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USDA Releases Materials For Fall National Organic Standards Board Meeting
By urbanagnews
September 14, 2018
From the Coalition For Sustainable Organics
The USDA has published the pre-meeting materials on their website for the Fall 2018 National Organic Standards Board meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota to be held from October 24-26. The Discussion Documents and Formal Proposals do NOT include anything specific to greenhouse, container, hydroponic, aeroponic or aquaponic production systems. Those topics remain on the inactive work agenda of the National Organic Standards Board in spite of calls from an NOSB member to place the topic back on the active agenda.
In addition to the review of materials for the National List, the NOSB will review other topics including research priorities, strengthening the requirements for the use of organic seed in crop production, further defining excluded plant breeding methods, criteria for accreditation oversight and training and oversight of inspectors among others.
If you would like to give verbal comments directly to the members of the NOSB and to the broader organic community, you may sign up through the following links for the webinars on October 16 and 18 or in person on October 24/25. The deadline to sign up is October 4 or until all of the speaking slots have been allocated. Those slots have filled up before the deadline for the last several meetings.
You may also submit written comments for the public record by October 4.
Who Cares? Why We Sued Ben & Jerry's
The company’s “Caring Dairy” program sounds like a dream-come-true for Vermont’s dairy farmers and dairy cows. But it’s more like a nightmare
2018
Organic Consumers Association
by Katherine Paul
Splashed across the Ben & Jerry’s website are cartoon-like pictures of happy cows romping in green pastures.
There’s a reason those cows are depicted by drawings, not actual photos—most of the real, live cows whose milk and cream are used in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream products are crammed into dark, filthy barns for most of their short lives.
Ben & Jerry’s goes to great lengths to create the perception that the Unilever-owned company “cares” deeply about the farmers who supply milk and cream for the brand, the cows raised on Vermont dairy farms, and the state of Vermont’s environment.
The company’s “Caring Dairy” program sounds like a dream-come-true for Vermont’s dairy farmers and dairy cows.
But it’s more like a nightmare, for the cows, Vermont’s environment and consumers who care about animal welfare.
As we state in the lawsuit we filed this week against Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s markets its products:
. . . as being made from milk produced by “happy cows” raised in “Caring Dairies,” leading consumers to believe that the products are produced using animal-raising practices that are more humane than those used on regular factory-style, mass production dairy operations.
In contrast to Unilever’s representations, the products include milk that comes from cows raised in regular factory-style, mass-production dairy operations, also known as “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” or “Large Farm Operations”—not in the special “Caring Dairies” emphasized in Unilever’s marketing.
As we reported last year, our testing revealed that many samples of popular Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors, in the U.S. and in Europe, contain traces of Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller. We see that as a sign that the brand falls far short of its claims of social and environmental responsibility.
Unilever spends nearly $9 billion a year on advertising, second only to Proctor & Gamble. We think the company should spend less on misleading product claims, and invest more in helping Vermont dairy farmers transition to organic and regenerative practices that actually support those claims.
‘Caring Dairies’ program nothing more than a scam
Like any successful brand, Ben & Jerry’s knows that animal welfare tops the list of issues people care about. Hence, the creation of a program—“Caring Dairy”—intended to make consumers believe that Ben & Jerry’s “cares,” too.
But it’s all smoke and mirrors. Here’s why.
On its “Caring Dairy Standards” website page, the company lists a set of standards it says are required for all dairy farms that supply Ben & Jerry’s.
Thanks to the work of Regeneration Vermont, we know that Ben & Jerry’s sources all of its milk and cream through a cooperative based in St. Albans City, Vermont. Fewer than 25 percent of the approximately 360 farms that deliver milk and cream to the St. Albans co-op meet the “Caring Dairy” standards. But when farmers deliver their milk to the co-op, it’s all mixed together—the co-op doesn’t separate the milk delivered by a “Caring Dairy” program participant from the milk of other dairy farms. So even if some of the milk comes from a farm that actually meets those standards, Ben & Jerry’s can’t truthfully claim that all of their milk and cream come from dairies that meet the company’s “Caring Dairy” standards.
Advertising, even the false kind, pays
So you, the consumer, when you visit the Ben & Jerry’s website and see pretty pictures and a long list of standards the company says all of its farmers meet, are being duped.
All that talk of “Caring Dairies” is there to make consumers feel good about buying Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
It’s pretty much all a lie. Especially when you consider that over the years, some members of the St. Albans co-op have been fined for violations of environmental laws, including one that illegally expanded its operation near the Missisquoi River Basin, which drains into the already heavily polluted Missisquoi Bay.
In fact, the dairy industry is Vermont’s biggest polluter, according to Regeneration Vermont, in part because the state’s conventional dairy farms feed GMO corn, heavily sprayed with pesticides such as atrazine, metolachlor, and glyphosate, to dairy cows.
So when Ben & Jerry’s says it’s “on a mission to make great ice cream that respects the farmer and their farmworks, the planet and the cow,” don’t believe it.
Ben & Jerry’s is on a mission to spin a false and misleading story about a company that has a lousy track record when it comes to sourcing ingredients from socially and environmentally responsible producers.
Consumers who care about their health, the environment and animal welfare would do better to buy organic brands from companies that don't source glyphosate-sprayed ingredients and that do source from dairies that meet organic standards.
Real Organic Project Seeks Add-On Label To USDA Organic Seal
July 17, 2018
For some growers, organic certification alone just isn’t good enough anymore.
The East Thetford, Vt.-based Real Organic Project wants an “add-on” label to the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic certification.
The project, a coalition of organic farmers and advocates, objects to USDA’s National Organic Program rules that permit hydroponics and concentrated animal feeding operations to be certified as organic, according to a news release.
The group said its proposed add-on label, which requires adherence to standards above and beyond USDA organic certification, would only be available to agricultural products that have already been certified organic by the USDA.
The Real Organic Project in July announced the launch of its pilot farm inspection program.
The release said the program aims to implement new standards that will provide consumer transparency by “distinguishing organic farms that grow their crops in the ground, foster soil fertility and adequately pasture livestock according to foundational organic standards and principles.”
