NOSB UPDATES ARCHIVE
by Barry Flamm


March 15, 2010
January 10, 2010
November 25, 2009
September 25, 2009
May 10, 2009
April 1, 2009
December 15, 2008
September 15, 2008
June 15, 2008
April 1, 2008



NOSB Update
March 15, 2010

Finally, we have a change of venue for the next NOSB Board meeting. It will be in Woodland, California at the Hendrick Ag History Center (near Sacramento) April 26-29 .I encourage you to look at the agenda as all the topics are important. Following are some topics that I believe are of the most interest, but don’t overlook the petioned and sunset materials:

Crops Committee- List 4 inerts in pesticides and Production standards for terrestial plants in containers and enclosures  (green houses).
Livestock Committee- Methionine petition recommendation, which is of interest to poultry producers, Animal welfare discussion on stocking rates, and Apiculture;
Materials Committee update on the nanotechnology recommendation;
Policy Development Committee discussion of Sunset materials review approaches, a very hot and timely topic.

Requests to make oral presentations and written comments must be received by the NOP by the close of business April 12. Instructions for filing comments can be found by going to the NOSB website, then NOSB meetings, then date April 26-29, 2010, then Federal register notices. At this juncture you may also click on Meeting Agenda to obtain details about the meeting.

Previously, I received excellent comments from the MOA Board and Members, which I presented to the subject committees and urged strong consideration. It is important that, if still germaine, comments be submitted formally for the record, according to the Regulations.gov procedures noted above. In particular, the Chair of the Livestock committee requested that the excellent comments from John Walkup (Mission Mountain Organic Egg Farm) regarding Animal Welfare stocking rates, be submitted formally for the record.

Let me know if any one needs help navigating the procedures for filing comments.
I’d also appreciate knowing if any MOA members plan to attend the California meeting and I’ll give you an update when I get back, hopefully more interesting than all this procedural stuff!

Wishing all a great “organic” spring and summer!



NOSB Update
January 10, 2010

Folks, do you realize that 2010 is the 20th anniversary of OFPA (Organic Food Production Act), which is the present foundation of our organic programs? Organics progress has been a struggle, which many of you bear scars from, but also the pride of some mighty achievements.

The NOSB members and the National Organic Program Staff will be meeting the second week in February to address critical issues and develop strategic plans. This is particularly important event with new Program Director Miles McEvoy, expanding staff and budget and five new NOSB members.

The regular spring NOSB Board meeting will be held April 26-29 in Davis, California, where public comments will be received on Committee recommendations and the full Board votes to approve. The Committee recommendations are to be posted on the NOSB website and www.regulations.gov on March 1.

April 12 is the closing date for submitting comments, which will be posted for all to see, but later comments are not necessarily ignored. The best option is to attend the meeting.  Another option is to have a proxy present your comments. The NOSB website and regulations.gov outline the commenting procedures, but I would be happy to help in decoding the stuff.

At the last Board meeting, the Livestock Committee recommendation on Animal Welfare, with some modifications based on public comments, was approved. Most notably, the numbers in the stocking table were removed entirely. The committee is in the process of developing new numbers and I fervently hope that Montana poultry and livestock producers will contribute their knowledge as to what would be acceptable. As with all the approved Board recommendations, you may find Livestock Welfare by going to the NOSB website and clicking on “recommendations. “

The “greenhouse” proposal at the last meeting was a discussion paper to obtain public opinion before presenting a formal recommendation to the full Board. The Crops Committee intends to present a recommendation at the April meeting. I have made sure that MOA’s comments have come to the attention of the committee and I will work to insure its full consideration. It would also be a good idea to submit formal comments on the posted recommendation.

There will be revised proposals for handling inerts and nano technology, plus a long list of materials due to sunset in 2012 plus recommendations on newly petitioned materials.

The future of organics looks bright. Organic food is more nutritious, is safer, free of harmful chemicals, better for the environment and can reduce the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, say many and backed by studies.  So I say thanks to all of you!

NOSB Update
November 25, 2009

First, Congratulations on a great 7th Annual Conference and special thanks to the Conference Committee, Chaired by Tara Blyth, for a job well done!

