There’s a lot of things I don’t like about Wal-Mart, but even so the store does have the power to bring change–just look at what they did to halt the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray debate. So I’m happy to hear that Wal-Mart purchased over 12 million pounds of cotton from farmers that are making the switch to organic farming. Wal-Mart is increasing their organic offerings on store shelves so they want to encourage farmers to go organic too.

The big purchase will help those farmers sell their not-yet-organic crop until it can be labeled as certified organic (in three years). It may all be a bit of a publicity stunt since it’s happening during Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month,” but it’s a nice move nonetheless. And it’s important for farmers because overhead costs rise when they start changing their farming methods, but they can’t charge a premium for an organic product until they hit the three year mark.