The Real Organic Project add-on label to USDA organic certification, expected by spring 2019, will increase transparency under the organic seal by allowing consumers to trace retail products back to the farm, according to the release.
The inspection process includes a video interview of the farmers on their land explaining their organic production practices, the group said.
Real Organic Project associate director and Colorado farmer Linley Dixon is leading the pilot project effort, according to the release. For the past five years, she has been the senior scientist at the Cornucopia Institute.
Taking control
Controversy on the question of whether soil is essential to grow organic produce has been bubbling for years.
By a vote of 8 to 7, the USDA National Organic Standards Board on Nov. 1 rejected proposals to make hydroponic and aquaponic production methods prohibited under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program.
“Clearly the industrial egg operations became so powerful that they had significant political influence,” Dixon said in the release.
“We tried to keep the same thing from happening in other sectors of organic, especially tomato and berry production, but we lost that battle at the USDA last fall,” she said.
“Now we are taking matters into our own hands because we know it is what the consumer wants and expects when they choose organic.”
The add-on label will give farmers a way of communicating practices to “consumers who care,” the group said.
Sharing information with consumers and the trade in a positive manner is fair, said Lee Frankel, executive director for the Coalition for Sustainable Organics, a group that has defended USDA certification of hydroponic operations.
“The fear is that people resort to disparaging their competition and claiming that somehow they don’t meet the USDA organic standard,” he said.
“At this point, it looks like the Real Organic Project is trying to tell what they perceive as positive aspects about how they how they grow and how they operate.”
The release said the Real Organic Project will be managing a pilot program this year certifying a limited number of farms.
Real Organic board member Lisa Stokke, executive director of Next7.org, said July 16 that 41 farms from California to the Northeast have signed up for the pilot project so far this year.
The group said the “vast majority” of certified organic farms in the U.S. will easily meet these new “standards,” and the release said the provisional standards will be open for public comment this fall.
Stokke said that the movement is farmer-led, and there hasn’t been a lot of interaction with retailers yet. However, she believes the add-on label will appeal to retailers if consumers want it.
“I think it’s going to be about consumer demand,” she said. “As consumers begin to request this I would imagine retailers would also be on board.”
The pilot program will test the certification process in preparation for the label going public in 2019, according to the release.
In May, the group released what they called their provisional standards for the add-on label.
The standards are available at the group’s website.
Teeny Greenie Farming: Local Farmer Producing Nutrient-filled Microgreens
She grows "microgreens". Research shows that the first leaves of a plant have up to 40 times the nutrients of a full grown vegetable.
by Kathryn Daniel
July 21, 2018
ALLENTOWN, Fla. (WEAR) — Virginia Bates raises about a dozen crops. She listed off just a few for us, "Radish, broccoli, kale, bok choy, arugula."
Her dozen or so varieties aren't grown in fields or even a greenhouse, but in a small, insulated "grow" shed.
Bates laughed, "This is the type of farming that anybody can do. I think that's what appealed to me, you can farm in heels if you want."
Bates plants and harvests every week and loves her work.
"My goal is to get people to think about what they put in their bodies," she explained.
She grows "microgreens". Research shows that the first leaves of a plant have up to 40 times the nutrients of a full grown vegetable.
She elaborated, "A handful of broccoli microgreens is like eating a pound and a half of mature broccoli. That's crazy."
Once a vegetable reaches "adult" status, its nutrients are spread throughout the entire item. Bates said with micro greens, all of that goodness is condensed into the first, tender shoots.
Bates calls her product "Super Teenie Greenies." She harvests between every seven to ten days to get the maximum nutritional punch.
Bates detailed that anytime a crop is grown without soil, it's done so hydroponically. The medium she grows in only looks like dirt.
"It is organic ground coconut husks," she revealed.
Bates supplies several local restaurants and Ever'man Cooperative Grocery weekly. She and her assistant, Jewel Owens, set up shop at the Palafox Market every Saturday.
Jewel's favorite variety is the kale and spicy mustard combo.
The teenager grinned, "I really like the taste. I like how nutritious they are for you. Normally things that are super nutritious don't taste as good, but these are really, really good."
Bates said many parents buy the Super Tennie Greenies and "sneak" them into smoothies, in sauces and on pizza for their children to get a ton of vitamins and minerals.
She sells a "grow kit" and is shipping them all over the country, which makes this fifth generation farmer feel proud of her healthy fare.
She said, "To hear that my product is able to impact their daily life and make them feel better in a real way that's backed by science."
USDA: Organic Labels Must Be Removed From Fumigated Imports
In a joint letter, linked at the bottom of this article, to all Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) licensees, the USDA Fair Trade Practices Program and National Organic Program remind U.S. importers that agricultural products treated with a substance prohibited by the USDA organic regulations, or that undergo ionizing radiation, may not be sold, labeled or represented as organic.
PACA licensees who sell or label such treated products as organic may be subject to penalties under the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and the PACA.
PACA licensed individuals and firms may broker, handle or sell organic agricultural products. PACA licensees who broker organic imports may not need to be certified as organic, however, they are responsible for ensuring that imported organic commodities comply with all the requirements of the USDA organic regulations.
AMS enforces the USDA organic regulations for domestic and imported organic agricultural products through the National Organic Program.
The full joint letter can be found here.
For more information; USDA Press
E-mail: press@oc.usda.gov
Publication date: 7/19/2018
GrowGeneration Launches B2B Platform on Amazon.com
GrowGeneration Launches B2B Platform on Amazon.com
PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire
Jul. 18, 2018
Hydroponics Sales Projected to be in excess of $100M on Amazon, growing at 80% Year Over Year
DENVER, July 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - GrowGeneration Corp. (OTCQX: GRWG), ("GrowGeneration", "GrowGen" or the "Company"), one of the largest specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening store chain, with 18 locations serving both commercial and home growers, announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with Amazon to launch hydroponic and organic garden supplies online. GrowGeneration is onboarding thousands of products to offer the best pricing and world-class logistics with two-day delivery or better.
