New Organic Rules are on the Horizon for 2024
The National Organic Coalition advocates consistently for strong standards to protect the integrity of the USDA organic seal and to ensure consumer and farmer trust in the organic label. This blog post summarizes key changes to the organic standards from the past two years, and new rules that are on the horizon for 2024.
USDA Has Made Major Updates to USDA Organic Standards
In the past two years, we’ve achieved tremendous progress in our work to strengthen the organic standards. Major updates have been finalized to create a stronger organic program with rules that reflect the needs of organic farmers and consumers:
USDA finalized the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards rule in 2023 to ensure high animal welfare standards for animals raised on organic farms and access to the outdoors for organic chickens.
USDA finalized the Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule in 2023 to address fraud in organic supply chains. The rule goes into effect in March, 2024.
USDA finalized the Origin of Livestock rule in 2022 to create a fair marketplace for organic dairy producers and is now focused on enforcement of the provisions in the rule.
These three major updates to the organic standards have been top priorities for the National Organic Coalition. Now that they are final, NOC is asking USDA to implement and adequately enforce these new requirements.
Congress Has Increased Resources for the National Organic Program
As part of our advocacy to ensure adequate enforcement of organic standards, NOC has educated Members of Congress about the need for increased resources and capabilities. This advocacy has generated significant results: the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) budget has gone from around $9 million annually in 2017 to more than $22 million for fiscal year 2023, more than doubling the NOP’s resources to safeguard organic integrity.
Future Rulemaking
NOC is thrilled that the NOP has at last finalized these much-needed updates to the organic regulations, but the NOP’s work is not yet done. Despite the NOP’s progress, there are still many National Organic Standards Board recommendations that have languished. In 2022, NOC submitted extensive comments to the NOP regarding rulemaking priorities. NOC is urging the USDA to continue making progress to update the organic standards so they evolve along with the latest science and the needs of the organic community.
For 2024, NOC anticipates NOP action on at least two new rules:
Omnibus Nitrogen Proposed Rule
The NOP has indicated that they will implement multiple NOSB recommendations as part of this proposed rule. The rule will focus on NOSB recommendations to:
Prohibit the use of nonsynthetic ammonia extract in organic crop production: These materials have a negative impact on soil biota and do not contribute to maintaining or improving soil organic matter. (NOSB Recommendation from October 2021)
Reinstate sodium nitrate on the National List: The NOSB passed a unanimous recommendation in 2021 to reinstate the listing of sodium nitrate as a prohibited natural. Reinstating this listing would restrict the use of sodium nitrate to no more than 20 percent of the crop’s total nitrogen requirement. NOC strongly supports reinstating the restriction on the use of this high-nitrogen fertilizer. (NOSB Recommendation from October 2021)
Restrict high nitrogen ferilizers: This unanimous NOSB recommendation would limit nitrogen fertilizers with a C:N ratio of 3:1 or less, to a cumulative total use of 20% of crop needs. (NOSB Recommendation from April 2022)
These recommendations are consistent with the ‘feed the soil, not the plant’ approach that the organic regulations seek to codify. Rather than addressing nutrient problems by using a single, highly soluble material, organic uses a systems approach. In contrast to the reductionism of chemical-intensive agriculture, the origins of organic agriculture are in holistic and ecological thinking. NOC strongly supports the implementation and intent of these important NOSB recommendations related to nitrogen use in organic crop production.
2. Organic Market Development Proposed Rule
The NOP has indicated that they will pursue rulemaking in 2024 to implement decades old NOSB recommendations on pet food and mushrooms. NOC is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to review and comment on a proposed rule that implements these two recommendations:
Pet Food: The NOSB passed a recommendation in 2008 that proposes changes in the organic regulations to support labeling of organic pet food. It provides clarity where any conflicts may exist between organic labeling claims and the existing state requirements for pet food labeling. It recommends a pet food label that is consistent with labeling for human food. (NOSB Recommendation from November 2008)
Mushrooms: The NOP is proposing to adopt a regulation that would implement the NOSB recommendation on standards for organic mushroom production from 2001. (NOSB Recommendation from 2001)
3. Inert Ingredients in Organic Pesticide Products
Rulemaking on inert ingredients used in organic pesticides is forthcoming. The current references to inert ingredients in the crop and livestock production standards (205.601(m) and 205.603(e)) cite outdated EPA Lists 3 and 4.
ANPR: In 2022 the NOP accepted public comments on how to update these listings through an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). NOC submitted extensive comments in response to the ANPR.
NOP Memo to NOSB: Then in 2023, the NOP sent a memo to the National Organic Standards Board, requesting that the Board issue options for rulemaking to replace the EPA List 3 and List 4 references that are currently on the National List. This memo was requested since the NOP cannot add materials to the National List without prior NOSB approval. In this case, the NOSB could recommend either listing of individual inert materials on the National List or they could recommend a reference to a current EPA category.
NOSB is accepting public comments: The NOSB asked for comments in the fall of 2023 and is currently deliberating on this topic. They will be accepting additional public comments prior to the spring and fall 2024 NOSB meetings. They will likely issue a recommendation in the fall of 2024.
This topic is of critical importance to organic integrity. In some cases, so-called ‘inert’ ingredients used in organic pesticides are the majority of the pesticide product and so are known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.
NOC is asking the NOSB and NOP to adopt a rigorous review process to ensure that toxic ‘inert’ ingredients do not get used in organic agriculture and to specifically review and list any ‘inert’ material that is not either naturally derived or in an EPA minimal risk designation.
Stay tuned!
NOC anticipates public comment opportunities on the Omnibus Nitrogen and Organic Market Development proposed rules in 2024. NOC also strongly encourages the organic community to comment to the NOSB on the use of inert ingredients in organic-approved pesticide products.