WAIMANALO, Hawaii—On a farm tucked under the lush Koolau Mountains, Sean Anderson tends his passion fruit, kale and salad greens using only what nature provides.
He creates his own compost and fertilizers, and doesn’t use chemicals. But he’s not certified as an organic farmer because the cost of getting certification is too high.
“The margins on farming are so slim as it is that any additional cost really can make or break the success of your business,” said Anderson, founder and farm manager of Green Rows Farm.
That may change under a bill passed by the Hawaii Legislature, which sets up tax breaks for Hawaii farmers to offset the cost of becoming certified as organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hawaii is the first state to pass such a law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“Hawaii is pretty well known in agriculture policy as being in the forefront or looking at things differently,” said Doug Farquhar, director of agriculture for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The organic foods industry in the U.S. has grown to make up about 5 percent of the total food market, and reached $39.1 billion in sales in 2014, according to the Organic Trade Association.
Farmers have long been offered subsidies for crops like corn and soybeans, but the organic industry hasn’t been widely targeted for subsidies. A federal program by the USDA offers organic farmers help covering up to 75 percent of certification costs, up to a maximum of $750. A bill was introduced in the Minnesota Legislature this year to provide unspecified grants to organic farmers to help with certification costs, but it hasn’t moved out of committee.