GrowGen CEO Comments:
"As part of our omni channel strategy of delivering our highly specialized suite of products for hydroponic growing, partnering with Amazon as our online solution allows us to reach a truly extensive audience of professional growers. Amazon's logistics are the best in the world and by selling through them, we can deliver on a direct basis anywhere in the country just in time. We project that Amazon will generate significant sales for GrowGen."
The Upstart Group CEO Comments:
"As a preferred partner of Amazon, The Upstart Group and GrowGeneration will work hand in hand to capture the $100M+ hydroponics space. Together we strive to bring GrowGen's product suite to market, and service the online hydroponics and organic gardening consumer. We are certainly excited about the opportunity that lies ahead, as we look for a bright future in the B2B eCommerce category with GrowGen."
According to Forrester, it is estimated that B2B eCommerce will reach $1.2 trillion and account for 13.1% of all B2B sales in the US by 2021. By offering our full product suite through the Amazon platform, and with 197 million unique monthly visitors, GrowGeneration seeks to capitalize on the projected growth of the B2B sector.
GrowGeneration fully understands that online buying is the new normal for American businesses and in order to continue to evolve, a partnership with Amazon is a necessity. Nearly half of online consumers are tech-savvy and sophisticated; they expect purchasing to be instinctive, with self-service interfaces and 24/7 eCommerce availability. With this new partnership, GrowGeneration intends to build upon this foundation for their digital strategy and ensure that all customers become loyal brand advocates who view GrowGeneation as a leader in the Hydroponics industry.
About GrowGeneration Corp.:
GrowGeneration Corp. ("GrowGen") owns and operates specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores. Currently, GrowGen has 18 stores, which includes 6 locations in Colorado, 6 locations in California, 3 locations in Michigan, 1 location in Las Vegas, 1 location in Rhode Islandand 1 location in Washington. GrowGen carries and sells thousands of products, including organic nutrients and soils, advanced lighting technology and state of the art hydroponic equipment to be used indoors and outdoors by commercial and home growers. Our mission is to own and operate GrowGeneration branded stores in all the major legalized cannabis states. Management estimates that roughly 1,000 hydroponic stores are in operation in the U.S. By 2020 the market is estimated to reach over $23 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 32%.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release may include predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgments, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date of this release. Please keep in mind that we are not obligating ourselves to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. When used herein, words such as "look forward," "believe," "continue," "building," or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements made by us herein are often discussed in filings we make with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, available at: www.sec.gov, and on our website, at: www.growgeneration.com.
Connect:
• Website: www.growgeneration.com
• Facebook: GrowGenerationCorp
• Twitter: @GrowGenOK
• Instagram: @growgen
View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growgeneration-launches-b2b-platform-on-amazoncom-300682734.html
SOURCE GrowGeneration
Markets Insider and Business Insider Editorial Teams were not involved in the creation of this post.
Real Organic Project Seeks Add-On Label To USDA Organic Seal
Real Organic Project Seeks Add-On Label To USDA Organic Seal
July 17, 2018
For some growers, organic certification alone just isn’t good enough anymore.
The East Thetford, Vt.-based Real Organic Project wants an “add-on” label to the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic certification.
The project, a coalition of organic farmers and advocates, objects to USDA’s National Organic Program rules that permit hydroponics and concentrated animal feeding operations to be certified as organic, according to a news release.
The group said its proposed add-on label, which requires adherence to standards above and beyond USDA organic certification, would only be available to agricultural products that have already been certified organic by the USDA.
The Real Organic Project in July announced the launch of its pilot farm inspection program.
The release said the program aims to implement new standards that will provide consumer transparency by “distinguishing organic farms that grow their crops in the ground, foster soil fertility and adequately pasture livestock according to foundational organic standards and principles.”
The Real Organic Project add-on label to USDA organic certification, expected by spring 2019, will increase transparency under the organic seal by allowing consumers to trace retail products back to the farm, according to the release.
The inspection process includes a video interview of the farmers on their land explaining their organic production practices, the group said.
Real Organic Project associate director and Colorado farmer Linley Dixon is leading the pilot project effort, according to the release. For the past five years, she has been the senior scientist at the Cornucopia Institute.
Taking control
Controversy on the question of whether the soil is essential to growing organic produce has been bubbling for years.
By a vote of 8 to 7, the USDA National Organic Standards Board on Nov. 1 rejected proposals to make hydroponic and aquaponic production methods prohibited under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program.
“Clearly the industrial egg operations became so powerful that they had significant political influence,” Dixon said in the release.
“We tried to keep the same thing from happening in other sectors of organic, especially tomato and berry production, but we lost that battle at the USDA last fall,” she said.
“Now we are taking matters into our own hands because we know it is what the consumer wants and expects when they choose organic.”
The add-on label will give farmers a way of communicating practices to “consumers who care,” the group said.
Sharing information with consumers and the trade in a positive manner is fair, said Lee Frankel, executive director for the Coalition for Sustainable Organics, a group that has defended USDA certification of hydroponic operations.
“The fear is that people resort to disparaging their competition and claiming that somehow they don’t meet the USDA organic standard,” he said.
“At this point, it looks like the Real Organic Project is trying to tell what they perceive as positive aspects about how they how they grow and how they operate.”
The release said the Real Organic Project will be managing a pilot program this year certifying a limited number of farms.
Real Organic board member Lisa Stokke, executive director of Next7.org, said July 16 that 41 farms from California to the Northeast have signed up for the pilot project so far this year.
The group said the “vast majority” of certified organic farms in the U.S. will easily meet these new “standards,” and the release said the provisional standards will be open for public comment this fall.
Stokke said that the movement is farmer-led, and there hasn’t been a lot of interaction with retailers yet. However, she believes the add-on label will appeal to retailers if consumers want it.
“I think it’s going to be about consumer demand,” she said. “As consumers begin to request this I would imagine retailers would also be on board.”
The pilot program will test the certification process in preparation for the label going public in 2019, according to the release.
