The Allowed* Use of Commercial Fertilizers, Pesticides ...

1 Food Safety and TechnologyDecember 2013 FST- 5 6 The Allowed* Use of Commercial fertilizers , Pesticides , and synthetic substances on Farms Under the USDA National organic ProgramWhen consumers hear the phrase organic produce, many assume that the farmer who grew the produce did not use Pesticides or fertilizers . This is not usually the case. For example, organic farmers are required by law to use cultural practices such as cultivar selection, crop rotation, and physical barriers as the primary tools for pest management. When these methods fail, however, they are allowed to use Pesticides , including some synthetically formulated compounds.

2 Non- synthetic and synthetic fertilizers can be also be used to improve soil fertility, plant health, or both, on organic farms. The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide accurate information about those parts of the law that allow the use of fertilizers and Pesticides within the organic produce program of the That law is the organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), enacted under Title 21 of the 1990 farm Bill. The OFPA was the act passed by Congress that authorized the USDA to develop the organic regulations contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7 CFR Part 205. Conventional farmers don t have the same regulation of their production practices as organic farmers .

3 However, they still must follow regulations concerning pesticide use, worker safety, and protection of the environment. organic farmers willingly choose to follow specific rules in order to grow and sell a specialty product with a particular, and growing, market niche. Conventional farmers , on the other hand, may legally use both conventional and organic substances as long as their application meets relevant federal and State regulations. Some split operations use both organic and conventional farming techniques in different areas of the same farm . Regardless of the production method, no farmer can sell any product contaminated by biological, chemical, or physical adulterants, according to the Food and Drug Administration s Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (F D&C).

4 As a farmer or consumer, it is important to know the facts behind marketing claims made by organic farmers , packers, and processors and those who sell organic products. These claims must be verifiable and based on rules of the USDA National organic Program (NOP).The National organic ProgramWhen then Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman announced the NOP final rule on December 20, 2000, he stated, Let me be clear about one other thing. The organic logo is a marketing tool. It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is organic a value judgment about nutrition or quality. USDA is not in the business of choosing sides, of stating preferences for one kind of This official USDA-AMS logo is a marketing signal to consumers.

5 It is backed by federal law and enforced by the USDA. farmers using this symbol must closely follow the rules of the National organic Program (NOP). The NOP is a marketing program, not a nutrition nor a food safety program, such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs).James Hollyer1; Fred Brooks1; Lindsay Fernandez-Salvador2; Luisa Castro1; Donna Meyer1; Ted Radovich3; Steve Russo4 1 Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, UH-Manoa; 2 organic Materials Review Institute; 3 Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, UH-Manoa; 4 Pesticides Branch, Hawaii Department of Agriculture*Words in quotes are used in accordance with USDA s specific definitions and usage.

6 UH CTAHR The Allowed Use of Commercial fertilizers , Pesticides , and synthetic substances .. FST-56 Dec. 20132food, one set of ingredients or one means of production over any other. As long as rigorous government safety standards are being met, we stand ready to do what we can to help support any farmer and help market any kind of food (1).**The NOP, formalized in 2002, is a marketing program managed by the Department of Agriculture s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). A fuller discussion of the NOP can be found in the federal government s regulation, Title 7 CFR Part 205., at A National Organics Standards Board (NOSB) advises USDA on organic issues.

7 It is a citizens advisory board consisting of four farmers /growers; three environmentalists/resource conservationists; three consumer/public interest advocates; two produce handlers/processors; one retailer; one scientist, either a Agricultural inputs. All substances or materials used in the production or handling of organic agricultural synthetic . A substance that is included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic production or Oral, written, implied, or symbolic representations, statements, or advertising or other forms of communication presented to the public or buyers of agricultural products that relate to the organic certification process or the term, 100-percent organic , organic , or made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s)), or, in the case of agricultural products containing less than 70 percent organic ingredients, the term, organic , on the ingredients available.

8 A production input that can be obtained in an appropriate form, quality, or quantity to fulfill an essential function in a system of organic production or handling, as determined by the certifying agent in the course of reviewing the organic A single or blended substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrient(s) which is used primarily for its plant-nutrient content and which is designed for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant Feces, urine, other excrement, and bedding produced by livestock that has not been substance . A substance that is not a product of agriculture, such as a mineral or a bacterial culture, that is used as an ingredient in an agricultural product.

9 For the purposes of this part, a nonagricultural ingredient also includes any substance , such as gums, citric acid, or pectin, that is extracted from, isolated from, or a fraction of an agricultural product so that the identity of the agricultural product is unrecognizable in the extract, isolate, or (natural). A substance that is derived from mineral, plant, or animal matter and does not undergo a synthetic process as defined in section 6502(21) of the Act (7 6502(21)). For the purposes of this part, nonsynthetic is used as a synonym for natural as the term is used in the production. A production system that is managed in accordance with the Act and regulations in this part to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve Any substance which alone, in chemical combination, or in any formulation with one or more substances is defined as a pesticide in section 2(u) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 136(u) et seq ).

10 Prohibited substance . A substance , the use of which in any aspect of organic production or handling is prohibited or not provided for in the Act or the regulations of this operation. An operation that produces or handles both organic and nonorganic agricultural sludge. A solid, semisolid, or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment works. Sewage sludge includes but is not limited to domestic septage; scum or solids removed in primary, secondary, or advanced wastewater treatment processes; and a material derived from sewage sludge. Sewage sludge does not include ash generated during the firing of sewage sludge in a sewage sludge incinerator or grit and screenings generated during preliminary treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment A substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological terms from the final rule of the National organic ProgramCFR.