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USDA To Invest More Than $4 Billion To Strengthen Food System
The new effort will strengthen the food system, create new market opportunities, tackle the climate crisis, help communities that have been left behind, and support good-paying jobs throughout the supply chain
Investments Will Support Biden Administration’s
Effort to Strengthen Critical Supply Chains
Release & Contact Info
Press Release
Release No. 0125.21
Contact: USDA Press
Email: press@usda.gov
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2021 – Citing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent supply chain disruptions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to invest more than $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains through the Build Back Better initiative. The new effort will strengthen the food system, create new market opportunities, tackle the climate crisis, help communities that have been left behind, and support good-paying jobs throughout the supply chain. Today’s announcement supports the Biden Administration’s broader work on strengthening the resilience of critical supply chains as directed by Executive Order 14017 America's Supply Chains. Funding is provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and earlier pandemic assistance such as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
Secretary Vilsack was also named co-chair of the Administration’s new Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. The Task Force will provide a whole of government response to address near-term supply chain challenges to the economic recovery. The Task Force will convene stakeholders to diagnose problems and surface solutions—large and small, public or private—that could help alleviate bottlenecks and supply constraints related to the economy’s reopening after the Administration’s historic vaccination and economic relief efforts.
USDA will invest more than $4 billion to strengthen the food system, support food production, improved processing, investments in distribution and aggregation, and market opportunities. Through the Build Back Better initiative, USDA will help to ensure the food system of the future is fair, competitive, distributed, and resilient; supports health with access to healthy, affordable food; ensures growers and workers receive a greater share of the food dollar; and advances equity as well as climate resilience and mitigation. While the Build Back Better initiative addresses near- and long-term issues, recent events have exposed the immediate need for action. With attention to competition and investments in additional small- and medium-sized meat processing capacity, the Build Back Better initiative will spur economic opportunity while increasing resilience and certainty for producers and consumers alike.
“The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive disruption for growers and food workers. It exposed a food system that was rigid, consolidated, and fragile. Meanwhile, those growing, processing and preparing our food are earning less each year in a system that rewards size over all else,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The Build Back Better initiative will make meaningful investments to build a food system that is more resilient against shocks, delivers greater value to growers and workers, and offers consumers an affordable selection of healthy food produced and sourced locally and regionally by farmers and processors from diverse backgrounds. I am confident USDA’s investments will spur billions more in leveraged funding from the private sector and others as this initiative gains traction across the country. I look forward to getting to work as co-chair of the new Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force and help to mobilize a whole-of-government effort to address the short-term supply challenges our country faces as it recovers.”
The Build Back Better Initiative will strengthen and transform critical parts of the U.S. food system. As it makes investments through this initiative, USDA will also seek to increase transparency and competition with attention to how certain types of conduct in the livestock markets and the meat processing sector have resulted in thinly-traded markets and unfair treatment of some farmers, ranchers and small processors. Among other investments in the food system and food supply chain, Build Back Better will specifically address the shortage of small meat processing facilities across the country as well as the necessary local and regional food system infrastructure needed to support them.
Funding announcements under the Build Back Better initiative will include a mix of grants, loans, and innovative financing mechanisms for the following priorities, each of which includes mechanisms to tackle the climate crisis and help communities that have been left behind, including:
Food Production: Food production relies on growers, including farmers and ranchers, workers, and critical inputs. But a diminishing share of the food dollar goes to these essential workers. USDA will invest in the current and future generation of food producers and workers throughout the food system with direct assistance, grants, training and technical assistance, and more.
Food Processing: The pandemic highlighted challenges with consolidated processing capacity. It created supply bottlenecks, which led to a drop in effective plant and slaughter capacity. Small and midsize farmers often struggled to compete for processing access. USDA will make investments to support new and expanded regional processing capacity.
Food Distribution & Aggregation: Food aggregation and distribution relies on people working together throughout the food system and having the right infrastructure to gather, move and hold the food where and when it is needed. This system was stressed during the pandemic due to long shipping distances and lack of investment in local and regional capacity. USDA will make investments in food system infrastructure that can remain resilient, flexible and responsive.
Markets & Consumers: The U.S. spends more on health care and less on food than any other high-income nation; yet the U.S. has higher rates of diet-related illness and a lower life expectancy than those nations. At the same time, many socially disadvantaged and small and mid-sized producers do not have equitable access to markets. USDA will support new and expanded access to markets for a diversity of growers while helping eaters access healthy foods.
USDA will continue to make announcements through the Build Back Better initiative in the months to come. Today’s announcement is in addition to the $1 billion announced last week to purchase healthy food for food-insecure Americans and build food bank capacity, putting the total announced thus far at more than $5 billion.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Judge Rules In Favor of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Certification of Organic Hydroponic Producers
The decision is a major victory for producers and consumers working together to make organics more accessible and the supply more resilient
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA March 19, 2021 – The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) is ecstatic with the ruling issued today by the U.S. District Court in San Francisco that affirms the legality of U.S. Department of Agriculture certification of organic hydroponic operations. Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, stated, “Our membership believes that everyone deserves organic.
The decision is a major victory for producers and consumers working together to make organics more accessible and the supply more resilient. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased demand for fresh organic vegetables and fruits as consumers look to healthy foods to bolster their immune systems and protect their family’s health.
The court preserves historically important supplies of berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, leafy greens, herbs, sprouts and microgreens that are frequently grown using containers or other hydroponic organic systems. In addition, the lawsuit threatened the nursery industry that provides many of the seedlings used by organic growers planting both in open fields as well as greenhouses.”
The court in its written opinion stated that “USDA’s ongoing certification of hydroponic systems that comply with all applicable regulations is firmly planted in OFPA.”
Frankel was pleased that the court ruling clearly affirmed the legitimacy of hydroponic and container production systems under the Organic Foods Production Act that established the USDA National Organic Program. In addition, the ruling also confirmed that USDA was fully within its rights to reject the petition to ban the certification of operations and correctly followed procedures in its handling of the petition.
“We look forward to the organic industry coming together in the wake of this court decision to help strengthen the organic community, continue to enhance the cycling and recycling of natural resources and promote ecological balance,” continued Frankel. “We are eternally grateful to the teams at USDA and the Department of Justice in effectively defending the work of the National Organic Program.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lee Frankel, Executive Director
info@coalitionforsustainableorganics.org
619-587-4341
VIDEO: Is Tom Vilsack The Changed Person He Says He Is To Lead USDA Again?
For decades, USDA has misappropriated resources in supporting a factory farming system that harms communities, threatens human health, perpetuates racial inequity, and destroys natural ecosystems
For decades, USDA has misappropriated resources in supporting a factory farming system that harms communities, threatens human health, perpetuates racial inequity, and destroys natural ecosystems.
02-15-21
Gene Baur - Another View contributor
After heading up the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Tom Vilsack is in line to reprise his role as secretary of the US Department of Agriculture. Social justice, family farm, and sustainable agriculture groups have raised legitimate concerns about his longtime support of unjust and extractive practices, but at his confirmation hearing, Vilsack said that it’s a different time and he’s a different person, and that he now supports a more equitable and regenerative food system.