In May, the group released what they called their provisional standards for the add-on label.
The standards are available at the group’s website.
U.S. Farmers Launch “Real Organic” Pilot Project
U.S. Farmers Launch “Real Organic” Pilot Project
July 13, 2018
A group of U.S. farmers has launched a pilot certification program for organic operations, saying the USDA’s National Organic Program “no longer adequately reflects how they farm.”
An initiative called The Real Organic Project is aiming to implement new organic standards and provide consumer transparency by “distinguishing organic farms that grow their crops in the ground, foster soil fertility and adequately pasture livestock according to foundational organic standards and principles.”
The project’s executive director is Dave Chapman, a longtime organic tomato grower with a farm in Vermont, who last year said he had been “dismayed” by the U.S. National Organic Standards Board’s (NOSB) controversial decision to not ban hydroponic and aquaponic crops from organic certification.
“In the last year, the USDA not only embraced hydroponic production under the organic seal, but they also rejected the Organic Livestock and Poultry Production (OLPP) Rule created to strengthen animal welfare,” a release from The Real Organic Project said.
A Real Organic Project ‘add-on’ label to USDA organic certification is expected to be rolled out on fruit and vegetable packaging by next spring.
The inspection process includes a video interview of the farmers on their land explaining their organic production practices.
“The Real Organic Project is an inspiring team,” said associate director and Colorado farmer, Dr. Linley Dixon, who is leading the pilot project effort. “The people who wrote the standards and advise the project are national leaders in the organic and greater environmental movements.”
Dixon recently began her work as associate director of the Real Organic Project and has a long history working for reform of the National Organic Program. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida and also held a two-year post-doctorate with the USDA’s Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory.
“Clearly the industrial egg operations became so powerful that they had significant political influence,” said Dixon.
“We tried to keep the same thing from happening in other sectors of organic, especially tomato and berry production, but we lost that battle at the USDA last fall. Now we are taking matters into our own hands because we know it is what the consumer wants and expects when they choose organic.”
Organic tomatoes and berries have seen a drop in wholesale prices due to the influx of industrial hydroponics, which can be produced more cheaply without growing in soil, according to the release. Real Organic Project farmers maintain that growing food without soil runs counter to the whole point of organic production.
“The USDA has embraced a redefinition of organic by rejecting the organic animal welfare rule and allowing hydroponics to enter organic crop production,” said Chapman.
NOSB member Emily Oakley is also a board member of the Real Organic Project.
“I’m not a big fan of phrases like ‘organic premium’,” she said.
“I think conventional food is falsely cheap, and frankly, the organic “premium” still doesn’t reflect the fair cost of producing the food if you account for unfair wages and the environmental costs of conventional food.”
US: Nature's Path Leaves Organic Trade Association
ites organic hydroponics as the reason
US: Nature's Path Leaves Organic Trade Association
Nature's Path Foods, a large North American organic breakfast company, announced its resignation from the Organic Trade Association (OTA) citing concern the OTA is shifting its commitment from supporting and representing the core principles of the organic food movement, to begin pushing a non-organic agenda which threatens the future of organic. Recent actions by the OTA that have driven the company's decision include misrepresenting organic food companies and US consumers to support a vague and misleading national GMO labelling law, and allowing hydroponics to fall under the organic certification label where there is no organic agriculture nor soil present.
"Our departure from the OTA is an act of protest to raise awareness of our concern that the important role organic plays to support the health of consumers and our planet is being compromised," says Nature's Path founder and co-CEO Arran Stephens. "We believe giant food corporations, that also happen to own small organic brands, use the OTA to influence policy decisions to protect the best interest of their large, non-organic food portfolios."
"We believe organic can protect and enhance the health of people and planet. Organic can build a better world, free from food with chemical residues, free of toxic environments for farmers, and free of catering to big business at the expense of real people," adds Stephens. "We're alarmed the new bill works against our basic human right for food transparency which exists in 64 other countries around the globe with clear GMO labels."
For more information:
Publication date: 7/5/2018
EU: Ten-Year Reprieve For Organic Hydroponic Growers
EU: Ten-Year Reprieve For Organic Hydroponic Growers
The European Union has published its new organic regulation, which will enter into force on January 1, 2021. For organic hydroponic growers, the following passage is of interest, which states that operations certified as organic before June 28, 2017, may continue growing on their production surfaces for another ten years following the date of application of the Regulation.
"As organic plant production is based on nourishing the plants primarily through the soil ecosystem, plants should be produced on and in living soil in connection with the subsoil and bedrock. Consequently, hydroponic production should not be allowed, nor growing plants in containers, bags or beds where the roots are not in contact with the living soil.
"However, certain cultivation practices which are not soil-related, such as the production of sprouted seeds or chicory heads and the production of ornamentals and herbs in pots that are sold in pots to the consumers, for which the principle of soil-related crop cultivation is not adapted or for which no risk exists that the consumer is misled regarding the production method, should be allowed. In order to facilitate organic production at an earlier growing stage of plants, growing seedlings or transplants in containers for further transplanting should also be permitted.
"The principle of land-related crop cultivation and the nourishing of plants primarily through the soil ecosystem was established by Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. Some operators have, however, developed an economic activity by growing plants in ‘demarcated beds’ and have been certified as organic under Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 by their national authorities. An agreement has been reached within the ordinary legislative procedure on 28 June 2017 that the organic production should be based on nourishing the plants primarily through the soil ecosystem and be soil-related, and that growing plants in demarcated beds should not be allowed anymore from that date.
In order to give the operators who have developed such economic activity until that date the possibility to adapt, they should be allowed to maintain their production surfaces, if they were certified as organic under Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 before that date by their national authorities, for further 10 years after the date of application of this Regulation. On the basis of the information provided by Member States to the Commission, such activity had only been authorised in the Union before 28 June 2017 in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. The use of demarcated beds in organic agriculture should be subject to a report of the Commission which is to be published five years after the date of application of this Regulation."
Click here to read the full Regulation.
