The U.S. Department of Justice has assigned the team and selected a primary attorney at the Federal Programs Brach of the Civil Division in Washington, DC to lead the defense of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Organic Program and the long-standing policy that allows for the organic certification of farms that incorporate container production methods.
 
The lawsuit does not exempt any container systems, and the ban would include everything from microgreens grown in a tray using soil to tomatoes grown in a planting bed with plastic lining to berries grown in a pot to leafy greens grown in a circulating water system.
 
Attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will take the lead in defending your right to choose the most appropriate and sustainable organic production method on your farm. The CSO expects that they will do a wonderful job to show how the USDA followed all the correct procedures in establishing the policy supporting container and hydroponic production systems. However, neither Departments are subject matter experts, and they will depend on growers like you working through the CSO to support their efforts to build a fact-based record to increase the chances of winning the lawsuit.
 
Your membership in the CSO will allow us to fully engage with expert attorneys to strengthen our efforts in the courts in California and with officials in Washington, DC to preserve your organic certification. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining today.