The week prior to the MOA Conference, I was at the NOSB Board meeting in Washington DC. At the MOA Conference, I briefly reported on the Board meeting, so some of this is repetitious for you that were in attendance.

On the first day of the Board Meeting the new Administrator of the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS), Rayne Pegg , was introduced. AMS is the organizational home of NOP in USDA. On the second day, Undersecretary Edward Avilos also spoke Both expressed strong support for organics. And of course, Kathleen Merigan (check MOA website for details on her) is the number two person in USDA. What a difference!
The NOP has been moved up a notch so that the Program’s head (Deputy Administrator) now reports directly to the AMS Administrator. The really good news is that this person as of October 1, is Miles McEvoy, former WSDA Organic Director. Some of you will remember that Miles helped Montana set up our State organic certification program.
Miles gave an excellent presentation on the first day outlining NOP values, goals, priorities and budget and staffing changes. You may see his presentation by going to the NOSB November meeting agenda day one. Some of the highlights of his talk were:

Founding (NOP) principles and values are: collaborative, clear & consistent, transparent, strict & sensible and organic- biological, interconnected, true to organic principles.

Priorities: publish the pasture rule (it is now in OMB for clearance, develop a strategic plan, hire staff, train staff and ACAs, implement NOSB recommendations and uphold and enforce standards.

Miles declared the “Age of Enforcement:” risk-based inspections, unannounced inspections, residue sampling to enhance integrity and market surveillance.

The USDA FY 2010 budget for NOP was signed by President Obama in late October for a hefty increase to $ 6.967 million and a staff of 31.  In 2002, the budget was $1.6 million and a staff of 6.

Miles ended his talk with a quote from Wendell Berry: “An organic farm, properly speaking, is not one that uses certain methods and substances and avoids others; it is a farm whose structure is formed in imitation of the structure of a natural system that has the integrity, the independence and the benign dependence of an organism.”

The term of Board Members is 5 years, with 5 completing their terms this year (effective 1/22/10).  They are Rigo Delgado, Gerry Davis, Bea James, Julie Weisman and Hue Karreman, who spoke at the 2007 MOA conference. They are being replaced by Joe Dickson, Whole Foods, Austin, Texas; Jay Feldman, Beyond Pesticides, Washington, DC; John Foster, Earth Bound Farms, Oregon; Wendy Fulwider, farmer, Wisconsin; and Annette Riherd, fruit and vegetable farmer, Oklahoma. Dan Giacomini was elected Board Chair, replacing Jeff  Moyer. Tracy Miedema was elected Vice Chair and Tina Ellor as Board Secretary.

The next Board Meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 26-29 in California, probably the Davis area. At least it is closer to Montana and maybe some one besides me from MOA can attend.

At this past Board meeting, hundreds of written and oral comments were received from a diverse group of interested people and organizations, the comments being primarily on recommendations made by the various Board Committees. These comments were considered and modifications were made to the proposed recommendations, which were then voted on the last day of the meeting. The complete final results will be posted on the NOSB website around December 5.

At this time, I will only touch on a few of the action items. The animal welfare recommendation passed after being modified in response to a great deal of public comments. Because of comments, numbers were withdrawn from the stocking tables, to be added later after more consideration. I hope that MOA members will provide input for these tables and not just have input come from the large corporate interests. This should be done soon as the Livestock committee is working on the numbers.

The vaccine recommendation allowing GM passed after modification, which limited use to only when alternatives did not exist. This was a very controversial recommendation with heated debate.

The very complex recommendation on the clarification of the definition of materials passed with consequences I can’t fully foresee.

The personal body care recommendation was a “planting the flag” to force a decision from USDA to accept the challenge of regulating organic body care product claims. It passed.

In a similar vein, the retail certification recommendation’s purpose was to urge the NOP to provide marketing guidance to voluntary retail certification in order to maintain consistent use of the USDA seal. It also passed.

In spite of overall strong support for the nanotechnology recommendation banning its use in organic production and handling, the minority opinion resulted in it being withdrawn for further consideration.