Publication date: 6/22/2018
Kids Grow Salad Greens On An Urban Concrete Schoolyard
Kids Grow Salad Greens On An Urban Concrete Schoolyard
Hydroponic hothouse program introduces disadvantaged girls to organic, sustainable veggies and herbs for eating and selling.
By Abigail Klein Leichman JUNE 19, 2018
Fresh greens are grown hydroponically at a Jerusalem girls’ school. Photo courtesy of StartUpRoots
Photos of smiling kids planting, picking and eating vegetables line the hallways of a school for girls in an impoverished Jerusalem neighborhood. The pictures were taken in the hydroponic hothouse the girls have tended for the past three years on their concrete playground.
Many of their families can’t afford veggies or haven’t been taught about their essential nutritional value, leaving children undernourished and unaware of the miraculous journey from seed to salad, says Shulamit, the teacher in charge of the project.
The nonprofit StartUpRoots provides the funds, equipment, and expertise for the hothouse, which nurtures some 1,400 greens and herbs each month. The students eat them, cook with them and even make creams and soaps from them.
“I think this is a project that belongs in every school. I love it so much,” Shulamit tells ISRAEL21c.
A student tends the leafy greens growing in the hydroponic hothouse. Photo courtesy of StartUpRoots
Lawyer, entrepreneur and former teacher Robin Katz founded StartUpRoots after investigating how Israeli produce could be grown locally without pesticides and while educating and empowering students in “poverty pockets” — including the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) population characterized by large families and small incomes.
“The kids are at a disadvantage academically when they don’t have proper nutrition. And a lot of health problems occur when you don’t know what foods to choose or just choose what is cheap,” says Katz, who moved to Ra’anana from Chicago in 2007.
She didn’t want children only to eat more veggies but to take a hand in growing them organically and sustainably. Katz found the model she was seeking when she visited a hydroponic farm in northern Israel
“They had the cleanest, best-tasting vegetables I’ve ever had, and I’ve traveled extensively,” she tells ISRAEL21c.
Katz found the opportunity to put her idea into action when she was asked to help raise money for a school lunch program at the girls’ school in the Bukharim neighborhood of Jerusalem. She proposed building a small hydroponic facility in a corner of the schoolyard for the girls to grow their own vegetables.
“I was worried about taking space from the playground but the principal said, ‘No, take the back 100 meters.’ That was enough to grow 1,400 plants a month, and we’re working on ways to increase the yield exponentially,” says Katz.
Hothouse on a concrete schoolyard. Photo courtesy of StartUpRoots
The kids grow by growing
Supported by private donors, StartUpRoots provides the equipment, the services of professional agronomists and nutritionists, and a chef who comes after the first harvest to cook with the kids.
Katz and a team of expert volunteers developed a holistic curriculum for teachers like Shulamit to get ideas for lesson plans covering topics from healthy eating to the environmental impact of food production.
“I sat down with Israeli educators to talk about the objectives and goals of the program and they said, ‘Relax, Robin, the kids will grow by growing. They’ll see the direct relationship between their effort and the outcome.’ The life lessons they learn include personal responsibility and understanding that progress is gradual.”
StartUpRoots installed another hydroponic garden at a girls’ school in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Ya’akov. “They didn’t have room outside, so we built an indoor farm with LED lighting, which we are currently expanding in a former library, utilizing a state-of-the-art vertical design,” says Katz.
A StartUpRoots staffer shows schoolgirls in Neve Ya’akov how to start a hydroponic garden. Photo: courtesy
The program requires that students spend at least 20 minutes every day tending the system and the plants, starting with dropping single seeds in a growing medium and making sure that the plants in the closed water system have the right levels of acidity, nutrients, and oxygen.
“The hydroponic method uses 90 percent less water than in-ground farming because nothing is getting absorbed in the soil and the water is recycled,” Katz explains. “The roots get nutrition directly from water and therefore grow faster. There are also few insects because it’s the dirt that attracts pests.”
“It’s a lot fresher and healthier,” adds Ronny Avidan, an Israeli agronomist who joined StartUpRoots in 2015 after completing agricultural projects in Africa. “I want to help promote the ideology of urban organic, pest-free agriculture and sustainability,” he tells ISRAEL21c.
Leafy veggies growing in a schoolyard hothouse in Jerusalem. Photo courtesy of StartUpRoots
Creating a sense of value
The hothouse has become part of Shulamit’s science curriculum for grades 1-7. The girls record their activities and observations after performing their assigned tasks.
The leafy greens grow so abundantly that the school began selling them for a token amount to the girls’ families. “When you charge a bit of money, you create a sense of value,” Shulamit explains.
She says the excitement created by the project has led directly to higher enrollment as children share their enthusiasm with parents and friends.
The girls also planted a conventional garden in another corner of the schoolyard along with a compost pile. Among the produce growing, there are sunflowers, the seeds of which are a favorite Israeli snack.
“When they buy sunflower seeds in a package in the store, they think they appeared from nowhere. Now they understand that these are natural seeds that God created,” says Shulamit.
Katz says some of the aspects of StartUpRoots are found in American programs like Virginia-based Edible Education.
“But we go beyond those programs. In Israel, we don’t have water and land to waste, and we have increasing populations. And yet if we can come out of those challenges shining it should inspire others to do the same.”
The program is not meant only for disadvantaged children. Katz is working with her hometown and partners Matan and Leket (Israel’s national food bank) to transform an unused area into a hydroponic community garden that she hopes will blossom into a farmers market.
Katz is in discussions with additional schools to join StartUpRoots. The no-carbon-footprint hothouses could be put on school rooftops or basements.
“To change dietary habits you first have to change consumer demand and the best way to do that is to start with children,” she says.
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5 Reasons Getting USDA Organic Certification Is Really Difficult
5 Reasons Getting USDA Organic Certification Is Really Difficult
By Modern Farmer on May 24, 2018
The National Organic Program is a complicated operation. And unless you've been through the process, it's tough to imagine exactly how difficult it is to get—and stay—certified.
