USDA Releases Reorganization Comment Analysis — And Your Voices Were Heard

More than 150 members of the organic community joined NOC in urging USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to protect the National Organic Program (NOP) in the agency’s proposed reorganization. On December 8, USDA quietly published its summary of the 46,000+ public comments submitted. The overwhelming majority of comments expressed concern about the reorganization’s potential negative impacts. USDA reported that 82% of individual comments were negative, including widespread concerns about the risks to key national programs such as the NOP.

We are encouraged to see NOC’s core concerns reflected in the analysis, including fears that relocating D.C.-based staff could weaken NOP capacity, disrupt essential interagency partnerships, and jeopardize enforcement at a time when strong oversight is urgently needed. However, the process highlighted a troubling lack of transparency: comments were never publicly posted in the Federal Register, limiting the public’s ability to review submissions in real time.

In a recent Agri-Pulse Newsmakers interview, Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden confirmed USDA’s intent to complete the reorganization, including relocating more than half of its current D.C.-based workforce to five regional hubs by the end of 2026. Yet USDA has not released further details on how programs like the NOP will be protected during such a significant transition.

We remain deeply concerned about the potential consequences for organic integrity and will continue to advocate for staffing, structure, and transparency that safeguard the mission of the NOP. In the meantime, we want to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who submitted comments. Your voices were heard, echoed in USDA’s own analysis, and helped ensure that concerns about NOP impacts were part of the national record.

NOC will share updates as more information becomes available.