Tiryaki Agro/Sunrise Foods issue
01/28/2025

New Orleans residents in the lower 9th ward, Holy Cross, and Arabi communities are fighting an effort to a significant expansion of the Alabo Street Wharf into a grain terminal for receiving imported organic grain. Residents oppose the project due to what they fear are significant impacts to the community ranging from dust, rail traffic through residential areas, increased rodent pressure, etc.

In addition to the environmental impact of the industrial activities related to the project, residents have concerns about the corporations that will be moving into their community: Sunrise Foods International and Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Norfolk Southern (NS) operates 22,000 miles of track in the southern US and has a long history of safety violations and accidents. Additionally, NS spends millions of dollars lobbying for weaker safety regulations in the rail industry.

Sunrise Foods International has signed a lease agreement with the NOLA port authority to operate the proposed facility. Founded in Saskatchewan Canada in 1997, Sunrise Foods is a major importer/exporter of organic products, boasting a 25% market share of the US organic product industry. In 2018, Sunrise was purchased by Tiryaki Agro, a $1.5 billion conglomerate based in Istanbul Turkey. Tiryaki conducts business in many countries including Russia, UAE, Turkey, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Iraq and others. Through its Sunrise subsidiary, Tiryaki has successfully purchased US organic companies such as its recent September 2024 acquisition of Ozark Organics located in Missouri.

Since being acquired by Tiryaki Agro, court documents show that Sunrise Foods has been actively bringing non-organic grain sourced in Eastern Europe into the US through varies entry points in the US and Canada, and selling it as “organic” to American end users. These fraudulent imports have damaged the organic grain market for domestic producers and has harmed organic cooperatives in the US. The NOP has worked to close the loopholes that these foreign owned entities have been exploiting but Tiryaki Agro has quietly been funding groups like FOG (Florida Organic Growers) who lobby on their behalf for looser Government oversight into organic imports.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: www.stopthegraintrain.com

Other Sources: organiceye.org; cornucopia.org; https://feedplanetmagazine.com/tag/tiryaki-agro/3533

01-22-2025 NOC and AOAC Webinar Overviews
(links to webinar recordings below)

Last week I had some spare time after feeding cattle and, needing an excuse to stay indoors, I attended two webinars that may impact members of CPOFA and OFARM in the future.

The first one was hosted by NOC (National Organic Coalition) and focused on helping organic producers to access NRCS Organic Programs. Having some personal experience in the difficulties in participation with organic specific NRCS initiatives I was hoping this webinar would end my frustration. It didn’t. However, it appears there may be help coming.

The overall information gained was that there has been a significant lag in Organic Specific Programs being approved and the actual implementation of those programs. To make matters worse, local offices have simply not had the training nor have they been given the appropriate information to move forward. Some states, such as Montana, have been more proactive than others only due to outspoken organic farmers taking the initiative to hold local offices and NRCS state officials accountable.

The takeaway from the webinar is that you, as an organic producer or one looking to transition to organic, need to go in and introduce yourself to your local office and ask for assistance. If you are not satisfied with the response, you need to work your way up the administrative chain of command until you get answers.

My experience has been that it is simply a lack of knowledge by local employees of NRCS. It isn’t their lack of willingness to help.

On January 16 there was another webinar hosted by AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists) going over proposed residue testing for both organic imports and organic domestic production. Although there is still a long way to go, and support from domestic organic producers is needed, it appears there is some momentum to require some sort of residue testing for both imports and domestic production. There was discussion on types of residue testing (herbicide, pesticide and petroleum-based fertility) that should be included and there is no reason why any legitimate organic producer would object.

I would encourage all producers to express your support for residue testing requirements to your US Representatives and Senators as well as any NGO’s representing organic farming that you have a membership in.

Stephen C. Boyda, Organic farmer from NE KS and proud member of CPOFA and OFARM.

Links to both webinar recordings:
01.15.2025 Helping Producers access NRCS Programs — National Organic Coalition
Advancing Authenticity Testing in Certified Organic Products Webinar - AOAC INTERNATIONAL

FARM BILL NEWS Links from our partnerships:

9/29/23: From NOC: Expired Farm Bill Could Jeopardize Organic Certification Cost Share Program Online: https://www.nationalorganiccoalition.org/blog/2023/9/29/expired-farm-bill-could-jeopardize-organic-certification-cost-share-program

9/29/23: From NSAC: Last night, the House's FY2024 Agriculture-FDA Appropriations bill failed on the House floor - 191-237. Twenty-seven House Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the bill. The failure of this bill on the House floor brings a temporary close to what has been a rollercoaster ride for FY24 Agriculture Appropriations during the past four months.

Now, today and tomorrow (Saturday), both the Senate and House will exclusively focus on passing disparate versions of a continuing resolution (CR) in hopes of preventing a government shutdown. However, it is extremely unlikely that the two chambers will reach an agreement by midnight Eastern time on Saturday - and by Sunday morning we fully expect the shutdown to have begun.

https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/whats-at-stake-appropriations-shutdown-and-farm-bill/

https://www.nationalorganiccoalition.org/action-alerts

https://marbleseed.org/news/blog/post/support-organic-in-the-farm-bill

https://organicfarmersassociation.org/farm-bill/

https://organicfarmersassociation.org/farmbilltracker/

2023 NOSB Comments
by Oren Holle, OFARM President

2023 Benefits of OFARM Membership Timeline Attachment

2023 Annual Meeting Press Release Full Detail Notes

2022 Fall Meeting Press Release

2022 Annual Meeting Press Release

2021 Fall Meeting Press Release

IFOAM North America Cooperative Marketing in Organic Commodities