organic farming

The Trump administration's 60-day freeze on new federal regulations snagged the animal-welfare rule for organic farmers that was issued two days before the end of the Obama era. Some 334 organic livestock producers wrote Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to ask that the rule become effective on May 19, the end of the 60-day review period. Groups representing conventional agriculture have urged USDA to kill the organic rule.

At its three-day spring meeting in Denver, the National Organic Standards Board delayed, until fall at the earliest, a decision on whether hydroponic crops should be classified as organic production, said The Packer magazine. As a result, "hydroponics will be considered organic for a while longer," as they have for 15 years.

Organic farmers will not compromise their certification under the National Organic Program if they temporarily keep flocks indoors as a precaution against avian influenza, says the USDA agency that oversees the program. In a notice, the Agricultural Marketing Service said it "supports bringing the birds inside on a temporary basis in areas in proximity to the recent [bird flu] detections in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia."

In line with the Trump administration's regulatory freeze, the USDA is extending the comment period by 30 days on the proposed organic checkoff, to April 19. The Organic Trade Association, the sponsor of the proposal, said it hoped the USDA will perform a timely review of comments and call a vote on the checkoff.

After a year and a half of internal review, the USDA will ask for public comment on an industry proposal to create a checkoff program for organic products. It is a significant advance for what would be the first research-and-promotion program to apply to a mode of production rather than a commodity. The Organic Trade Association (OTA), the sponsor of the checkoff, says it would raise more than $30 million a year to help U.S. producers meet the burgeoning demand for organic goods.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hopes that new proposed organic regulations for animal welfare will be complete before President Obama leaves office in January, but isn't sure. “I’m hopeful that we get them done,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a report by Harvest Public Media. “I can’t guarantee that they’ll get done, but I’m hopeful they get done.”

Based on a survey of organic certifying agents, USDA says there are 14,861 organic farms covering 5.3 million acres, a much larger tally than it reported in September when it relied on voluntary responses by producers to its questionnaire. In the September report, USDA cited 12,818 organic farms on 4.36 million acres.

Pilgrim's Pride, a subsidiary of Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS, will expand its organic and antibiotic-free chicken production capacity by buying GNP Co. for $350 million in cash, said the Denver Post. GNP, based in St. Cloud, Minn, produces organic and antibiotic-free chicken. Pilgram's Price is the second-largest U.S. poultry processor.

On a 10-4 vote, the National Organic Standards Board sent back to subcommittee the contentious question whether bioponics, a term covering hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics, are part of organic agriculture, reports Food Safety News. "This means that food grown using hydroponic methods may continue to be certified as organic" if producers meet other criteria for the organic label, said FSN.

The amount of U.S. acres in organic farmland increased 11 percent in 2016 from 2014 numbers to reach 4.1 million acres, says a report by the data-service company Mercaris. The individual number of organic farms also jumped in that period by 1,000, to 14,979. The increase is largely due to consumer demand and economics, Scott Shander, an economist at Mercaris, told Civil Eats.

With 700 million pounds of pesticide used every year, inventors are trying to create a new generation of pesticide-detectors, cheap enough for the public to afford, says Modern Farmer. One Belgian research team has developed a machine that can “smell” pesticides.

A longtime advocate for, and researcher of, organic agriculture, Rodale Institute is launching the Organic Farmers Association, which it says will be the first U.S. group speaking solely for organic farmers. The USDA reported last week that there are 12,818 certified organic farms covering 4.36 million acres, a small share of the 2.07 million farms and 912 million acres of farmland in the country.

The Cornucopia Institute, an organic food industry watchdog group, said it filed a letter with the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission opposing the proposed acquisition of WhiteWave Foods by French dairy giant, Groupe Danone, for about $10 billion.

One result of the USDA's proposed livestock-welfare rule for organic farmers would be the eventual end of confinement-style egg production, because it says poultry must be given access to outdoor yards. A powerhouse group of 13 senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the leaders of the Agriculture Committee says the rule could affect egg prices at the grocery store and drive up costs for producers.

In a new report, the Organic Seed Alliance says an increase in private and public investment in organic breeding and non-GMO research is needed to increase the number of farmers who use organic seed. The investment should make boosting seed variety during breeding trials a priority.

The USDA should reject the checkoff program proposed by the organic industry, says a coalition of opponents, who contend the checkoff would fail to expand U.S. production despite seemingly insatiable consumer demand.

A proposal for humane treatment of livestock on organic farms will remain open for comment an additional 30 days, through July 13, said USDA. Among its provisions, the proposed regulation on animal welfare would require poultry farms to encourage all birds to go outside every day, eventually ending confinement-style egg production.

The 2023 farm bill should gradually scale up federal funding for organic agriculture research and extension to $100 million a year, said the National Organic Coalition on Tuesday. The alliance of farm, environment and consumer groups also said the USDA should dedicate $75 million a year to developing seeds and animal breeds that are adapted to regional climates and soils.