The Crops committee presented a discussion document proposing how to handle the List 4 Inerts issue. The comments were largely unfavorable, but neither did a solution emerge. The problem must be dealt with and soon.

The Crops committee also presented a discussion document on production standards for terrestrial plants in containers and enclosures (aka greenhouses) with the intention to have a final recommendation for the Spring Board Meeting. Work on this recommendation has already begun. The MOA Board provided valuable comments on this topic and I will insure that they receive careful consideration.

There were many other topics covered at the meeting as a review of the agenda will reveal. I expect to cover later some of those, plus more detail on the above items.

I wish to give tribute to MOA Chair, Ole Norgaard, and the entire MOA Board for providing valuable comments on many of the NOSB proposals. It is very important that your knowledge, experiences, values and concerns be incorporated into the deliberations.
I will continue to try my best to reflect these, but your continued direct involvement is needed.

NOSB Update
September 25, 2009

I never thought I would hear this, but recently at a Board Executive Committee call, a
USDA official told us, “organics is the most important program in USDA right now!” This recognition is way over due, but is most welcomed. Top Department officials are paying attention.

As reported previously, NOP’s stature is being improved by moving it up on the organizational chart, reporting directly to the AMS Administrator, Rayne Pegg. On September 17, Secretary Vilsack announced Miles McEvoy to serve as Deputy Administrator of the National Organic Program. Miles McEvoy is the Washington State Organic Program Manager and a long time leader in organics. The five new NOSB members were announced on September 24: Joe Dickson, an organic retailer from Austin, Texas, who is currently Certification Director of Whole Foods; Jay Feldman, an environmentalist from Washington, D.C., currently Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides, with nearly 30 years experience in environmental issues; John Foster, an organic handler from McMinnville, Ore., who works for Earthbound Farms and also has a strong farming background and experience as an organic inspector; Wendy Fulwider, an organic farmer from Viroqua, Wis., who has worked to develop animal standards for the organic industry; and Annette Riherd, an organic fruit and vegetable farmer from Oologah, Okla., who is also an advocate for buy fresh/buy local and organic and direct marketing.

The next NOSB Board meeting will be November 3-5 in Washington, DC at the Washington Plaza Hotel. On day 1, we will have the Deputy Secretary, AMS Administrator and other top officials present, as there will be a “changing of the guard” as Miles McEvoy is introduced and NOP’s  new direction elaborated.

The meeting agenda is very full. Let me outline some items that I think are of interest to MOA members. The complete agenda with the proposed committee recommendations has been posted on the NOSB meeting website.

The Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification Committee has two recommendations:

1. Clarification of Marketing for Voluntary Retail Certification.

First, I want to assure you, if you are worried, this DOES NOT recommend group certification for retailers. What it does do is attempt to set in motion clarification of guidance so retailers know exactly what is expected of them and consumers understand what they are purchasing.

1. Solving the Problem of Mislabeled Organic Personal Care Products.

As some you are no doubt aware, there is great confusion in the market place with the various labels and claims of organic with personal care products. In addition, there has been disagreement which agency in government should be regulating these organic claims. The CACC recommends that organic personal care products be recognized explicitly by the NOP to ensure consumers and businesses alike that the products have an unquestioned home in the USDA/NOP.

The Crops Committee has recommendations on petitions to add materials to the National List: peracetic acid, manganese sulfate monohydrate, hydrogen chloride, ferric phosphate and a discussion on handling list 4 inerts. In addition the committee is recommending improved guidance for green houses and terrestrial plants grown in containers.

The Materials Committee has a real humdinger of a topic, nanotechnology. The recommendation document has a clear definition of nanotechnology and contains explanatory back ground information, which will be posted for the meeting. The Committee recommends that the NOP implement a rule change that all nanotechnology is excluded from all organic production, processing and packaging, except as required by law.

The Livestock Committee will make recommendations on petitioned materials and material annotations: eprinomectin, vaccines, excipients, chlorhexidine, and xylazine. Plus recommendations on animal welfare and bivalves.  At this time I have not seen any of these recommendations, except that for vaccines, which recommends a change in the Regs 205.105 (e) to  “Excluded methods, except for vaccines.”