Let’s hope Vilsack has truly learned from past missteps and rises to the moment. He has huge opportunities to bring together diverse constituencies around common interests by reforming agriculture. We all benefit from access to wholesome food, produced in a just and compassionate way without destroying the planet or exploiting people and other animals.
For decades, USDA has misappropriated public resources in supporting a factory farming system that harms communities, threatens human health, perpetuates racial inequity, and destroys natural ecosystems. Raising and slaughtering animals by the billions demands inordinate resources, using 10 times more land in the US than plant-based farming. It is a major contributor to the climate crisis, the loss of biodiversity, and other ecological hazards, causing forests and other ecosystems to be destroyed to produce food for farm animals.
ANOTHER VIEW: Vilsack has the right stuff to move the Agriculture Department forward
Vast expanses of land are used for grazing and to produce corn, soybeans and other commodities to feed farm animals. It is far more efficient to grow crops to feed people directly, which could free up millions of acres to help sequester greenhouse gasses, create habitat for wildlife, and preserve natural ecosystems for future generations. Government programs should actively encourage this transition and remove all support, including financial instruments like carbon trading, that enable extractive practices linked to animal agriculture. Incentivizing biodigesters to turn animal excrement into energy at industrial farms, for example, is a short-sighted response to a chronic problem that allows agribusiness to further consolidate power, while greenwashing an untenable system.
Crowding animals by the thousands into factory farms increases risks for virulent pathogens and infectious diseases, including possibly future pandemics. These toxic conditions also sicken workers, disproportionately harming people of color, like the essential workers forced into slaughterhouses that were COVID-19 hotspots. Despite these and other hazards, however, most USDA funding, including COVID relief, has been used to perpetuate this unhealthy and unjust system, which concentrates wealth into the hands of fewer larger operations at the expense of family farmers, exploited workers and disenfranchised citizens.
We must shift USDA support and incentives away from industrialized animal agriculture, and toward a more resilient and equitable system that produces fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and other nourishing foods. Our government should stop underwriting excess dairy production, for example, and distributing surplus artery-clogging cheese through food assistance programs. It is in our nation’s interest for the USDA to incentivize the production and distribution of nutritious plant-based foods instead. We could save billions of dollars in health care costs every year, while lightening our ecological footprint and creating meaningful jobs and opportunities through a diversified, community-centered, plant-based food system.
Concerns about food insecurity during the pandemic spurred a gardening movement, similar to the victory gardens during World War II that provided 40% of our nation’s produce. USDA’s vast network of land grant colleges and cooperative extension offices should build on this by supporting community gardens, urban agriculture, farmers markets and similar endeavors that provide fresh and healthy food, especially in communities that need it most. In some areas, there might also be opportunities for low-income housing to be connected with farming and food enterprises. Schools, churches, and other institutions, including those that serve vulnerable populations, can be enlisted to train the next generation of farmers. USDA food assistance programs that incentivize fresh fruits and vegetables should be expanded and leveraged to support local agriculture.
Industrial animal agriculture has perpetuated racism and structural inequity, often with USDA support. Most farm owners are white, but most agricultural workers are people of color, and they are commonly subjected to dangerous conditions. Black and brown communities experience environmental racism with pollution spilling out of factory farms, and they disproportionately lack access to wholesome food, which leads to elevated rates of diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related ailments. Recognizing this, Vilsack said, “I will ensure all programming is equitable and work to root out generations of systemic racism.”
At his confirmation hearing, Vilsack quoted Robert F. Kennedy about seeing things as they are, and aspiring to dream of things that are yet to be. Let’s hope we’re at an inflection point and that our incoming USDA secretary has truly changed and will actively work to manifest those dreams and the unfulfilled promises of our nation.
Gene Baur is president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, America’s first farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization.
Funding Now Available To Help Farmers Withe FMSA
Farmers are working to improve food safety on the farm, and prepare for Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) inspections, but this requires both assistance and resources
February 10, 2021
A hoop house with tomatoes and peppers grown in New Mexico. Photo Credit: USDA Photo by Bob Nichols.
Farmers are working to improve food safety on the farm, and prepare for Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) inspections, but this requires both assistance and resources. We are excited that the Food Safety Outreach Program (FSOP) applications have just opened up and will provide organizations with funding to assist and help farmers and small food businesses with both FSMA and food safety.
FSOP is a federal grants program that funds community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, cooperative extension, and local, state, and tribal governments’ programs focused on food safety and FSMA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced $9.6 million in FSOP grant funding this year – the most funding ever available and an increase of almost $2 million from last year.
The deadline for applications is Thursday, April 1, 2021.
Application Details
FSOP projects should focus on outreach, education, and assistance for farmers and small processors around food safety practices and the new FSMA rules. There are two types of projects eligible organizations can pursue to receive FSOP funding: Community Outreach and Collaborative Education and Training Projects. There is no match requirement.
Community Outreach Projects
FSOP will once again offer Community Outreach Projects, to support the development of new food safety programs and to help groups build capacity to address the needs of their communities. Awards can be between $80,000 and $150,000 for projects lasting up to two years. Community Outreach Projects must:
Create, implement or expand food safety education to niche, underserved, or non-traditional audiences.
Be led by a team with a record of strong community partnerships and working with others to educate target audiences.
Create and implement a customized food safety training and outreach program for various types of farms or food processors, including those working with conservation systems, sustainable businesses, and organic food producers.
Collaborative Education and Training Projects
Collaborative Education and Training Projects aim to fund state-wide, multi-state, or multi-county food safety training projects. Grant awards are available for $200,000 to $400,000 for projects up to three years. These projects must:
Be led by a project team with a track record of community partnerships and serving the educational needs of the target audiences.
Create and execute food safety education and outreach for various types of farms or food processors, including those working with conservation systems, sustainable businesses, and organic food producers.
Additional Funds Available for Outreach to Communities of Color
An additional $150,000 is available for applications to either project type that increase outreach to communities of color through the Collaborative Engagement Supplements. Organizations applying for this supplemental support must include a significant collaboration with either one or more of the following universities, colleges, or organizations: 1890s, 1994s, Insular Areas, Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving (ANNH), Hispanic Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU), and community-based organizations serving socially disadvantaged populations.
Regional Centers Funds
There is also funding available for the four regional centers focusing on food safety and FSMA. Current centers include:
Southern Region: University of Florida (also “Lead Regional Center”)
Western Region: Oregon State University
North Central Region: Iowa State University
Northeast Region: University of Vermont
Program Changes for FY 2021
The FSOP RFA changes highlight a few recommendations the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition requested, and we are thankful for NIFA’s continued partnership, and efforts to ensure these changes.