As the only government-administered label that addresses farming practices, the organic emblem is vitally important. There literally is no other badge that carries as much weight. USDA certified organic-food sales topped $43 billion in 2016—emphasis on “USDA certified.” Ask around at your local farmers market and you’re likely to run into a few “all-but-certified” farms (for which there are no statistics). The reason? Organic certification is incredibly difficult. Here’s why.
1. Transitioning takes three years.
If you have a conventional farm and you want to convert to organic, you’re in for a lengthy waiting period. The National Organic Program requires three full years—36 months—of organic operations before a formerly conventional farm can call itself organic. That means for three years, that farm will be obeying all organic regulations, paying applicable fees (see below), and yet unable to use the organic label—or charge the premium price that organic foods bring. After a year, you can label your goods as “transitional,” and the USDA is working on a better way to advertise this system, but at the moment, that waiting period likely means a farm is operating at a loss.
2. Certification isn’t free.
You might think that a farmer wishing to do the right thing by operating within sustainable guidelines would not have to pay for the privilege. You’d be wrong. The average cost of certification—which requires visits from a USDA or USDA-accredited certification agent, extensive paperwork, and more—estimates the National Young Farmer’s Coalition, is about $1,000 per year per farm. Some states have assistance programs for organic farms that can help reduce that number, but in the notoriously thin-margin world of farming, an annual fee can make all the difference.
3. The rules can be infuriatingly vague.
For example, The organic regulations demand a “buffer zone” between an organic farm and nearby conventional farms. How big does the buffer zone need to be? Good question! The regulations…don’t actually say. They describe what the buffer zone must do (essentially block any runoff from a conventional farm into the organic farm), but it’s left up to the individual certifier to decide whether a buffer zone is of sufficient size.
4. The paperwork can be onerous.
The USDA will inspect all organic farms once per year, and they’ll want to see extensive paperwork, often much more in-depth than conventional farms would maintain. It’s often recommended that organic farmers set-asides time for this paperwork every day, which could mean updating field notes, planting schedules, soil tests, fertility observations, projected yields, and organizing receipts.
5. Neighbors aren’t always friendly.
With organic farms at a distinct disadvantage of numbers—around 1 percent of all American farms—it’s highly likely that an organic farm will be near, if not completely surrounded, by non-organic farms. That presents all kinds of difficulties. It’s not at all uncommon for pesticide sprayed on nearby non-organic farms to drift on the wind over to an organic farm. That pesticide can damage organic farms, which can take a huge bite out of yields. Even worse, if that pesticide leaves a residue considered “too high” by the National Organic Program—usually around 5 percent of the EPA’s maximum tolerance—an organic farmer can lose his or her certification. In that case, the organic farmer might have to start that three-year transitioning program all over again.
Ninety-Nine Percent of America’s Farms Are Family-Owned. But Only Half Are Family-Farmed.
As land is passed on to kids and grandkids, millions of acres across the country end up being owned by people who are no longer farmers, and increasingly, never were.
The photograph above was taken on an Iowa family farm. The farmhouse has since been replaced and the land sold. Flickr / Don Graham
Ninety-Nine Percent of America’s Farms Are Family-Owned. But Only Half Are Family-Farmed.
As land is passed on to kids and grandkids, millions of acres across the country end up being owned by people who are no longer farmers, and increasingly, never were.
May 24th, 2018
by Beth Hoffman
“My parents were farmers, both of my grandparents were farmers. Probably as far back as ever we were farmers,” says 77-year-old Shirley Gray. We are sitting in the wood-paneled dining room of her family’s farm in south-central Iowa. “My husband’s parents were farmers, his grandparents were farmers. So we have always been farmers.”
Always, that is, until 2009, when Gray and her late husband decided they would stop farming and rent out their land instead. Gray’s kids and grandkids had all moved away from the farm and taken jobs in cities and towns throughout the region, ending the family’s 156-year farming tradition.
“The way it is set up, it will just keep right on being rented out,” Gray tells me when I ask what will happen to the farm when she is no longer alive to make decisions about it. “But we will keep the farm in the family, hopefully.”
Beth Hoffman
Most American farmland will be passed on to the next generation via wills, trusts, or sale to other family members, much as Shirley Gray’s farm is set up
Today, 99 percent of American farms are still “family farms” owned by families, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). But like Shirley Gray’s, increasingly, many of them are not actually family-farmed.
Roughly 355 million acres nationally—almost 40 percent of all farmland—are rented out by non-farming landlords to other farm operators. In Iowa, that number is much higher. More than half of all farmland in the state is farmed by renters, generating rental revenue of $3.7 billion (the second-highest rental revenue in the country, after Illinois).
And although more than 60 percent of America’s farmland is owned by people aged 65 and older, most of this farmland is not expected to come up for sale when owners die. In fact, only about 2 percent of farmland in the country will be sold to people other than family members in the coming years. Instead, most land will be passed on to the next generation via wills, trusts, or sale to other family members, much like the way Shirley Gray’s farm is set up. In other words, it will be kept in and owned by the family—even if the family never farms it.
The double whammy
Part of what is driving this trend in the Midwest and around the nation, is the exorbitant cost of both land and machinery. One piece of new farm equipment—a John Deere combine for harvesting corn, for example—can cost as much as $500,000. Even if farmers buy only good quality used equipment, they are still looking at an estimated initial investment of at least $600,000 to get started.
In Iowa, as in much of the country, land is equally unaffordable. With the average price topping $7,000 an acre, a 300-acre farm in the state is worth a hefty $2.1 million. (The average size of an Iowa farm is 330 acres.) That’s an investment not easily borne by a new farmer, especially since the price of corn and soybeans has essentially flatlined for the last five years.
“A quarter of the land in Iowa is owned by the same owner for the last 40 years; half has been owned for over 20 years. So owners are after long-term returns.”
But most Iowa landowners are not new. “You don’t own land for one or three years,” says Wendong Zhang, an extension economist at Iowa State University (ISU). “A quarter of the land in Iowa is owned by the same owner for the last 40 years; half has been owned for over 20 years. So owners are after long-term returns.”
