PRESS RELEASE – A friend of the court brief filed jointly by the Coalition for Sustainable Organics, the Western Growers Association, the Aquaponics Association and the Scotts Company was formally accepted this past week by the judge in the case seeking to compel the U.S. Department of Agriculture to initiate the formal rule making process to revoke certification of […]
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Center for Food Safety Files Petition with USDA to Revoke Existing Organic Certification for Nearly All Microgreens and Significant Volumes of Berries, Tomatoes and Leafy Greens BY THE COALITION FOR SUSTAINABLE ORGANICS The Center for Produce Safety delivered a petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for the USDA to Issue new regulations prohibiting […]
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Article by The Upstart University Team The Farm Bill is moving in Congress and could impact your farm. As you may have learned in our previous post, Congress typically rewrites the Farm Bill every five years and is currently in the process of writing a new Farm Bill with the goal of passing it by the […]
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From the Coalition for Sustainable Organics The USDA has published the pre-meeting materials on their website for the Fall 2018 National Organic Standards Board meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota to be held from October 24-26. The Discussion Documents and Formal Proposals do NOT include anything specific to greenhouse, container, hydroponic, aeroponic or aquaponic production systems. Those topics remain on […]
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Article by Amy Storey, Upstart Farmers In a recent survey conducted by Upstart University, 70% of respondents stated that they were unsure of whether the Farm Bill would impact their [future] business. Yet ironically all respondents plan on investing in some kind of energy-efficient equipment in the next year, whether that’s lighting, HVAC, pumps, or motors. […]
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Led by executive director Lee Frankel, the Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO), continued its advocacy efforts at the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Spring meeting to ensure the National Organic Program remains open to producers using containers and hydroponic cultivation methods. Frankel testified, “Comprised of growers big and small, we [the CSO] advocate for the […]
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Eighteen months ago, the outlook for hydroponic, aquaponic, and containerized growing methods in the National Organic Program looked bleak. A small, yet vocal, minority in the organic sector had mounted a campaign within the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to prohibit these production methods from organic certifications despite a lack of scientific basis to do […]
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Send a message to your representatives that you support the NOSB’s decision to uphold aquaponics’ and hydroponics’ Organic eligibility Click here for a Sample letter to Congress expressing support for the NOSB’s Organic decision Copy and paste to send them a message There are two main reasons it is a great time to message your political […]
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A look back at how the Coalition for Sustainable Organics has worked to keep hydroponics and aquaponics as USDA organic-certified production methods. Originally published in Issue 14, July 2016 Organic hydroponic and aquaponic growers are waiting for the results of a National Organic Program task force report which is scheduled for release this month. Members […]
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National Organic Standards Board Rejects Recommendation to Remove Container, Hydroponic and Aquaponic Production Methods from Eligibility for USDA Organic Certification. The members of the NOSB voted on Wednesday by a margin of 8 to 7 to reject the proposals to make Hydroponic and Aquaponic production methods prohibited practices under the USDA organic standards. In addition, […]
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Crops Subcommittee of National Organic Standards Board Sends Forward Formal Recommendation to Ban Hydroponics, Aquaponics and Aeroponics While Proposing Limits on Other Forms of Container Production Systems The USDA recently published on their website the proposals written by the Crops Subcommittee of the National Organic Standards Board. The full membership of the NOSB will take up these […]
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Theo Crisantes, VP Wholesum Harvest, Recommends Improvements to Organic Policy Washington, DC, July 13, 2017 – Theo Crisantes Vice President of Operations for Wholesum Harvest and Board member of the Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) was invited to testify at the Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing on “Opportunities in Global and Local Markets, Specialty Crops, and Organics: […]
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By Lee Frankel and the Coalition for Sustainable Organics “Conflicted” is the most common sentiment of National Organic Standards Board members moving forward on the issue of the role of containers in the USDA organic program The members of the Crops Subcommittee of the NOSB who wrote the Discussion Document calling for the elimination of hydroponic, […]
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By Brian Filipowich, Director of Public Policy at The Aquaponics Association About every five years the Federal Government passes a massive, far-reaching “Farm Bill” with the main aim of providing an adequate national supply of food and nutrition. The Bill affects all facets of the U.S. food system including nutrition assistance, crop subsidies, crop insurance, research, and […]
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