A Joint Materials & Handling Committee will, after many hours of work by many, recommend new definitions for synthetic/non synthetic determinations. I expect this will illicit much debate.

And finally, the Handling committee has recommendations for materials up for sunset in 2011.

I hope with this heads up, you will have time to prepare comments on topics of interest and concern. October 19 is the deadline for filing comments. The official meeting regulatory posting provides instructions.

NOSB Update
May 10, 2009

I just returned from a very busy week in DC at the NOSB spring Board meeting, which had vigorous participation from the public.

Board members and the public alike were excited Tuesday to have our new Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Kathleen Merrigan address the group. It is quite a boost to organics to have a person with such experience and dedication to organics in such a high position in USDA. NOP will get elevated in the USDA hiearchy and get a better shake in the budget. The NOP program manager position is now being recruited under the Senior Executive Service (non-political) system and will not now have to serve also as Deputy Administrator for Transportation and Marketing in AMS, as has been the case for Barbara Robinson. This is an important step allowing the incumbent to focus on the important work of NOP. A strong, dedicated, competant, organic person is needed for this position.


Left to right, back row: Kristine Ellor, Bea James, Barry Flamm, Kevin Engelbert, Steve DeMuri, Gerald Davis,Joe Smillie, Hubert Karreman. Middle row: Jennifer Hall, Julie Weisman, Valerie Francis( Executive Director), Tracy Miedema. Front row: Dan Giacomini, Katrina Heinze, Kathleen Merrigan ( Deputy Secretary ), Jeff Moyer. Missing board member: Rigo Delgado

At the Board meeting, Kathleen Merrigan announced $50 million for a new initiative to meet the Obama Administration's promise to encourage more organic agriculture production. Funding is being made available as part of the of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Organic producers may also apply for funding under the general EQIP. Time is very short. Applications for the new program must be received by May 29. You can visit your nearest USDA service center for information and to determine your eligibility. More information can also be gained at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/. NRCS will administer this new initiative.

The Deputy Secretary invited the Board to her office in the AG Administration building that evening for an informal and very interesting discussion. Later, we visited the organic victory garden adjacent to the Ag building. A real nice job and great to see organics receiving such high profile exposure!

At her morning presentation, Merrigan made a very strong appeal for biodiversity conservation. It was a great lead-in for my subsequent presentation of the guidance recommendation for Implementation of Biological Conservation in Organic Agriculture Systems. During the evening visit, she told me she had read the full recommendation document. The recommendation was passed by the Board on Wednesday: 14 yes, 1 absent.

I will only touch on a few other action items. Of much interest, NOSB had received its first petition to remove a material from the National List of allowed substances. After receiving and considering hundreds of written comments plus oral presentations, the Board voted to remove Lecithin, bleached from 205.605b and the 605.606 listing to only the dry form. This because of availability concerns that still remain.

Those of you with alkaline soil problems may be interested that the Board approved the sulfurous acid petition for an on-farm manufacture for use in pH adjustment of water.

Also, livestock producers now will have vitamins and minerals injected as supplements available.

Following the Board meeting on Thursday, some of us met with AMS Science and Technology staff. S&T has been contracted by NOP to prepare technical reviews of petitioned materials. The purpose of the meeting was to achieve a better understanding among S&T of our needs so as to achieve superior work to meet our needs in reviewing and decisions making for petitioned materials. The meeting went well.

Don't forget: act now for the new EQIP funding.

Also remember there will be 5 NOSB slots next year that need filling with good people.

Until next time......

April 1, 2009

Good news for organics as we are finally receiving high-level Washington attention! A very vocal supporter of organically, locally grown food is First Lady Michelle Obama. In March, she with the help of the Obama girls and others, broke ground for a White House Organic Victory Garden. According to reports, the Obama family has wisely chosen not to expose themselves to toxins and GMOs by requiring organic foods to be served at the White House.