NIFA clarified that the additional Collaborative Engagement Supplements must be in direct partnership with a Minority-Serving Institution or an organization working to serve farmers of color that have been historically underserved, and that the proposed budget must adequately reflect this partnership. NSAC appreciates this clarity and looks forward to further analyzing the racial equity impact of FSOP grants.
NSAC is also excited about the new requirements for Regional Centers to partner with an 1890, 1994, ANNH, HSACUs and/or community-based organizations serving socially-disadvantaged populations within their region, which will help ensure outreach and resources to farmers of color continues to be prioritized.
NSAC also appreciates the clarity that Community Outreach Projects can be used for FSMA training for the organization’s staff with minimal food safety experience and that organizations must have relationships with the target audience.
Upcoming FSOP Webinar for Tribal Staff
On Friday, February 19, 2021, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time the United South and Eastern Tribes, in partnership with Intertribal Agriculture Council, Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will be hosting a FSOP webinar for anyone who works with indigenous producers. For more information, and to register for the webinar, click here.
Additional Resources
For additional application details and requirements, see the FY 2021 Request for Applications.
Additional information is also available via Grants.gov and on the NIFA FSOP webpage.
You can read more about analyzing FSOP awards through an equity lens here.
You can also learn more about FSOP through the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s Grassroots Guide to the Farm Bill.
US: Public Oral Argument In Hydroponically-Grown Organic Food Lawsuit
CFS filed a petition requesting USDA to prohibit organic certification of hydroponic operations that do not work with or build soil in 2019
Source: Vertical Farming Daily
On Thursday, January 21st, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California will hear arguments in Center for Food Safety's (CFS) ongoing lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) "soil-less" loophole that permits the labeling of hydroponically-grown foods as USDA Certified Organic, even though the Organic statute and regulations clearly mandate all organic crop producers foster soil fertility in order to obtain organic certification.
WHAT: Oral Argument in Center for Food Safety's Lawsuit Challenging the Labeling of Hydroponically-Grown Foods as Organic
WHEN: Thursday, January 21, 2021, at 1:30 PM PST
(Note: the Court's afternoon session starts at 1:30 PM and is currently listed as the first of the two cases scheduled for hearing that afternoon, but the Court can hear the cases in any order it wishes).
WHERE: District Judge Richard Seeborg's Virtual Courtroom via Zoom.
CFS filed a petition requesting USDA to prohibit organic certification of hydroponic operations that do not work with or build soil in 2019. After USDA denied the petition, CFS, along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging USDA's decision to allow hydroponic operations to continue to be certified organic in March 2020. The lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations violate organic standards for failing to build healthy soils, and asks the Court to stop USDA from allowing hydroponically-produced crops to be sold under the USDA Organic label.
Hydroponic operations, or "hydroponics," describes methods of growing crops using water-based nutrient solutions without any soil. CFS's lawsuit cites the federal Organic Foods Production Act, which requires farms to build soil fertility in order to be certified organic. Hydroponics cannot comply with federal organic standards because hydroponic crops are not grown in soil. Allowing hydroponics to be certified organic is another attempt to weaken the integrity of the Organic label, and has resulted in market confusion and inconsistent organic certifications.
Thursday's hearing on summary judgment will be the only time the Court will hear oral arguments on whether hydroponic operations that do not work with soil meet the mandatory requirements to be sold under the USDA Organic label, and whether USDA violated the federal Organic Foods Production Act when it decided to exempt hydroponic operations from the Organic Label's soil-building requirements.
The plaintiff coalition in the lawsuit includes some of the longest-standing organic farms in the United States, including Swanton Berry Farm, Full Belly Farm, Durst Organic Growers, Terra Firma Farm, Jacobs Farm del Cabo, and Long Wind Farm, in addition to organic stakeholder organizations, such as organic certifier OneCert and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
Publication date: Wed 20 Jan 2021
USDA Seeks Members For New Urban/Indoor Ag Committee
The dozen members of the board will advise the agriculture secretary on issues relating to urban/indoor/vertical farms and identify barriers to establishing them
by Chris Koger
January 7, 2021
(Courtesy AeroFarms )
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking members for a new advisory committee for urban agriculture.
The dozen members of the board will advise the agriculture secretary on issues relating to urban/indoor/vertical farms and identify barriers to establishing them.
“This group will underscore USDA’s commitment to all segments of agriculture and has the potential to support innovative ways to increase local food production in urban environments,” Bill Northey, USDA’s undersecretary for farm production and conservation, said in a news release.
The members will represent:
Four growers, two from an urban area/cluster and two who use innovative technology;
Two people from a university or extension program;
One person from a nonprofit organization, which may be a public health, environmental or community organization;
One person from of business and economic development, such as chamber of commerce, city government or planning organization;
One person with supply chain experience, such as a good aggregator, wholesaler, food hub, or a background in a direct-to-consumer program;
One person from a financing entity; and
Two people with experience in urban, indoor or other emerging agriculture production practices, as determined by the USDA.
Nominations are due by March 5, and should include a cover letter, resume and a background form.
Send them to Ronald Harris, Designated Federal Officer, Director of Outreach and Partnerships, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 6006-S, Washington, D.C. 20250, or mail them to Ronald.Harris@USDA.gov.
The NRCS oversees the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, which was established by the 2018 farm bill.
Why Are British People Protesting U.S. Farm Imports?
10.28.2020
Cow costumes, tractor caravans, and Great British Bake Off support: U.K. farmers and their allies are registering opposition to a new agriculture bill.
This weekend, lawmakers in the U.K. were greeted with a strange sight. Costumed demonstrators—one dressed like President Trump carrying a syringe, others dressed like farm animals—gathered in London to protest the passage of a new agriculture bill.
At issue was the government’s failure to codify British food standards as the country exits the European Union. Activists fear this omission would crack open the door for an influx of food imports from the United States as part of a trade deal between the two nations. They argue that allowing imports of U.S. products like beef raised with hormones (hence the syringe) and chicken washed in chlorine would compromise food safety and animal welfare.
A similar battle is playing out across Europe: The EU recently issued a green farming plan that blocks these products and signals a shift away from chemical pesticides and fertilizers. U.S. trade representative Ted McKinney called the plan a “diss.” And the EU once faced fierce opposition over imports of hormone-raised beef and chlorine chicken from the U.S., leading to an eventual ban—which Britain may abandon.
Elsewhere in the country, protestors have staged tractor parades down city streets and enlisted the support of celebrities including Jamie Oliver and Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith in support of their cause. (Leith actually voted in favor of Brexit, so her tweets promoting British food standards were met with backlash from opponents who said she should have considered the consequences for farmers before voting to leave the European Union.)
“In this country, we’ve been through some major food crises with foot and mouth 20 years ago. We had the horsemeat scandal. We had the egg scandal in the 80s, with salmonella.” says Liz Webster, a self-described “farmer’s wife” and campaign organizer with Save British Farming, a group that advocates for British food standards. “We’ve got stricter standards about how many animals you can have in an area.”
