse agricultural sector in the nation 7
with over 15,000,000 acres of farmland and 300 different crops in 8
production. The state's rich soils, diverse microclimates, and 9
transportation networks support market diversity and the state's 10
diverse agricultural sector is essential to local community 11
resilience and prosperity.12
(2) The legislature further finds that global organic sales have 13
grown by 10 to 15 percent annually over the past 15 years and that 14
there is high local consumer demand for organic food. Organic 15
agriculture offers an opportunity for farmers, ranchers, food 16
processors, and other businesses to diversify their operations and 17
participate in higher value markets. 18
(3) The legislature further finds that organic, regenerative, 19
sustainable, and climate-smart agricultural practices help preserve 20
the environment, support economic growth, and improve human health. 21
S-0780.1
SENATE BILL 5474
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Liias, Muzzall, Chapman, Hasegawa, Nobles, and Stanford
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on Agriculture &
Natural Resources.
p. 1 SB 5474
Practices such as no-till farming, cover cropping, and rotational 1
grazing improve soil health and reduce carbon emissions. Decreasing 2
the use of pesticides and petroleum-based fertilizers mitigates 3
groundwater pollution, supports biodiversity, and reduces the risk of 4
human, animal, and environmental exposure to toxic chemicals. These 5
environmental and health effects result in additional societal 6
economic benefits not reflected in the direct economic benefits to 7
producers. 8
(4) The legislature further finds that producers face a 9
significant expense in achieving organic certification.10
(5) The legislature intends to identify and remove existing 11
regulatory and market barriers that are preventing agricultural 12
producers from integrating organic and regenerative practices and 13
accessing certified organic markets. This may include developing a 14
statewide organic action plan, lowering certification costs, 15
identifying the need for new financing vehicles or additional 16
wholesale and retail infrastructure and partnerships, and identifying 17
other policies. The legislature further intends to enact policies to 18
enable more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more 19
sustainable agriculture, to effectively contribute to food 20
availability, accessibility, affordability, and allow our farms to 21
continue to thrive. 22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 15.86 23
RCW to read as follows: 24
(1) The department shall develop an organic agriculture action 25
plan to help create opportunities for farmers wishing to transition 26
to organic farming, increase resiliency in agricultural methods, and 27
build a robust regional food system. 28
(2) When developing the organic agriculture action plan, the 29
department shall consider and provide recommendations, as 30
appropriate, on elements including, but not limited to:31
(a) Identifying barriers to achieving organic certification;32
(b) Opportunities to expand organic markets and acreage, which 33
may include documenting organic market potential for key commodities 34
and crops; 35
(c) Opportunities to support job creation and retention in the 36
organic sector, with particular emphasis on supporting entry to 37
organic farming by youth, overburdened communities, and black, 38
indigenous, and other people of color; 39
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(d) Inventorying existing extension, training, and technical 1
resources and identifying gaps in extension, training, and technical 2
resources to support farmers who are certified and seeking to 3
transition to organic and regenerative practices; 4
(e) Identifying ways to improve organic infrastructure and 5
partnerships between organic producers and processors, distributors, 6
and financial institutions; and 7
(f) Identifying data sources and data collection opportunities 8
that help quantify the benefits and impacts of organic and 9
regenerative farming on crop resiliency, soil health, genetic 10
biodiversity, water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, energy 11
consumption, minimization of the use of synthetic inputs and 12
pesticides, and reduction of harmful toxins in the environment.13
(3) The department, in consultation with the state conservation 14
commission, shall consider the work and recommendations of the 15
Washington soil health initiative created in RCW 15.145.020 when 16
developing the organic agriculture action plan. 17
(4) The department shall include recommendations for legislative, 18
administrative, or budgetary actions necessary to implement the 19
organic agriculture action plan. 20
(5) The department shall provide the organic agriculture action 21
plan to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of 22
representatives by June 1, 2027, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.23
(6) This section expires June 30, 2028. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 15.86 25
RCW to read as follows: 26
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 27
specific purpose, the department must contract with a nonprofit 28
organization to administer a low barrier microgrant program to 29
support the growth of organic, regenerative, and sustainable climate-30
smart agriculture. 31
(2) The nonprofit organization must be a 501 (c)(3) organization 32
that can demonstrate more than five years of experience awarding 33
grants of less than $25,000 to state farm businesses with the primary 34
purpose of supporting implementation of sustainable agricultural 35
practices. 36
(3) The nonprofit organization's administrator:37
(a) May award grants of up to $25,000 to any applicant that meets 38
the following criteria: 39
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(i) Is a producer, as defined in RCW 15.86.020, that has been in 1
operation for at least two years; and 2
(ii) Currently employs, is implementing, or is seeking to 3
implement, practices adhering to regenerative, sustainable, climate-4
smart, or organic principles on at least some of the land farmed or 5
ranched; 6
(b) Must prioritize: 7
(i) Projects that implement or enhance climate-smart and 8
regenerative practices, measure and enhance carbon sequestration, 9
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, restore soil health, utilize cover 10
crops, preserve and create habitats, increase biodiversity, or employ 11
environmentally safe waste management practices; and12
(ii) Projects located in overburdened communities or led by 13
members of vulnerable populations, as those terms are defined in RCW 14
70A.02.010; 15
(c) Is encouraged to facilitate accessibility of these 16
microgrants by awarding more than one cycle of funding each year and 17
supplementing this program with private philanthropic funding, if 18
practicable; 19
(d) Must provide a report to the department by December 15th each 20
year with the following information: 21
(i) The total amount of funds awarded and the number of farm 22
businesses who received a grant that calendar year funded in whole or 23
part by this section; 24
(ii) A brief description of the project funded and which of the 25
priorities in (b)(i) of this subsection were addressed by the 26
project; 27
(iii) The location of funded projects and a summary of the total 28
number of projects and amounts awarded to projects located in 29
overburdened communities led by members of vulnerable populations; 30
and 31
(iv) Any amount of private philanthropic funding that was raised 32
to supplement the funds provided through this program.33
Sec. 4. RCW 15.86.070 and 2010 c 109 s 6 are each amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(1) The director may adopt rules establishing a program for 36
certifying producers, processors, and handlers as meeting state, 37
national, or international standards for organic or transitional 38
products. 39
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(2) The rules: 1
(a) May govern, but are not limited to governing:2
(i) The number and scheduling of on-site visits, both announced 3
and unannounced, by certification personnel; 4
(ii) Recordkeeping requirements; and 5
(iii) The submission of product samples for chemical analysis; 6
and 7
(b) Shall include a fee schedule that will provide for the 8
recovery of the full cost of the program. This fee schedule may be 9
modified to the extent that funds are appropriated to the department 10
for the specific purpose of reducing fees to decrease the financial 11
burden to achieve or maintain organic certification and increase 12
participation in organic agriculture.13
(3) All fees collected under this chapter shall be deposited in 14
an account within the agricultural local fund. The revenue from such 15
fees shall be used solely for carrying out the provisions of this 16
chapter, and no appropriation is required for disbursement from the 17
fund. 18
(4) The director may employ such personnel as are necessary to 19
carry out the provisions of this chapter. 20
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