This pattern of long-term ownership means not only that there is very little land available for sale in Iowa (which drives prices even higher), but also that most of the state’s farmland was purchased back when that land was far less expensive. Shirley Gray and her husband bought their farm in 1958 for $55 an acre, which made the total cost for their 500 acres $27,500—the equivalent of about $238,000 today. That same land in 2018 costs around $4000 an acre, or more than $2 million for a farm similar in size to the one the Grays purchased 60 years ago.
And here’s one other result of the long-term land ownership trend: As much as 80 percent of the land in Iowa is owned free and clear of debt. So as long as the rent pays the taxes, retired farmers and their families can make money on their land even if no one in the family is farming.
When city folk own the farm
As land is passed on to kids and grandkids, millions of acres across the country end up being owned by people who are no longer farmers, and increasingly, never were. Currently, 40 percent of all rented farmland in Iowa is owned by people who have never farmed, and in more and more cases have never lived on the land they now own.
Beth Hoffman
If the only purpose of land ownership is to provide income for both parties, then the level of toxicity from chemicals sprayed, the health of the ecosystem as a whole, and the lasting fertility of the soil become far less important
“I’ve seen an increase in 50- and 60-year-olds who are inheriting the farm from the farmers who have passed away in their 70s and 80s,” says David Baker, a farm transition specialist with ISU’s Beginning Farmer Center. “They have been off the farm for the last 30 or 40 years while their parents farmed. They are now inheriting these farms and need to decide what to do with it.”
But deciding to rent the land out may have its drawbacks. As any of us who’ve rented an apartment or a car will attest, renters don’t often treat things with as much care as they would if they were the actual owner. The same could arguably be said about landowners, who are sometimes less attentive to the land because they are not actually on it. If the only purpose of land ownership is to provide income for both parties, then the level of toxicity from chemicals sprayed, the health of the ecosystem as a whole, and the lasting fertility of the soil become far less important.
“When you have farm owners looking for the top dollar for rental, that often will come at a cost,” says Ann M. Johanns, an extension program specialist at ISU. “That cost might be the long-term conservation or long-term productivity of that land because the tenant is paying the highest dollar. They might not take care of it as if it were their own. They might not put nutrients back into the soil like they should, and so they leave that land worse than they found it.”
How a potential tenant plans to take care of the land is an essential question for owners in search of renters.
Baker agrees. “Those looking for the highest price in cash rent for their farms will search for those who will pay the highest price, regardless of what they will do to the farm,” he says. “And once you sign a lease, you have given up control of that farm to that tenant. Unless you have stipulations in that lease requiring him to farm it in a certain way, you’ve in effect said, ‘I’ve got my $250-an-acre cash rent, it is in the bank, I’m good. Do what you want to with the farm.’”
A new kind of landowner?
But increasingly, says Baker, he is fielding calls from a new kind of landowner—many of whom have college degrees and have lived in cities for years—who remember how their grandparents took care of the land and are interested in bringing ecological values with them to their farm ownership.
“I get calls every day asking questions,” Baker says. “’How do I take care of the farm?’ ‘How do I make improvements to the land, to the water?’” I want them to maximize the income they can receive but also to share some of values that the community has. What does it mean to the state of Iowa instead of just thinking about it as investment.”
How a potential tenant plans to take care of the land is an essential question for owners in search of renters. A 2012 survey on farmland ownership conducted by ISU found that 93 percent of landowners said “good land stewardship” was by far the most important tenant attribute, well above knowing the farmer (52 percent) or even renting to a family member (25 percent).
Long-term ownership not only means there is very little land available for sale in Iowa but also that most of the state’s farmland was purchased back when that land was far less expensive. Pictured above: Knoxville, Iowa | Beth Hoffman
Additionally, farmland owned solely by a woman—sometimes the result of land inherited after a spouse has died—now accounts for a quarter of all farms. And while many of them have never had to make farm decisions alone, they have a “strong conservation ethic,” says the Women’s Food and Agriculture Network, adding that female landowners often struggle to find advisors and tenants whose business plans align with their ecological values.
Baker says this increasing interest in doing things differently has resulted in more requests for information about niche markets—like organic. “There is a strong effort in the 40-50 age groups saying, ‘We own this small farm and we want to know what to do with it. We’ve heard of others raising local products and we want to get involved in that.’” Baker also works with many hopeful beginning farmers who are looking to pursue small-scale production or retail agriculture on their land.
Opportunity Abounds
In Iowa, there’s something of an untapped opportunity to be found in matching new landowners with new farmers—both for conventional farmers and those interested in growing crops outside of the corn and soybean norm. Because land rental is so much more affordable than owning land outright, renting gives those who are new to the trade the ability to make money farming without diving deeply into debt.
“A lot of rental agreements include more than just farming the land.”
Landowners can also encourage “good stewardship” on their land by allowing multi-year leases, which better guarantee that the time and money tenants invest in a farm—to transition to organic or even to use cover crops—is worth it. Not charging top dollar can also take the pressure off farmers to make as much money as possible and can encourage them not to grow “fence row to fence row,” ensuring the sustainability of the farm over the long term. (Proposed cuts to the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, that were included in the most recent iteration of the farm bill—which the House voted down last week—would have threatened the ability of both tenants and landlords to put aside land susceptible to erosion or other environmental degradation.)
The particular type of lease a renter and owner agree on can also have a big impact on farm sustainability and the overall economic viability of farming for tenants. While “cash rent” leases can mean even more debt for farmers if crops fail in the case of bad weather or disease, “flexible leases” allow tenants and landowners to share in the costs and profits of the farm, mitigating risk for both. With flexible leases, farm payments like insurance and other government programs are also split between tenants and landlords.
But new tenants also need to understand that taking the time to build a relationship with the landowner is an important part of leasing a farm.
“A lot of rental agreements include more than just farming the land,” says Johanns. “There is a relationship between the tenant and landowner where a tenant may be taking care of scooping the driveway, for example. Stopping in and discussing what is happening on the farm, and having coffee. Little things you can’t put a dollar value on.”