Jamie Oliver put it another way in a video with the BBC: “Imagine being a British beef farmer and all of a sudden someone across the pond who uses hormones—those cows have never seen grass—they can sell you a product much cheaper.”
The messaging in these campaigns is a little muddled: They’re claiming that loosening import rules is bad for animal welfare, and also that it’s bad for farmers’ bottom lines, and, perhaps most alarmingly, that imported food threatens the health of the people who eat it. And it is true that the European Union has adopted food standards that ban some potentially harmful products used in animal production and food processing in the U.S., including bovine growth hormone. If the U.K. adopts its own agriculture policy without banning the same products, activists worry they’ll find their way into the food supply. It’s also true that Europe has adopted some stricter animal welfare laws, including rules that give chickens a bit more space than their American counterparts.
“They’re trying to imply that food imported from America isn’t safe somehow, or that it’ll poison them or something—they don’t spell it out because it’s not true.”
Yet the implication in many of these campaigns that U.S. food imports are less safe than homegrown beef is not backed up by acknowledgment from the U.S. or the World Trade Organization. “They’re trying to imply that food imported from America isn’t safe somehow, or that it’ll poison them or something—they don’t spell it out because it’s not true. What they’re really talking about is the way the food is produced,” said Sean Rickard, an economic analyst who advises clients on food and farming.
Of course, there’s a deeper set of issues at play here: This bill, which represents the government’s foray into post-Brexit agricultural policy, has been a wake-up call for farmers, half of whom voted in favor of leaving the EU, Rickard said. “What farmers realized as it was going through the Houses of Parliament was that it wasn’t actually the sort of milk and honey that they had been expecting,” he added. The bill removes direct payments to farmers and replaces them over the next several years, though the details are hazy. More concerning to some are the trade implications.
“Farmers suddenly woke up to the fact that one of the dangers was that if this bill didn’t protect them against imports of cheaper food, they were going to be completely screwed,” Rickard said. “They were not only going to lose their support systems, but they were also going to face imports from countries that can produce food more cheaply.”
Over time, the food service sector will slowly start purchasing imported meat, and Britons will start eating chicken grown in the U.S. at KFC.
Rickard is cynical about the potential inclusion of food standards language in the agriculture bill because such a move could jeopardize a trade deal with the U.S. “[Representatives] made abundantly clear there will be no trade deal with us if we are not prepared to accept American standards,” Rickard said. That puts politicians in a bind: Some of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s key supporters are farmers, but a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. is not compatible with a policy that limited American farm imports.
U.K. legislators have promised not to allow imports of the two most incendiary products—beef raised with growth hormones and chicken washed with chlorine—but The Guardian notes that the proof will be in the pudding. Under pressure to sign a trade deal with the U.S., these assurances may fall by the wayside.
In the long run, Rickard envisions a slow, grudging acceptance of U.S. food imports. “I think in the short run, the supermarkets will say, ‘Oh, we’re going to put big labels up. None of our food will be produced in the way Americans do,’” he said. But over time, the foodservice sector will slowly start purchasing imported meat, and Britons will start eating chicken grown in the U.S. at KFC. Slowly, the grocery stores will follow suit. “The truth is that when it comes to buying food—and we have a lot of people, unemployed, single-parent families, in this country—cheaper food will find its way into the supermarkets,” he added.
Lead photo: AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
Also tagged farmers, food imports, trade, trump administration, united kingdom
H. Claire Brown is a senior staff writer for The Counter.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Visits Kalera
On Monday, June 8th, technology-driven vertical farming company Kalera welcomed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to its Orlando facility
Perdue Visits Kalera For a Behind-The-Scenes Tour With Top Kalera Executives
June 09, 2020, | Source: Kaleraphoto-release
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue (l) stands next to Kalera CEO Daniel Malechuk (r) during a visit to the vertical farm's Orlando facility.
ORLANDO, Fla., June 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Monday, June 8th, technology-driven vertical farming company Kalera welcomed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to its Orlando facility. Secretary Perdue was greeted by Kalera’s top executives, including CEO Daniel Malechuk and CTO Cristian Toma, who, along with other staff members, escorted him on a private tour of the facility’s proprietary technology, providing a glimpse at the future of farming. Key takeaways included how Kalera:
eliminates the use of chemicals and removes exposure to pathogens through cleanroom technology.
is able to supply an abundance of produce locally, eliminating the need to travel long distances when shipping perishable products.
ensures the highest quality and freshness by delivering product to customers within hours of harvest rather than days or weeks
Is able to reduce water consumption by 95% compared to field farming.
During the tour, Perdue was able to sample the lettuce Kalera grows at the Orlando facility. Some of his positive reflections about the tour can be read in this Fox 35 Orlando news piece, “USDA Secretary visits Central Florida hydroponic farm, calls it a 'very innovative food production system'.”
Kalera recently announced its new Atlanta facility, which will open in early 2021. While Kalera’s Orlando farm, which Perdue visited on Monday, is currently the highest production volume vertical farm in the Southeast, the new Atlanta facility will be more than double the size and generate approximately 75 jobs for the local community. As was the case in Orlando, Kalera is able to quickly open its newest growing facility in Atlanta as a result of a streamlined design and construction process, further illustrating its ability to rapidly scale and expand its vertical farms.
After the tour, Daniel Malechuk, CEO of Kalera, addressed Secretary Perdue in front of assembled employees and press, saying, “Thank you very much on behalf of the Kalera staff for your time, and visiting us to discuss the future of agriculture, which is clean, healthy, sustainable, local and fresh. We look forward to helping the US stay on the cutting edge of agricultural innovation and feeding a hungry world with fewer natural resources.”
In addition to its R&D center, Kalera opened its first commercial vertical farm, the HyCube growing center, on the premises of the Orlando World Center Marriott to bring fresh, local produce to the hotel’s visitors and customers. In March this year, it announced the opening of its second facility in Orlando. The Atlanta facility is the third farm in Kalera’s portfolio, and will soon be joined by more in the United States. Kalera is currently sold in over 160 Publix stores.
About Kalera
Kalera is a technology-driven vertical farming company with unique growing methods combining optimized nutrients and light recipes, precise environmental controls, and cleanroom standards to produce safe, highly nutritious, pesticide-free, non-GMO vegetables with consistently high quality and longer shelf life year-round. The company’s high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities have been designed for rapid rollout with industry-leading payback times to grow vegetables faster, cleaner, at a lower cost, and with less environmental impact.
Kalera’s shares are traded on NOTC, a marketplace for unlisted shares managed by NOTC AS, which is owned 100% by Oslo Børs ASA, the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Further information about the company may be found at www.kalera.com and www.kalera.com/investor along with an introductory Kalera film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Crpph9w0hE
Kalera Contact:
Daniel Malechuk, CEO
Phone: +1 407 574 2382
Email: dmalechuk@kalera.com
WEBINAR - JUNE 3: USDA $3M In Grant Money Available For Urban Agriculture, Innovative Production Projects
A webinar, which will be held on June 3, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application.
