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Most people do not realize how seriously everyone in the National Organic Program (NOP) takes their participation in what is known as “organic agriculture.” To be organic and to grow organic and to sell anything labeled as organic is governed by laws enacted by Congress. Click on the picture above and it will take you to a website with one page. On that page it shows the % of violations that have been done by those NOP certified organic or by those not certified yet making an organic claim. USDA takes it serious!

Every organic producer in order to sell as an organic producer must be NOP certified unless gross sales are less than $5,000 and even then you must follow the law as if certified. In Texas there are approximately 384 Certified Organic Crop and Livestock Producers.

Every organic buyer, known as a handler, must be certified to handle that organic product before it is finally packaged with an organic label. In Texas there are approximately 405 Certified Organic Handlers.

In order to even use the word “organic” on a product label there are very specific USDA AMS rules listed below:

Can a product be labeled “organic” without being certified? 

• If you make a product and want to claim that it or its ingredients are organic, your final product probably needs to be certified.
• If you are not certified, you must not make any organic claim on the principal display panel or use the USDA organic seal anywhere on the package. (see exemption below)
• You may only, on the information panel, identify the certified organic ingredients as organic and the percentage of organic ingredients.

What do the organic product labeling rules cover? 

• Covers wording allowed on both the front panel and the information panel of a packaged product:
  • Principal display panel (PDP): portion of the package most likely to be seen by customers at the time of purchase.
  • Information panel (IP): includes ingredient statement (list of ingredients contained in a product, from highest to lowest percentage of final product) and other product information.

So, to say we take the word “ORGANIC” seriously might be an understatement!

Almost all Texas crop farmers know how devastating both deer and hog damage can be to crops at all stages. There is nothing more frustrating than to see a newly emerging crop one day and a freshly “hog plowed” field the next!

Recently, we had both deer and hogs coming into the Stephenville Research and Extension Center plots and large planted pivots. They didnt seem to have any problem finding the newly planted areas and since the center is flanked by the city, highways and railroad they seem to have found easy access!

The problem was so severe that Dr. Johnny Cason, crop researcher, tried a new product from BH Genetics called Penergetic. It is OMRI Certified for organic growers. It is applied as a slurry through a regular crop sprayer. This is not a research trial by any means, just plain old farming where you have a problem and you need a fast solution. This product worked in this situation and a similar situation at the Yoakum Center with researcher, James Grichar. This might mean we need to do some more testing of this and other crop repellent products newly on the market. It sure beats going to the barber shop for bags of sweaty hair….

A recent article in American Fruit Grower written by Dr. Trevor Suslow – UC Davis, has been showing up in many publications and it certainly caught my eye. As we think about summer; market gardens and farms; vegetable and fruit harvests; farmers markets and roadside stands; we have to consider what might happen with our harvests once they leave the farm. Organic producers are part of the solution to healthy food but not if we are lax in how we treat and handle the food we sell!

Organic vegetable producers face an uphill battle trying to produce a fast growing vegetable crop that demands high soil fertility, especially nitrogen, and most of our natural organic sources are low in nitrogen and that nitrogen is only slowly available. If you have been growing organically for several years you may have built up your soil N reserves through good crop rotations, use of legumes and compost but there are times when we need a biofertilizer and/or a biostimulant. Especially as you near harvest when plant requirements are at their peak it is only natural to see a plant show physical signs of nutrient stress and you know you need to do something!

Fortunately, we do have some tools in organic agriculture that are approved for use in these periods but (back to that article) Dr. Suslow’s interesting article discusses the downside to applying these tools that may surprise you. On farm experimentation with the making of “compost teas” may be the closest example of a potential problem on the small to mid-sized organic vegetable farm. There is a right way and wrong way to make compost tea. In his article he talks about this formulation being a great source of nutrients for bad bacteria and fungi. Foodborne pathogens like salmonella can be introduced into these formulations very easily and then they use the nutrients in the mix to grow to very high populations. When a grower then sprays this “compost tea” on their crop there is a real danger that these pathogens are on the produce.

How do the bad bugs get into “compost teas?” Most of the organic producers I know love to harvest rainwater and then use that rainwater in a variety of ways. One of those ways is making compost tea. Certainly the rainwater has some nitrogen in it from the rainwater and it is usually a lower pH, another benefit to microbes. But, this rainwater off a roof, can have Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria from birds or other wildlife on the roof. In general they won’t grow too much without a food source but adding your compost may be that food source.

Let me stop here and give you a link to the article. His explanation is much better than mine! https://www.growingproduce.com/farm-management/a-wake-up-call-for-growers-on-biostimulants-and-biofertilizers/?e=bob.whitney@ag.tamu.edu&utm_source=omail&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=afgenews06162021

It only seems natural that the State Extension Organic Specialist would say, “of course organics is for everyone!” There is an ever increasing demand for organic food as seen in grocery reports. My wife likes to buy organic produce because it tastes fresher. I think they pick organic produce less mature so its not as tough and also they do a better job packing it! More and more farms are getting into organic production because there is a very valid reason for this – organic PRICES are really good right now! So, Is Organics for Everyone?

I think there are two parts about “organic” we need to tackle. The first part is the “principles” of organics. In principle, organic food is great, overall tasty, healthy, and is for everyone. I encourage you to try organic food and to voluntarily use organic “ways” or “practices” in your landscape, garden and home. But, organic “practice” takes on a whole other meaning when you move into a commercial farm situation. What is commercial?

USDA National Organic Program (NOP) uses $5,000 as a cutoff. If you have less then $5,000 in gross organic sales you are not required to be certified by a USDA approved certifier. This means that you are following all the practices for organic certification but you are not certified or better said you are self-certified. You probably believe in the organic “principles” and so you follow the organic “practices” and you can label and sell your product as “certified organic.”

If you gross more than $5,000 in sales then you must be certified to sell organic. This means following all the practices outlined in the law and more than likely selling to a buyer who is also certified to handle organic products. In Texas most of our certified organic producers are in the dairy, forage crops, cotton, peanut, or rice category and they sell their commodities to organic buyers. These producers may follow the “principles” of organic production (they are a believer) but for sure they follow all organic “practices” by law and they hope to make money, because organic crops sell for more money!

I know this first-hand! My wife and I have a farm – Dry Creek Farm, and we sell locally at area farmers markets, restaurants and occasionally grocery stores. I am not certified organic but follow organic principles. Trying to sell direct to consumer means that I really can’t use either an organic or conventional chemical when I may have someone eating it in a few hours. I try to ensure that my customers trust me and the way to gain trust is just do the right thing!

So, IS ORGANICS FOR EVERYONE? Sure, but the real question is, do growers who follow organic “principles” only, need to be certified? In “practice,” only if you can realize an added value from a verified organic certification certificate!