Judge Rules In Favor of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Certification of Organic Hydroponic Producers

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

Shenandoah Growers - Bringing Nature Indoors

Working with (not against) nature to create an optimal environment for plants to thrive

What Sets Us Apart?

At Shenandoah Growers, we believe in the power of technologically-controlled indoor environments to sustainably transform the future of fresh produce. As the only large scale USDA Certified Organic soil-based indoor growing system in the United States, we are passionate about leveraging cutting-edge science and technological innovation to ensure that our customers receive the freshest, healthiest, most affordable organic produce possible year-round. With twelve growing locations across the country, we couldn’t be prouder to provide organic, local produce to over 18,000 stores every day.

Why Indoor Controlled Agriculture?

There’s nothing quite like the great outdoors—at Shenandoah Growers, we know there’s something better. Our LED-powered indoor bioponic growing platform increases yields and reduces waste, enabling us to make fresh herbs available year-round across the country. Plus this proprietary system is environmentally conscious, conserving water and land, and avoiding harmful pesticides.

How Do We Do It?

Some call it “Know-How”. We call it “Grow-How”

Our proprietary bioponic growing process mimics nature but enhances it with carefully controlled temperatures, light levels, humidity, and water exposure. And because we use just what we need to keep our plants healthy and no more, we conserve valuable environmental resources and set our industry up for a sustainable future.

Show Gives Grower a Chance to Show Off its Uniqueness

For one vertical indoor organic grower, this year’s United Fresh LIVE! is a chance to potentially reach a broader audience.

“We want to be able to talk to a wider span of people with this show,” says Don Helms of Rockingham, VA-based That’s Tasty. “It’s new territory so we’re looking at interesting and unique ways to interact with people.”

The show, taking place this year June 15-19, gives That’s Tasty a chance to share with participants how it differs from others in the marketplace. “We call our facilities BioFarms because unlike other indoor growers, we are USDA Certified Organic and grow in a soil medium” says Helms. “It’s vertically growing in soil and it’s different in that regard. It makes the plants heartier with better flavors and colors and shelf life is also improved.”

Leafy options
That’s Tasty will be part of the Controlled Environment Pavilion where it hopes to display its line of culinary herbs that are living plants and fresh-cut as well as its leafy greens including large-leaf lettuce filets, cut-leaf iceberg, a red and green lettuce mix and more. The show is timed well in that these leafy greens, which are in limited distribution currently and grown in That’s Tasty’s Elkwood, VA BioFarm will be moving into the next phase of distribution.

Helms says that while demand recently for herbs and leafy greens had been erratic due to the pandemic-related shift in the way consumers were buying food, it’s more recently leveled out. “Overall, business is back on a similar track to where we were,” he says.

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In fact, the recent spike in home cooking that North Americans have taken to during the pandemic may be something for That’s Tasty to tap into. “We think a lot of those behaviors are going to continue as people are more into cooking at home and being more adventurous with culinary creations involving fresh herbs and greens,” says Helms.

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For more information:
Don Helms
That’s Tasty
Tel: +1 (540) 896-6939 ext. 2130
dhelms@thatstasty.com
www.thatstasty.com

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Publication date: Tue 26 May 2020
Author: Astrid Van Den Broek
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