Planning Projects:
USDA is making available $1 million for Planning Projects that initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. Projects may target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers and development of policies related to zoning and other needs of urban production.
Implementation Projects:
USDA is making available $2 million for Implementation Projects that accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers. Projects will improve local food access and collaborate with partner organizations and may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, educational endeavors and urban farming policy implementation.
Webinar:
A webinar, which will be held on June 3, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application. Information on how to register for and participate in the webinar, or listen to the recording, will be posted at farmers.gov/urban.
More Information:
The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production was established through the 2018 Farm Bill. It includes representatives from many USDA agencies, including Farm Service Agency and Agricultural Marketing Service, and is led by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. More information is available at farmers.gov/urban.
Additional resources that may be of interest to urban agriculture entities include AMS grants to improve domestic and international opportunities for U.S. growers and producers and FSA loans.
WEBINAR - JUNE 3: USDA $3M In Grant Money Available for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Projects
The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production will hold a webinar on June 3, 2020, from 4 to 6 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. It will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging communities and families to create gardens on rooftops, indoors, traditional, non-traditional and other urban farms to be successful at their craft. They recently announced grants to help establish community gardens and compensate people for start-up costs.
The USDA allocated $3 million for grants through its new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
The Office for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production was organized after the 2018 Farm Bill was passed by both the house and senate and signed into law by President Trump.
The competitive grants are intended to support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects. They will accept applications on their website Grants.gov until midnight, July 6, 2020.“
These grant opportunities underscore USDA’s commitment to all segments of agriculture, including swiftly expanding areas of urban agriculture,” Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said. “Such projects have the potential to address important issues such as food access and education and to support innovative ways to increase local food production in urban environments.”
We are proud to be able to offer support through this cross-agency effort,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach. “In creating this grant opportunity, USDA will build upon its years of experience providing technical support, grant funding and research to help farmers and local and urban food businesses grow.”
USDA has made available $1 million for Planning Projects that initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. Projects may target a variety of agriculture areas.
USDA made available $2 million for Implementation Projects that accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor, and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers. Projects should improve access to local food and collaborate with other organizations that may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, educational endeavors and urban farming policy implementation.
The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production will hold a webinar on June 3, 2020, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application.
Information on how to register for and participate in the webinar, or listen to the recording, will be posted at farmers.gov/urban.
More information is available at farmers.gov/urban.
Additional resources that may be of interest to urban agriculture entities include AMS grants to improve domestic and international opportunities for U.S. growers and producers and FSA loans.
Justice Department Responds on Behalf of USDA Against Lawsuit to Restrict Supplies of Organic Foods
As USDA acknowledges in its response to the complaint, “certifiers have certified organic hydroponics operations since the beginning of the program and continue to certify organic hydroponics operations.”
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
May 19, 2020
The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) is heartened by the initial response of the Department of Justice to defend organic growers’ rights to incorporate appropriate and legitimate growing techniques in their organic operations. The CSO opposes the efforts of the Center for Food Safety and a handful of growers to limit the availability of fresh organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms.
Lee Frankel, executive director of the CSO, stated, “The lawsuit takes aim at all container systems. The requested decertification of organic growers would include everything from microgreens grown in a tray using soil to tomatoes grown with plastic lining under the planting bed to berries grown in a pot to leafy greens grown in a circulating water system.”
“Demand for organic produce has grown even stronger in recent weeks as consumers are looking for ways to strengthen their immune systems by avoiding unwanted chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics in their diet,” Frankel continued. “We oppose this lawsuit and support the most recent vote of the National Organic Standards Board to not make containers and hydroponic production methods prohibited practices.
As USDA acknowledges in its response to the complaint, “certifiers have certified organic hydroponics operations since the beginning of the program and continue to certify organic hydroponics operations.”
Frankel continued, “If producers, marketers, and retailers truly support bringing healthy food to more consumers, especially in light of the pressures many households are facing as a result of the recent economic contraction, they must speak out against these efforts to restrict supplies.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lee Frankel, Executive Director
info@coalitionforsustainableorganics.org
619-587-4341
USDA Announces $3 Million in Urban Agriculture Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of $3 million for grants through its new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of $3 million for grants through its new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. The competitive grants will support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects through two categories, Planning Projects and Implementation Projects. USDA will accept applications on Grants.gov until midnight July 6, 2020.
“These grant opportunities underscore USDA’s commitment to all segments of agriculture, including swiftly expanding areas of urban agriculture,” Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey said. “Such projects have the potential to address important issues such as food access and education and to support innovative ways to increase local food production in urban environments.”
“We are proud to be able to offer support through this cross-agency effort,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach. “In creating this grant opportunity, USDA will build upon its years of experience providing technical support, grant funding and research to help farmers and local and urban food businesses grow.”
Planning ProjectsUSDA is making available $1 million for Planning Projects that initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. Projects may target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers and development of policies related to zoning and other needs of urban production.
Implementation ProjectsUSDA is making available $2 million for Implementation Projects that accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor and other agricultural practices that serve multiple farmers. Projects will improve local food access and collaborate with partner organizations and may support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, educational endeavors and urban farming policy implementation.
Webinar A webinar, which will be held on June 3, 2020, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, will provide an overview of the grants’ purpose, project types, eligibility and basic requirements for submitting an application. Information on how to register for and participate in the webinar, or listen to the recording, will be posted at farmers.gov/urban.
More information The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production was established through the 2018 Farm Bill. It includes representatives from many USDA agencies, including Farm Service Agency and Agricultural Marketing Service, and is led by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. More information is available at farmers.gov/urban.
Additional resources that may be of interest to urban agriculture entities include AMS grants to improve domestic and international opportunities for U.S. growers and producers and FSA loans.
Horti Daily | Monday, May 11, 2020
USDA Voluntary G.A.P. Program
The USDA recently recognized aquaponics under their voluntary Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program through the Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) division
By Tawnya Sawyer
The USDA recently recognized aquaponics under their voluntary Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program through the Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) division. This program is in its pilot phase for audits and certification of selected aquaponics farms through the end of 2020. Having a set of guidelines for aquaponics helps to better align with the specifics of growing in soil-less media, using filtered fish waste for nutrient solution, and bio-integration of fish and plants in a growing facility.
Prior to this pilot program, aquaponic farm audits were subject to standard GAP guidelines designed for produce crops grown in a field or cultivated in a greenhouse. This created challenges for auditors trying to modify or interpret guidelines for other growing methods that don’t align or apply to aquaponics. By launching this pilot program, the USDA has indicated that aquaponics is viewed as a commercially viable industry worthy of its own audit guidelines and food safety certification. Find out more about the USDA’s Aquaponics GAP Pilot Program here.
USDA Launches Innovative Ag Office - Announces $3M Grants
Stay tuned for much more information on these grants in the coming weeks, and mark your calendars for a June 3, 2020 USDA webinar on the grant process
By Thomas Wheet and Brian Filipowich
The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill charged the USDA with creating the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (“Urban Ag Office”). The Farm Bill noted that urban agriculture can “contribute to the revitalization of abandoned or underutilized urban land, [bring] social and economic benefits to urban communities, and [create] beneficial impacts on the urban landscape.”