A pleasant surprise occurred in mid-February. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack took a jackhammer to a patch of pavement outside the Agriculture Headquarters to create his own organic garden. Led by NOP staff, work began in earnest in March to transition to fully organic. This included planting cover crops and adding mulch provided by Board Member Jeff Moyer, Rodale’s farm manager.

Although these moves may be viewed as only symbolic, they send a very important message to the “troops”—that organics have arrived and will be an important part of food, nutrition and health policy.

Reinforcing that more than symbolism is involved, the Obama Administration has named Dr. Kathleen Merrigan, a long time champion of organics and sustainable agriculture, as Deputy Secretary. She is coming from renowned Tufts U. where she is Director of the Center on Agriculture, Food and Environment. She was an author of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990,which established the National Organic Program and NOSB and she has served as Administrator of USDA/ AMS. Additionally, The National Organic Program status is to be elevated from its present buried position in AMS to reporting directly to the AMS Administrator. NOP will also receive significant staff increases. All this will help NOP do a better job of implementing and overseeing the organic program.

As you know, I am presently serving in an environmental position on the Board with a term through 2013. The terms are staggered. This year, the Secretary of Agriculture is seeking nominations for 5 Board vacancies in the following positions: 2 producers, 1 environmentalist, 1 retailer and 1 handler. Written nominations, with recommendation letters and resume must be postmarked on or before July 17, 09 and should be sent to:
Katherine E. Benham
NOP
USDA, AMS,-TM-NOP
1400 Independence Ave SW
Room 4004-S Ag stop 0268
Washington, DC 20250
If you have questions, call Kathleen at (202) 205-7806.

The next NOSB full Board meeting is May 4-6 at the Washington Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC. The complete agenda along with committee recommendations and discussion documents have been posted on the NOSB website for public comment. The formal comment period closes on April 20. It would be great if MOA could be represented at the meeting. If not that, then comments on the issues of interest would be valuable in the Board’s deliberations.

As I have previously mentioned, I Chair the Policy Development Committee and serve on the Executive, Crops and the Certification/Accreditation/Compliance Committees. Thus, I was involved in all the recommendations that they produced. In particular, I put together the biodiversity conservation recommendation. I consider this quite important and would particularly welcome your comments. I also want to call your attention to three discussion documents, which begin to address very complex and controversial issues: retailer certification, personal body care standards, and soilless growing systems.

For you that have dealings with our neighbors to the north, you will be interested to know that an organic equivalency agreement with Canada will occur soon.

I wish all a great growing, handling and eating organics season!



December 15, 2008

First, I want to say what a tremendous Conference was held in Billings. Congratulations to the organizers and all that did so much to make another get together a big success. It is an honor to be part of such great organic community.

The last National Organic Standards Board ( NOSB) meeting was held November 17-19 in Washington, DC. It was a busy meeting with a large public turn out and participation.
The final approved recommendations by the Board will be posted soon on the NOSB website, probably by the time you read this.

The Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification Committee (CAAC) recommendation involving certifying operations with multiple production units (i.e., Grower groups) was approved after amendment to include the minority opinion that new growers to be added to the group were a risk factor for inspection.

The joint CAAC and Crops Committee recommended guidance on the availability and use of organic seed, with minor amendments, was approved. The document recommends:
1) NOP role in promoting use of organic seed; 2) ACA’s role in enforcing commercial availability; and 3) the Certified Growers role in increasing organic seed use requiring more diligence in the search for organic seed and better documentation of that effort.

The most hotly discussed topic on the agenda may not be of interest to Montana growers, but should be to consumers, was the Livestock Committee’s aquaculture recommendations, particularly on net pens. The concerns involve pollution and ecological effects especially to wild fisheries. Many commenters expressed concern for the Pacific salmon fishery. The LC committee recommendation was modified, but did fully address the concerns of some, and passed with dissent.

The so called “Pasture Rule” of much interest to many MOA members was not on the meeting agenda for NOSB as this is in the formal regulatory process. The ball is, in other words, in NOP’s court. NOSB had made its recommendations to NOP previously, before I was a member. At the MOA conference I learned of the many concerns of the Montana community and that these concerns would be communicated to the NOP along with request for more time to review and comment further.

