NOC Supports Limits on Non-synthetic High-Nitrogen Fertilizers in Organic
The tenets of organic farming are that healthy soils create healthy plants. This idea was incorporated into the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and subsequent regulations developed from that Act. OFPA states “An organic systems plan shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation and manuring.” OFPA also specifically forbids the use of any fertilizers containing synthetic ingredients. At the time the regulations were written, there was only one, non-synthetic “natural” fertilizer that mimicked synthetic materials – sodium nitrate. Since that material could cause sodium contamination of the soil and was not consistent with management of organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation and manuring, its use was restricted to 20% of crop needs.
More recently, technology has led to the development of other non-synthetic fertilizers, such as ammonia extracts. These materials, because they are non-synthetic, are allowed for organic use but are essentially the same as highly soluble synthetic fertilizers. These extracts do not have the same restrictions that were applied to sodium nitrate. The unlimited use of these materials threatens the requirement of management of organic content through crop rotations or manuring by bypassing soil processes and delivering nitrogen directly to a plant. They can cause changes in soil biota and can have human health concerns. NOC has supported recommendations to prohibit or limit the use of these synthetic mimics and we continue to work to ensure that management of the organic content of the soil is the primary focus in organic cropping systems.