After months of navigating the Congressional appropriations process, the necessary funding for the Urban Ag Office was finally signed into law in December 2019.
The Aquaponics Association reached out to the leadership of the Urban Ag Office and Congressional Offices to get a better understanding of the policies, funding opportunities, and timelines that will affect aquaponic growers.
Here is the Urban Ag Office’s Statement to the Aquaponics Association:
“Thank you for your interest in our efforts to stand up the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. The Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service was delegated responsibility to implement the 2018 Farm Bill provisions on behalf of USDA and I have been designated as the Interim Director for the Office. We are working collaboratively with other USDA agencies to ensure they each have an equal voice in establishing the office, consistent with the 2018 Farm Bill provisions, and they are able to contribute in areas that fall within their respective missions and areas of expertise.
“As you are aware, the 2018 Farm Bill authorized $25 million annually for the Office. However, the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriation was capped at $5 million and limits the degree to which we can implement the authorized activities. We are moving forward with standing up the office and the external federal advisory committee that serves to provide recommendations to the Secretary, forging a path to establish the urban/suburban pilot county committees, and developing announcements for grants and agreements provided for in the Farm Bill.
“We are planning a series of webinars that will be announced soon that are designed to provide interested persons and stakeholders information about the establishment of the office and the functions we anticipate implementing. We will ensure we keep your contact information on file so you receive information about these webinars.
Then, yesterday, as we were about to publish this article, the USDA released a new, $3 million in grants for urban agriculture initiatives that will increase food access, agricultural education, and innovative production methods within urban environments. Stay tuned for much more information on these grants in the coming weeks, and mark your calendars for a June 3, 2020 USDA webinar on the grant process.
Click to see the USDA Press Release on the $3 Million Urban Ag Grants for more information and webinar registration.
Aquaponics is already taking the urban agriculture and controlled environmental agriculture industries by storm. While accounting for $19 million in 2020, the market is expected to climb to $46 million by the end of 2026 (that’s a CAGR of over 11.5%). This potential impact, however, could be greatly increased with federal guidance, funding, and business support that the Urban Ag Office is intended to provide.
The following list highlights several forms of support that the Aquaponics Association will continue to advocate for on behalf of the entire aquaponics industry:
Funding: Due to high startup costs, aquaponics can be unattainable for many individuals and/or communities looking to begin an operation. We will continue to advocate the new Office to support aquaponics initiatives with appropriate levels of funding needed to develop adequate systems that will lead to successful operations (both for non-profit and for-profit organizations).
Clarity surrounding policies: Though widely understood as beneficial, aquaponics falls within an agricultural ‘no-mans-land’ surrounding guidelines at the local, state, and federal level. This grey-area is partially because aquaculture, food crops, and other crops all fall under different regulatory regimes. Basically the big bureaucracy gets confused and can’t function, like a deer in the headlights. Whether in regards to food safety, greenhouse sterility, organic certification, etc., the Aquaponics Association will promote policies that match the operational realities faced by aquaponic growers across the country.
Defining value: Beyond the monetary value surrounding the produce and protein sustainably grown in aquaponic operations, there are numerous social benefits to localizing food production in urban spaces. From local job creation and educational opportunities about agriculture/nutrition, to decreasing municipal carbon footprints associated with the traditional agricultural system, the Aquaponics Association will work to ensure that Congress and the USDA fully grasp the true value of aquaponic growing.
Growing Up In The Garden State: Vertical Farms Prove To Be Bright Spot on N.J.'s Agricultural Horizon
New Jersey’s numerous vertical farms represent a bright spot on the Garden State’s agricultural horizon
In Newark, AeroFarms converted a 75-year-old, 70,000-square-foot steel mill into the world’s largest indoor vertical farm in 2015, which is soon to become the world’s second–largest when AeroFarms completes construction of its new 150,000-square-foot vertical farm in Danville, Va. Photo courtesy of AeroFarms
While New Jersey is famously known as the ‘Garden State’ based on its bountiful produce, numerous forces here and abroad indicate that the delicate balance between food growers and consumers is reaching a dangerous tipping point. Among key concerns, the world population is currently growing faster than the food supply, agriculture accounts for nearly 25% of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and modern commercial farming practices have led to a rise in dangerous and costly food-borne and antibiotic-resistant illnesses. Closer to home, a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that between 1982 and 2007, New Jersey lost a greater share of its agricultural land to development than any other state in America, putting further strain on a local industry already under pressure.
Proving that necessity is the mother of invention, however, a new crop of innovators is tackling these challenges head-on. Based on the benefits of “vertical farming” – a process by which crops are grown indoors in vertically stacked layers within highly controlled environments – New Jersey’s numerous vertical farms represent a bright spot on the Garden State’s agricultural horizon.
A Strategic Solution
“Vertical farms lead back to the need to build a world in which the current food system must support the needs of an expanded population with a rapidly dwindling set of resources,” said Irving Fain, founder, and CEO of Bowery Farming, a 5-year-old, Kearny-based indoor farming company that’s addressing the impending climate and food crisis by using the power of technology to grow fresh, high-quality produce closer to the point of consumption. With two commercial indoor farms located in Kearny and a third recently launched in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area, “Bowery’s model and proprietary technology, BoweryOS, enable the growth of high-quality crops year-round, regardless of whether or seasonality, using zero pesticides and over 95% less water,” Fain said.
“We’re re-appropriating industrial space to grow crops indoors at a rate that’s 100 times more productive per square foot of land than that of traditional agriculture,” noted Fain, who said that Bowery’s data-rich systems and ability to control the entire growing process enable it to trace every individual crop back to its original seed and deliver superior produce to restaurants and stores (including Whole Foods and Stop & Shop locations) within days of harvest.
Five miles away in Newark, AeroFarms converted a 75-year-old, 70,000-square-foot steel mill into the world’s largest indoor vertical farm in 2015 (soon to become the world’s second-largest when AeroFarms completes construction of its new 150,000-square-foot vertical farm in Danville, Va.). Growing a range of fruit, vegetables, and greens (under the “Dream Greens” label) without sun or soil in a fully controlled, indoor environment using a patented aeroponic growing system for faster harvest cycles, predictable results, superior food safety and less environmental impact, the company’s annual yields are reportedly 390-plus times higher per square foot than conventional farming. Harvesting up to two million pounds of highly nutritious, premium-quality produce per year, AeroFarms was recently named one of Time’s ‘Best Inventions of 2019.’
Farming 8,000 square feet of grow space within a historic greenhouse in Newark’s Branch Brook Park, Radicle Farm grows hydroponically using a nutrient film technique (NFT) and flooded tray system. Though not a vertical farm per se, “vertical growing makes sense within densely populated urban areas, and field farming and ground-level greenhouse growing will also continue to play a major role for quite some time,” said Radicle Farm Co-Founder Tony Gibbons.