The OTA (MOA is a member) prepared a comprehensive summary of the Board meeting which you can read at http://www.ota.com/standards/nosb/index.html.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for May 4-6, 2009, location yet to be determined. Final recommendations from the Board committees will be posted and Federal Register Notice published March 30. The written public comment period closes April 20.
Committees are presently finalizing their work plans for the May meeting. Among other issues of interest, CAAC will be examining the need for further guidance for Retail establishment certification.

Among other topics, I will be working on a recommendation for the Joint CAAC and Crops Committee for the “Implementation of Biodiversity Conservation in Organic Agriculture Systems.” A discussion paper of this title was posted and presented at the last meeting. It received over 60 written and oral comments. I must now prepare a draft, addressing public comments, for the Joint Committees initial review by January 12.



September 15, 2008

The next National Organic Standards Board meeting will be held November 17-19 at the Savoy Suites Hotel, Washington DC. I was hoping this meeting would be held somewhere in the west, but maybe next time.

Again the agenda is jammed full. You can read the complete agenda along with committee recommendations on the NOSB website. Here I’ll just give you an overview. The first morning will be devoted to Board business matters and a Program update. NOP, thanks in part to funding in the Farm Bill, is expanding its staff to better serve the organic community. The rest of the day will be devoted to listening to public comments on a full range of organic topics. Day 2 NOSB committees present their recommendations. I lead off as Chair of the Policy Development Committee (PDC). The “Sunset” and “Technical Review” recommendations should be of interest to you. These recommendations address the integrity of the materials review for the all important National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.

The Compliance, Accreditation and Certification Committee (CACC) has two recommendations. The first recommendation involves certifying operations with multiple production units, sites and facilities, often referred to as group certification. This has been a controversial topic especially regarding the proposed inclusion of handlers and retailers into the process. The recommendation now addresses only producers (farmers). The second recommendation from CACC addresses issues that have arisen regarding the 100% labeling claim on organic products.

The joint CACC and Crops committee will present recommended guidance on the availability and use of organic seed, with exceptions allowed. This is of importance to many Montana organic farmers

The Joint committee will also present a discussion paper on opportunities to strengthen biodiversity conservation, a core organic principle.

The Crops committee will present its recommendation on several substances that have been petitioned to be added to National List. Of particular interest is the petition to add Tetracycline (oxytetracycline hydrochloride) to the list for crop use. There are presently two antibiotics on the List: Streptomycin, for fire blight control in pears and apples and Tetracycline (oxytetracycline calcium complex) for fire blight control only. Antibiotic use on crops is not allowed in Europe so use here prohibits exports to those and some other countries. There is strong opinion that it was a mistake to permit their use here. These two materials come up for Sunset in 2012. The Crops committee will also discuss “soil-less growing systems” (hydroponics).

The Livestock Committee has three recommendations on aquaculture and a discussion on animal husbandry.

The Handling Committee will present recommendations for eight nonorganic substances petitioned to be allowed in processed products. The Committee will also make recommendations for pet food standards.

There will then be opportunity for further public comment on NOSB action and discussion items.

Committees will present their recommendations on the final day, November 19, followed by Board discussion and vote on the recommendations. The meeting is concluded by officer election and discussion of work plans for the next half year.

Public comments and meeting oral presentation sign ups close on November 3. Oral and written comments will also be accepted during the meeting. In submitting your comments refer to Docket Number AMS-AMS-08-0083. To find the relevant documents, visit the NOSB website at: http://www.ams.usda.gov. Click on the National Organic Program link and then the National Organic Standards Board link.



June 15, 2008

I am back from my first NOSB meeting, a three-day marathon held in Baltimore May 20-22. Back in March, I was moved from Vice Chair to Chair of the Policy Development Committee and according to colleagues was the first Board Member to serve as Chair before even attending a first Board meeting. It also means I serve on the Executive Committee, along with serving on the Crops committee and Compliance, Accreditation and Certification committee (CACC). It made the Board meeting especially interesting.

