If you grow certified organic produce in containers, your livelihood may be in jeopardy. A vocal group of farmers is pushing the National Organic Standard Board to change the standards immediately, a move that would likely put many successful growers out of organics. Standing behind the rally cry, “Keep the Soil in Organics,” this vocal group has asked for a moratorium on certification of containerized organic growing.
The Crops Subcommittee of the National Organic Standards Board has responded with a recommendation to eliminate hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic production systems from the USDA organic program. In addition, this body is also considering new rules to limit how you produce anything that is not grown in the outer crust of the Earth. This will mean new regulations and limitations on how you grow everything from plantlets, sprouts, mushrooms, tomatoes, berries and herbs. If approved by the US Department of Agriculture, these new rules will restrict your current operations and limit your ability to adapt to future innovations.
Please join the Coalition for Sustainable Organics in Orlando on Friday, October 14th at the Conservatory Ballroom in the Castle Hotel at 8629 International Drive, Orlando, Florida between 2PM and 4PM to learn more about the topic and what you can do to preserve your production options for now and into the future.