Hackensack-based Greens Do Good is proving that vertical farms can not only be rooted in food delivery but in social responsibility as well. At the 3,600-square-foot facility, which opened in April 2019, all proceeds from the growth of its dozens of different microgreens, lettuce, and herbs – all grown without soil, pesticides or herbicides – go to REED Next, a nonprofit organization that provides continued education, life experience and work opportunities to adults with autism.
“We believe that growing healthy food with minimal impact to the environment is the future of farming, and Greens Do Good is transforming the way our local community sources healthy produce by providing the freshest ingredients in a sustainable and socially responsible way,” said Jennifer Faust, REED Foundation’s director of Communications. “In a state like New Jersey, where urban communities don’t have space, access or optimal year-round outdoor growing conditions to provide fresh produce, Greens Do Good is solving that problem by creating a sustainable social enterprise that not only helps individuals with autism but provides our community with produce that’s delivered hyper-locally on the same day it’s harvested, 365 days a year.” At its core, Faust said, “we’re a community partner providing sustainable produce to local businesses while supporting adults with autism, a greatly underserved population.”
With a similar desire to support its community, Bowery works closely with Table To Table, a food rescue program that delivers perishable food to organizations that serve the hungry in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties and also has developed lesson plans to aid local teachers and students in discussions about the modern agricultural landscape and its challenges.
Building A Better Future
Often located in urban settings in order to bring agriculture back to city centers, vertical farms incorporate the utmost in sustainable products and practices. At Bowery, for example, energy-efficient LED lighting mimics the spectrum of the sun for crops, while rooftop solar panels, a clean gas backup generator, and a battery energy storage system further reduce the company’s energy use and carbon emissions in New Jersey. “In addition, Bowery uses over 95% less water by recirculating it continuously and only replenishing the amount that’s used by the plants or lost during daily operations,” Fain said.
Part of a current network of 2,000 vertical farms in America within an industry that’s estimated to grow to over $3 billion by 2024, New Jersey’s vertical farms are proud of the contribution they’re making to meet the state’s food challenges while transforming agriculture around the world.
“Bowery was founded on the fundamental belief that technology applied at scale can solve difficult and important global problems, with agriculture sitting at the nexus of many of these issues, and our mission is to grow food for a better future,” said Fain, whose company was honored as one of Fast Company’s “2019 Most Innovative Companies in AI.” Based on its benefits and success, he said, “we see indoor farming becoming an even more meaningful and integral part of the farming and agriculture industries in the next 5 to 10 years and look forward to continuing to experience the positive impact of vertical farming on the environment.”
By Susan Bloom | For Jersey’s Best | April 21, 2020
Hydroponic Growers Defend Their Use of Organic Label From Outside The Courtroom
A federal civil action brought by soil-using organic growers does not name any of the hydroponic growers they want to prevent from using USDA’s organic label
By Dan Flynn on March 11, 2020
A federal civil action brought by soil-using organic growers does not name any of the hydroponic growers they want to prevent from using USDA’s organic label.
But that does not mean hydroponic growers are going to remain silent as the litigation proceeds against Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and other USDA officials.
The lawsuit was filed on March 2 against USDA by the Center for Food Safety and several prominent organic growers. Hydroponic growers, represented by the Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) said the CFS roll-out was misleading.
Current policy as determined by Secretary Perdue permits hydroponic growers to use the official USDA organic seal. Perdue gets advice on such issues from the National Organic Standards Board, an appointed body that meets twice a year.
Lee Frankel, the executive director of the CSO, said the press release and legal complaint “contains incorrect information regarding the final 2017 NOSB vote on whether to recommend making hydroponics, containers, and aquaponic systems as prohibited practices.”
Frankel said the NOSB voted in the majority to reject that proposal. “It is false to state that USDA ignored the NOSB proposal when in fact the NOSB vote indicated that the majority of NOSB supported the existing USDA policy,” he added.
The CFS-led Plaintiffs in the lawsuit charge that current policy permitting hydroponics to use the USDA certified organic seal violates the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). That’s because standards for implementing the act encourage organic growers to “foster soil health.”
Frankel says the CSO “is saddened by the latest attempts by the Center for Food Safety and their allies to limit fair competition and organic supplies in the market through legal action.”
“It is disappointing to see groups target pioneering organic farmers that use the most appropriate organic growing methods adapted to their site-specific conditions on their farms to meet the needs of consumers,” Frankel said.
Hydroponics has been called the “indoor agriculture evolution” by USDA, with the potential to offer a food safety advantage for growing lettuce and other leafy greens. Hydroponics grows plants in water using specific mineral nutrient solutions, not soils.
Frankel says his members are committed to the integrity of organic standards and the organic label. He says the groups behind the lawsuit failed to convince NOSB members that hydroponic and container production should be prohibited and there was significant industry debate by the organic community.
Frankel says the CFS “is seeking to eliminate public input to achieve their goals of restricting competition to drive up the price of organics for organic consumers to allow favored producers to increase their profit margins.”
While Perdue’s most recent decision favoring hydroponics occurred on June 6, 2019, the USDA policy is not new. “Growers using containers adhere to the USDA organic standards under the National Organic Program (NOP) and have been allowed to grow certified organic produce since the initiation of the nOP more than 25 years ago,” Frankel added.
Federal Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler with U.S. District Court for Northern California is hearing the case.
Sylvia Wu, senior attorney for CFS, says “federal organic law unequivocally requires organic production to promote soil fertility.” And CFS Executive Director says “healthy soil is the foundation of organic farming.”
As for the soil-using organic growers who are Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, price competition from hydroponic growers is causing economic damages, according to their complaint.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
Tags: Center for Food Safety (CFS), Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO), hydroponics, Lee Frankel, National Organic Standards Board
Michigan State University’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant Funded by The USDA
The initiative, OptimIA, which stands for Optimizing Indoor Agriculture, aims to improve the profitability and sustainability of indoor leafy-greens production
The initiative, OptimIA, which stands for Optimizing Indoor Agriculture, aims to improve the profitability and sustainability of indoor leafy-greens production.
February 11, 2020
A multi-university team of horticulturists, engineers and agricultural economists led by Michigan State University (MSU) has received a four-year, $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to study indoor production of leafy greens. Industry partners have matched funding, bringing the project total to $5.4 million. The investigators on the grant include Erik Runkle, Roberto Lopez and Simone Valle de Souza of Michigan State University; Chieri Kubota of Ohio State University; Cary Mitchell of Purdue University and Murat Kacira of University of Arizona.
Leafy greens include commonly consumed vegetables such as lettuce, kale, and microgreens. Production challenges outdoors have led to interest in growing these specialty crops hydroponically in controlled environments, such as indoor farms. However, there is little information on whether this is economically viable. Capital and operating costs can be significant for startups, especially as it relates to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and cooling systems. Leafy greens are a good candidate for indoor farming because they can be grown rapidly and in relatively small spaces. Indoor environments are heavily controlled, so growers aren’t constrained to a small geographic area within the U.S. There are, however, other geographic concerns.
