A Berks County lawmaker's bill could help change the face of Berks County's number one industry. State Representative David Kessler has introduced a bill to help farmers convert to organic farming. He says participation would be voluntary. Kessler's bill would reimburse farmers for their transition costs. He says during the transition farmers might not grow as many crops as usual. He worked on the bill for eight months with officials from the Rodale Institute. WFMZ's Melissa Batulis reports.  

REPORTER: The Rodale Institute has an international mission to help promote the benefits of organic farming. But with this bill in the P-A House, they're turning their attention to helping their neighbors and other farmers across the state. 
LASALLE: We're finding that we can sequester enough carbon dioxide if all the ag lands in Pennsylvania went organic to take two and a half million cars off the roadways. 
REPORTER: The potential environmental impact of organic farming is huge according to researchers at the Rodale Institute -- cleaner water...air...and soil. 
LASALLE: Healthy soils will make healthy plants which will produce really healthy people. Right now, scientifically all three of those assumptions have been proven over 60 years to be accurate. 
REPORTER: Rodale's CEO Tim LaSalle says the organic benefits for farmers are plentiful as well, including higher crop yields. 
LASALLE: It's a matter of changing their cropping systems, learning how to do that and in the long run there will be a lot less input costs. 
REPORTER: The transition from chemical dependent farming to organic takes three years. The House bill would help farmers through that time, although LaSalle says land can still be productive during the switch. Once a farm is organic, the market can be profitable. For consumers, organics are said to hold numerous benefits, including better taste, more antioxidants and less chemicals. There's also the benefits to the greater good, but that also means a little extra on the price tag. 
LASALLE: You're buying and paying for the ecological restoration of the water ways, rebuilding the soils for generations to come. So you're paying the full cost of the food. 
REPORTER:  Representative Kessler will hold meetings with the House Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee to discuss the organic incentives bill. They'll also hear testimony from farmers. That will happen in Oley on April 10th.

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