The most important purpose of the biannual meetings is for the Board to receive oral and written comments and to interact with the attendees. All full Board meetings are open to the public. Public participants have the opportunity to hear committee and task force reports presented to the full Board and later respond. These Board meetings are the only time the members physically get together to discuss issues, handle problems, work, hear committee reports, and vote on recommendations. Most of the work is done in committees by email and conference calls with advice being obtained from Task Forces and Technical Advisory Panels.

Space does not allow me to present the many subjects covered. I can only highlight a few which I think are of most interest to you. I encourage you to go to the NOSB website for the whole story.

The organic seed requirement is of special interest to many MOA members. The Organic Regulations (205.204) state that, “The producer must use organically grown seeds, annual seedlings, and planting stock except that non organically produced, untreated seeds…may be used…when an equivalent organically produced variety is not commercially available.” The exception is widely used and today only a small proportion of the seed currently used is certified organic. In the recent past, NOSB has issued recommendations on this subject, without notable effect. During this past year, the Crops and CAC committees again addressed the subject resulting in recommendations for consideration at this Board meeting. Comments were heard from organic seed producers, organic farmers, and certifiers. Although there was mostly agreement something needed to be done to increase organic seed use, there was concern that the methods proposed were unwieldy and created unfair and unequal burdens. The joint committee accepted these concerns and withdrew the recommendation for further work to address a better system for collecting, managing, and dispensing organic seed availability, and needs information and equitable sharing of the burden between seed producers, farmers, certifiers, government, and other institutions.

One of the many materials petitioned to be added to the National List of Allowed Substances was Tetracycline—oxyteracycline hydrochloride (a different formulation than now on the List)—and to extend use from fire blight control only to all disease and crops registered by EPA. The Crops committee has concern for the use of any antibiotics in organic crop production due to its potential impact on human health and the environment. The existing antibiotics on the National List (205.601) will be up for “sunset review.” Primarily for these two reasons, the Committee recommended against accepting the petition. The Petitioner in a public statement at the Meeting modified the petition to eliminate the extended uses and to agree to a sunset time which would coincide with the other crop antibiotics. Based on these proposals by the Petitioner, NOSB action was deferred until the Fall meeting. MOA may wish to comment on antibiotic use in organic crop production.

Action was taken on many other materials petitioned to add to the National List including recommended approval of Fenbendazole as prescribed by a veterinarian for emergency treatment when an organic system fails to prevent infestation. It is believed that this material is a better alternative than existing listed materials and that when Fenbendazole is listed it is the intention of the Board the others be delisted.

Besides materials, there are several other topics I believe should be of special interest to MOA members that will be worked on by committees for presentation at the Fall Board meeting. These include reworking the multisite certification discussion paper and developing an acceptable recommendation (CAAC), developing recommendations for hydroponics (Crops), Aquatic plants (Crops), and Aquaculture especially fish feed issues (Livestock).

Lynn Coody presented the Wild Farm Alliance’s fine report, “Biodiversity Conservation as part of the National Organic Program,” a topic dear to my heart. MOA’s Becky Weed serves on the Alliance’s Board. This would be good topic for a MOA conference.

I encourage you to present your ideas, concerns, and recommendations to the Board in writing and if possible in person. I welcome your comments, questions, and advice at any time. You can reach me at 406-883-2858 or email barryexplorer@yahoo.com.

I hope you are all having a good year growing and handling Montana’s great organic food and best wishes to the sellers of organics and the fortunate consumers. We are all better because of you!



April 1, 2008
NOSB 101

You may remember from the last Organic Matters that I was appointed to an environmental position on the National Organic Standards Board. You may even ask, “What the heck is that?” In any case I thought a little refresher course might be in order, thus the title of this first piece, which may become a regular column. This first offering is a little lengthy, but bear with me as we navigate the endless acronyms and delegations of responsibilities. Those of you who are experts on this subject can go back to your organic work.

First, I wish to thank MOA for your support for my appointment. I am very honored by this support and for the opportunity to serve organics on this important Board. You are a great group of people and the best and most dedicated working conservationists/environmentalists that I have ever had the privilege to know and work with.

