Resources for NOC 2021 Spring Pre-NOSB Meeting

Thursday, April 15

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm eastern

DC Update

  1. Restore Organic Certification Cost Share Funding

  2. NOC webpage on Racial Equity in Organic Agriculture

  3. Justice For Black Farmers Act - The Justice for Black Farmers Act will reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provide debt relief and create a land grant program to encourage a new generation of Black farmers

  4. NOC webpage on Organic Agriculture as a Climate Change solution

  5. The Agriculture Resilience Act - Comprehensive legislation introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) during the last Congress that sets a bold vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. agriculture by the year 2040.

  6. Climate Stewardship Act - introduced by Senator Booker and Rep. Spanberger, this legislation incentivizes climate friendly farming practices and expands climate change research related to agriculture, including organic research.

  7. NOC Appropriations Priorities - FY 2022

NOSB Meeting Update

  1. NOSB Meeting Materials

  2. NOSB Proposals and Discussion Documents 

Farmer Panel

  1. Joia Food Farm

    1. https://modernfarmer.com/2018/01/meet-modern-farmer-wendy-johnson/

    2. https://www.amazon.com/Women-Land-Barbara-Hall/dp/1888160969

    3. http://netnebraska.org/article/news/1087024/why-some-farmers-are-mixing-livestock-prairie

    4. https://agreenerworld.org/midwest/joia-food-farm-charles-city-ia/

  2. Rowe Organic Farms

    1. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/climate/black-farmers-discrimination-agriculture.html

    2. https://blackfarmersnetwork.com/sedrick-rowe-rowe-organic-farm/

  3. Straus Family Creamery

    1. https://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/mission-practices/climate-farm/

    2. https://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/seaweed-might-help-cows-go-green/ - Science Friday, NPR (aired 4/2)

    3. https://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/how-bay-area-farms-could-give-biden-a-blueprint-for-fighting-climate-change/

    4. https://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/climate-leaders-make-a-to-do-list-for-the-white-house/

    5. https://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/finding-gold-in-the-waste-bin/   

  4. Mt. Folly Farm

    1. https://mtfollyfarm.com/mt-folly-and-climate/

    2. https://www.kentuckytourism.com/winchester/locally-grown-made/farm-orchard-experiences/mt-folly-farm

    3. https://smileypete.com/business/laura-freeman/

IFOAM North America Update

  1. Presentation Slides

  2. Best Practices Guideline for Agriculture and Value Chains

  3. Organic 3.0

Breakout Room Descriptions and Resources

Note: There are 7 breakout rooms. Two are focused on climate change. Breakout Session A will be a presentation focused on the latest research on organic, greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon sequestration. This session will be led by OFRF researcher Mark Schonbeck. Breakout Session B will be a discussion about enforcement of the soil health, crop rotation, and pasture rule provisions in organic.

Participants who want to hear about the latest research should choose Breakout A. Participants who want to discuss ways to strengthen organic regulations and enforcement to ensure that organic is the gold standard in climate-friendly agriculture should choose Breakout B.

  • Breakout A: Can Organic Farming Help Solve the Climate Crisis?

Science demonstrates that organic farming can sequester carbon. Organic farming also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and builds soil health and resilience to droughts, floods, and other weather extremes. The organic standards require certified organic farms to build soil organic matter, improve and maintain soil condition, and prevent erosion through proper tillage, crop rotations, cover cropping and organic amendments. The regulations also prohibit the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and can harm soil life.

During this session, participants will learn about the latest research into how organic systems can build resilience and help mitigate climate change, and gain a better understanding of unresolved issues. Does organic reduce nitrous oxide emissions compared to conventional systems? How does conventional no-till compare to organic systems in terms of carbon sequestration? How do pesticides and herbicides impact soil health? Participants will have an opportunity to ask their own questions about these and other topics.

Resources:

  • Breakout B: Organic as a Gold Standard for Climate-Friendly Farming 

USDA and Congress are now focused on achieving net zero emissions in agriculture and incentivizing climate-friendly farming. While “regenerative agriculture” is gaining traction, USDA Certified Organic is the only full-scale, federally regulated systems-based approach. Organic is regenerative, and it is backed by rigorous standards. But is organic living up to its name as the gold standard for climate-friendly agriculture? In what areas can organic be strengthened as a climate change solution? Are the standards related to soil health, crop rotations, and pasture grazing being adequately enforced?

Resources:

  • Breakout C: Getting Native Ecosystems Over the Finish Line with Guidance and a Toolkit

NOSB’s near-unanimous recommendation in 2018 to protect native ecosystems is closer to being implemented. Join Wild Farm Alliance to learn about and give feedback on the proposed draft guidance and supporting toolkit. We’ll explain what tools and resources are available to producers applying for organic certification and certifiers verifying compliance with the native ecosystem proposed provisions. We will also provide examples illustrating how these tools can be used in a variety of certification scenarios and ecosystem types. 

Resources:

  • Breakout D: Who Controls the NOSB Work Agenda? 

The NOSB’s work should be driven by the public process. The NOSB was designed to maximize public input from a community with strong and diverse views about the meaning of “organic.” In recent years, USDA has limited the NOSB work plan to issues that are already priorities of NOP.  What changes need to be made to ensure transparency, accountability and to protect the public process?  

Resources:

  • Breakout E: Should the Cost of Organic Certification Go Up?

Will more qualified inspectors mean more expensive certification? Will the Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule increase the cost of certification? How can the organic community transition to changes in the certification process and cost of certification to ensure that we recruit and retain the next generation of highly qualified organic inspectors, while simultaneously ensuring that organic certification is not out of reach for producers, especially beginning and low-resource producers?

  • Breakout F: Organic Certification on Tribal Operations

Tribal Nations have grown food systems for millennia. Today, despite massive loss of land, loss of animal and plant diversity, and limitations on access to traditional hunting and gathering grounds, Indigenous people continue to grow their food systems. And yet, we see few in the organic community. What are some of the barriers to organic certification that are specific to Tribal farmers? How can we increase the number of Indigenous organic producers and consumers? In this session John Hendrix, an economic development professional at the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, will talk about their operation’s Tribal certification, and some of the challenges and opportunities in certifying Tribal operations.

Resources:

  • Breakout G: Genetic Engineering Prohibitions in Organic

The organic community and NOSB have been clear in their opposition to genetic engineering in organic agriculture and the need to provide a transparent process and certainty to the organic community - including certifiers, operations, and consumers - about what is excluded, what is allowed, and why. The NOSB has put forward a discussion document on ‘excluded methods’ to engage the organic community in a conversation about how to identify emerging technologies in the food system, and determine if they will be allowed in organic. During this session, participants will discuss emerging methods in biotech, priorities for NOSB work on excluded methods determinations, and whether or not the NOSB should grandfather in methods that have long been used in organic plant breeding.

Resources:

Thank you to our meeting co-sponsors: