PORTLAND — Organicology, a conference hosted by Organically Grown Company from March 12-14, was held against the background of President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and funding cuts.

The organic industry event had sessions on Native American food systems, developing organic seeds and a variety of other topics, but speakers and casual conversation often returned to political uncertainty.

Funding cuts

During welcoming remarks March 13, Brenna Davis, OGC CEO, said the federal government has defunded and disrupted key organic farming programs with cuts, a temporary funding freeze and grant suspensions, as well as removing critical organic elements from the recent Farm Bill extension.

“The National Organic Program is being eroded as we speak. … Despite these challenges, I feel a lot of hope because there’s a lot we can do together,” Davis said.

“The time of being a lone wolf is over. Let’s work as a pack,” she added.

Foreign produce

OGC’s warehouse includes 100,000 square feet of refrigerated space and 1 million cases of produce move through the facility every year, mainly headed to five western states.

Roughly a third of the boxes inside the warehouse are from countries such as Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica and New Zealand, said Mike Boyle, OGC vice president of sales and sourcing.

That figure, to be clear, is extremely low thanks to an emphasis on sourcing fruits and vegetables from the Pacific Northwest, California, and, to a lesser degree, British Columbia, which grows many of the same crops.

According to the USDA, foreign imports play an increasingly important role in providing Americans produce, with 59% of U.S. fresh fruit and 35% of fresh vegetables originating from other countries in 2024.

Still, the organic industry is very concerned about the possibility of tariffs.

Tariff impacts

Shoppers demand year round availability of affordable fruits and vegetables, but increased costs will be passed down to consumers.

“It’s a big deal. People are already thinking food prices are high now. Add 20% to it,” said Lucas Crawford, an OGC senior account representative in sales.

Boyle said when organic prices spike, people opt out of the segment or slow down purchases.

Some farmers may dabble in different crops to seek an advantage and OGC may look for new produce sources. But Boyle didn’t foresee a major shift for Pacific Northwest agriculture.

“I think most people are going to try to ride this out,” Boyle said.

Mark Squire, a partner in Good Earth Natural Foods, which operates two retail stores near San Francisco, didn’t know what his business would do to address tariffs.

“It’s going to disrupt the organic business in a huge way, and unfortunately, that directly plays into food prices,” he said.

“Hopefully, somebody is going to talk some sense into the guy,” he said, of Trump.

Moving away from plastic

Humberto Maldonado, OGC safety and compliance manager, led a tour of the warehouse March 12 and stressed that the company is moving toward sustainable packaging.

“Everybody is trying to get rid of plastics as much as possible. … Consumers are calling for it,” he said.

He showed Ladybug brand paper bags that are now used to hold potatoes at stores, as well as cardboard carriers for grapes.

More than 2 million potato paper bags were used by the company last year, which means 2 million plastic bags were avoided, said Mike Dill, OGC director of advocacy and sustainability.

“We’ve saved thousands of pounds of plastic. It’s such an easy swap. It’s not like it’s rocket science,” he said.