Now for some history. Title XXI of the 1990 Farm Bill is known as the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). Its purpose was to establish National standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as organic. Previously there was no uniformity in standards, thus “organic” could mean different things. The Act established the National Organic Program (NOP) and was assigned to the Agricultural Marketing Service in USDA. The Act established the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory body to the NOP, but with teeth. OFPA states that only the NOSB can recommend any material to the National list of permitted or prohibited substances. The initial proposed regulations to implement OFPA came under severe criticism from the organic community, which resulted in subsequent rule changes. There were 40,774 public comments, which must be some sort of record. The final rule (regulation) was not published until 10 years after the Act passed, December 2000. The rule was then implemented over an 18 month period from February 2001 to October 2002.

The NOSB’s statutory mission is “To assist in the development of standards for substances to be used in organic production and to advise the Secretary on any other aspects of the implementation of this title” which is OFPA.

In carrying out the mission of NOSB key activities include:
1) assisting in the development and maintenance of organic standards and regulations:
2) reviewing petitioned materials for inclusion on the National list of approved and prohibited substances;
3) recommending changes in the National List:
4) communicating with the organic community;
5) supporting and coordinating with the NOP.

The Board is comprised of 15 members of which:
• four own or operate organic farms;
• two own or operate organic handling operations;
• one owns or operates a retail establishment engaged in organics
• three have expertise in areas of environmental protection and resource conservation
• three represent public interest or consumer interest groups
• one has expertise in sciences of toxicology, ecology or biochemistry
• one is a certifying agent

I am in one of the environmental positions. The term is for 5 years and it’s a volunteer job, i.e., no pay!

There are three principal officers Chair, (Rigo Delgado, producer from Texas) Vice Chair Jeff Moyer, producer from Pennsylvania) and Secretary ( Katrina Heinze, scientist from Minnesota) and along with Committee Chairs that form the Executive Committee. Much of the Board’s work is done by the standing committees which are:
• Certification, accreditation and compliance (CACC) Chair, Joe Smilie, certifier, VT
• Crops (CC) Chair, Gerald Davis, producer, CA
• Handling (HC) Chair, Julie Weisman, handler, NJ
• Livestock (LC) Chair, Hue Karreman, environmentalist, PA. You probably remember Hue from last fall’s MOA conference.
• Materials (MC) Chair, Dan Giacomini, consumer/ public interest, CA
• Policy Development (PDC), Bea James, retailer, MN

Other current members are: Steve Demuri Handler from CA, Tina Ellor environmentalist from PA, Kevin Engelbert producer from NY, Jennifer Hall consumer/ public interest from WA, and Tracy Miedema consumer/ public interest from OR.

I was appointed to the CACC, CC and PDC as vice chair. The Board meets twice a year, but through the year does business by conference calls and emails, to which I can attest, there is plenty of! The next in-person Board meeting is scheduled for May 20-22 in the Washington, DC area. A major purpose of the meeting is to receive public comments on Board proposals and on organic concerns and issues. The location and other details of the meeting will be posted on the website, which is given at the end of this article.

The Executive Director is Valerie Frances. The ED is an employee of USDA and is the operational liaison with NOP and does lots of the work for the Board. There has been a recent reorganization in NOP with Deputy Administrator, AMS Barbara Robinson as lead person. Mark Bradley will now be Chief, Audit, Accreditation and Training Branch. Richard Mathews will lead standards and review. A compliance and enforcement lead has not, to my knowledge, been named.

A new and improved public information web source has been launched, which should make it easier to access information and get answers to the complex questions facing growers, handlers and certifiers/inspectors too. The website can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

The topics I have especially been involved in so far are: a group certification proposal; availability of organic seed; Antibiotics, Dextrin and Cheese wax petitions for the National List; and whether Technical Advisory Panel reports to guide and assist the NOSB can be prepared by NOP.

I would welcome your comments, questions and advice at any time. Also please let me know what you would like to hear about in a future columns.


Barry Flamm
Email: barryexplorer@yahoo.com
Phone: 406-883-2858

Read Barry's Bio