The team and its collaborators have three major goals:
Defining optimal profitability based on yield and other high-value attributes of the plants, such as nutrition content.
Optimizing indoor environmental conditions, such as humidity, air movement, temperature, light and carbon dioxide concentration, to increase yield and high-value attributes.
Encouraging indoor farming stakeholders to collaborate with academic and industry groups that are working in controlled-environment agriculture.
The long-term project goals are to help integrate indoor farming into the specialty-crop segment of agriculture in the U.S.; to increase the sustainability and hence profitability of this rapidly emerging sector; and to locally produce leafy greens that have higher quality attributes.
To this end, economists will better understand operating and capital expenditures (capex), and define risk and production scenarios that are most profitable. Horticulturists and engineers will improve production efficiency, product quality and value-added attributes of leafy greens for reliable, consistent, year-round production. In addition, the team will design and test more effective localized air-distribution methods suitable for indoor production systems, as well as develop strategies to better manage humidity around plants to reduce tip burn.
While the project focuses on leafy greens, the results will also inform a wide range of controlled-environment growers through the development of growth recipes, strategies for nutritional content and anthocyanin enhancement, environmental management recommendations, and insights for economic sustainability as well as market and consumer perception of locally produced crops.
For more information, visit the project website here.
Leafy greens Sustainability USDA Microgreens Controlled Environment Agriculture
USDA Grants Call For Aquaponics
USDA AFRI Grants will disburse $192 Million across several different programs and specifically call for aquaponics and hydroponics projects
Federal Grants have recently been published that can apply to aquaponics growers. USDA AFRI Grants will disburse $192 Million across several different programs and specifically call for aquaponics and hydroponics projects.
The USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) will award $192 Million for FY2020. Due dates for grant applications range from March 12 to May 28, 2020, depending on the project. The AFRI program is to invest in research, education, and extension projects that support more sustainable, productive, and economically viable agricultural systems. Click here for AFRI Request for Applications.
Kentucky State University, 2019 Aquaponics Conference
Aquaponics Projects Can Fit Into
Multiple Programs Within The Grant, Including:
Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems
Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems
Small- and Medium-Sized Farms
Water Quantity and Quality
Separately, USDA Aquaculture Research Grants have also been published. These grants total $1.2 Million. The due date is April 22, 2020.
Click here for Aquaculture Request for Application
For more information:
Aquaponics Association
4531 Airlie Way, Annandale VA 22003
info@aquaponicsassociation.org
aquaponicsassociation.org
Publication date: Mon 17 Feb 2020
Cut Produce Recalled Because of Salmonella Risk
Tailor Cut Produce of New Jersey, is recalling its Fruit luau, cut honeydew, cut cantaloupe and cut pineapple products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella
DECEMBER 09, 2019
Tailor Cut Produce of New Jersey, is recalling its Fruit luau, cut honeydew, cut cantaloupe, and cut pineapple products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled fruit products were distributed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware between Nov. 15 and Dec.
The product comes in two/one-gallon cases with a date of production stamped on the side. The potential for contamination was noted after several patients fell ill in four hospitals in Pennsylvania. Production of the product has been suspended while FDA and the company continue their investigation as to the source of the problem.
Distributors who have purchased the cut fruit products dated Nov. 15–Dec. 1 are urged to quarantine them and to call for further instructions.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is investigating 31 laboratory-confirmed illnesses of Salmonella at four healthcare facilities in southeast Pennsylvania. Salmonella Javiana has been identified among the cases at three of four facilities. According to the Pennsylvania DOH, the epidemiologic evidence collected thus far indicates that this fruit mix is a potential source of the illnesses. The state’s review of invoices shows that a common food eaten by many case-patients was the fruit mix with cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and grapes from Tailor Cut Produce.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
E. coli Outbreak Numbers Climb; Canada Adds Romaine Import Rules
Federal agencies have increased the number of cases in the E. coli outbreak linked to Salinas, Calif., romaine, and investigators continue to seek the exact source of the lettuce
Chris Koger November 26, 2019
A note to consumers at a Kansas City-area store lets them know the store is not stocking romaine from the Salinas, Calif., region. ( Amelia Freidline )
Federal agencies have increased the number of cases in the E. coli outbreak linked to Salinas, Calif., romaine, and investigators continue to seek the exact source of the lettuce.
The Food and Drug Administration continue to advise consumers to avoid all romaine products, including whole heads, hearts of romaine, and salad kits or mixes that include the lettuce from Salinas. A test on an unopened Ready Pac Foods Bistro Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics Caesar Salad obtained from a Maryland patient included romaine that tested positive for the same strain from patients in other states. But people with E. coli in other states don’t recall eating that salad.
Epidemiologic, laboratory and traceback information indicates the lettuce came from Salinas, according to the FDA.
“No common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce has been identified,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nov. 26 updates from the FDA and CDC increased the number of patients in the outbreak from 40 to 67, and added three states to the list of where they live. The number of hospitalized patients went from 28 to 39 in the update. The previous update was Nov. 22. The most recent case was reported Nov. 21.
The FDA again reported that hydroponic- and greenhouse-grown lettuce is safe to eat, as well as any romaine grown outside of the Salinas area, which includes Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey counties. The FDA advises consumers to check romaine labels, which should have the harvest region listed, a voluntary addition following a similar outbreak just before Thanksgiving 2018.
Health officials in states that have patients in the outbreak are testing lettuce samples purchased by the patients, if those samples are still available.
Canada mandates proof of origin
As with the 2018 fall E. coli outbreak linked to romaine, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is requiring a proof of origin for imports of romaine from the U.S.
According to Canada’s Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corp., the CFIA requires a new declaration process in the import procedure.
“Their website states: Shipments of romaine lettuce from California must be accompanied by a letterhead, on a separate page, showing a Proof of Origin with the date of signing and the signature of the exporter declaring that the lettuce was not harvested in the Salinas, California, growing region,” DRC President and CEO Fred Webber wrote in an e-mail to industry members.
Webber said the DRC has been contacted numerous times by importers who have paid for romaine that they cannot sell.
“In our previous notes to you, we urged all stakeholders to be calm,” Webber said in the e-mail. “It seems many of you have, but we are seeing indications that others are seeking to recover losses from their trading partners.”
Most disputes arising from the question of who accepts the loss in such cases will be “decided based on who owned the product when it became unmerchantable,” according to the DRC e-mail.
In simple terms, Webber said, in an F.O.B. sale, the shipper owns the loss before it’s loaded on a truck, but the buy owns the loss after the truck is loaded.
“It is understandable that companies do not want to accept a loss they did not cause,” Webber said. “But in a case like this where neither party to the transaction may be at fault, the decision must be made based on long-standing principles like the warranty of merchantability, Acts of God or force majeure.”
Related Topics: Romaine Outbreak E. coli FDA CDC Canada