In other words, human stewardship is every bit as important to a successful tenant-landowner relationship as land stewardship is.
Beth Hoffman has reported on food and agriculture for more than twenty years, airing on NPR, The World, Latino USA, Living on Earth in addition to writing for many publications. She has a Masters from UC Berkeley's School of Journalism and has completed several documentary projects, including a year cooking with immigrant women in their homes and telling their stories. She also spends summers on her husband's family farm in Iowa and currently is an Assistant Professor in Media Studies at the University of San Francisco.
It’s Always Sunny At Red Sun Farms
It’s Always Sunny At Red Sun Farms
BY ELIZABETH LOUISE HATT | JUNE 08, 2018
2018 will be a year of growth and product innovation at Red Sun Farms. The team continues to move forward with expansion plans for Mexico, the United States, and Canada, all while trialing new varieties, which will exceed customer expectations in flavor, texture, and quality.
The Organic Grape tomatoes are some of the sweetest snacking varieties and becoming very popular with retailers and consumers. These delicious varieties also have a unique characteristic, lovingly refer to as dimples. To spread the news, the team is getting ready to “show its dimples” this summer. The upcoming campaign will include new advertising elements and a social media program focused on organic grape tomatoes.
“We can’t wait to show off our dimples,” said Leona Neill, marketing and packaging manager for the Kingsville, ON-based company. “There is always something new growing at Red Sun Farms. The team has been busy and there is a lot more excitement to come.” The new items join the company’s existing portfolio of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and the organic line and artisan line of select specialty products.
Education plays a big part in marketing at Red Sun Farms. The company offers several resources for both retailers and consumers to learn more about its produce. This includes an online catalog highlighting information about each product’s unique attributes; a library of recipes on the website that offers at-home chefs new, exciting ways to incorporate vegetables into their diets; and even information on the company’s eco-friendly packaging, explained Neill.
Education is also driving a new promotion around the seed-to-plate model. One of the largest fully integrated high-tech greenhouse growers in North America, the company owns and operates farms throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The seed-to-plate approach ensures consumers that consistent care is implemented throughout the entire growing process, from seed selection to propagation, to harvest, to transportation and delivery.
The upcoming advertising and social media campaign are designed to teach consumers and retailers about the difference Red Sun Farms delivers by owning all steps from seed to plate. “By controlling all steps in the process, we can ensure the same high-quality product from all our locations,” said Neill.
Retailers can meet the Red Sun Farms team and check out their latest products at the United Fresh Convention. Stop by booth No. 1619 to see the new line of avocados, organic grape tomatoes, and the ever-popular cherry on the vine.
Frustrated With Certification Process And Market Access
Frustrated With Certification Process And Market Access
US farmers are dropping organic labels
Midwestern fruit and vegetable farmers are more likely than their counterparts in other regions to give up federal organic certification, according to a Purdue University study.
Obtaining organic certification can be an expensive, year-long process that requires changing management practices and working with certifiers who determine if farms meet the government’s extensive requirements. But many farmers -who can get higher prices for organic products- think this is all worth it.
In 2017, organic food sales topped $45 billion, up 6.4 percent from 2016, according to the Organic Trade Association. Sales have more than doubled since 2010. Fruits and vegetables are the top-selling categories, making up nearly 37 percent of organic food sales.
Despite the boom in demand, the number of organic farms has declined from 14,540 in 2008 to 12,818 in 2015. Some of that is due to the consolidation of small and medium farms into larger operations. But some operations are simply leaving the organic program.
That may be because too few of the smaller organic farms are located near markets that would purchase large quantities of organic produce. Transportation to larger population centers may be less cost-effective for the small organic farms.
Organic farmers were also likely to opt out of certification if the process became too much of a hassle. “Farmers were more likely to decertify if they perceived that loss of freedom, paperwork, cost of certification, interaction with the certifier, and lack of information were barriers to remain certified. It seems that the requirements embedded in the certification process were detrimental to the decision to remain certified,” the authors of the study wrote.
Understanding the reasons why organic farmers decertify may help inform government decisions on certification rules and processes.
Publication date: 6/1/2018
'Rebel' Farmers Launch Second Organic Label
'Rebel' Farmers Launch Second Organic Label
New label will certify foods grown in soil — and exclude others.
June 4, 2018
The role of soil in organic farming is the basis of an ongoing argument. (Photo: wellphoto/Shutterstock)
Can a food be organic if it never touched soil? Some say it can't. They believe foods produced using hydroponic, aquaponic or aeroponic methods don't qualify as organic because they don't use soil. Some farmers have been fighting for the exclusion of these methods from organic certification by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but now they're taking a different path. They're creating their own organic label that excludes water-grown methods.
Organics and soil
The USDA says these hydroponic tomatoes can be certified if they meet all the agency's standards. (Photo: Alekandre Baevi/Shutterstock)
Last year, these soil-only organic advocates bonded together and held rallies to fight against the inclusion of foods produced using these methods because they can rely heavily on industrialized methods. In addition to believing organics must include soil, they also fear that certifying hydroponics and aquaponics will lead to a loss in traditional organic farms and their healthy soils.
In a press release sent out last year in advance of the rallies, farmers and organic food advocates made their argument clear: For food to be organic, soil must be part of the equation. One champion of this movement is Fred Kirschenmann, who has been an organic farmer for 37 years, is president of Stone Barns in New York and a distinguished fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa.
"So the thing that I think we need to understand more fully in our organic movement today is that it’s ultimately about the soil," Kirschenmann says in the press release. "The soil is what is the foundation of organic agriculture. And the reason for that is because soil is not just dirt as it is often assumed in our culture today. Soil is actually a living community. There are more microbes in a single tablespoonful of soil like this than there are humans on the planet — so billions of microbes — and it’s those microbes that provide all of the benefits from the food that we grow on soil."
Ultimately, the rallies didn't bring about the intended results. The National Organic Standard Board, which advises the USDA on the organic certification program, did not recommend that the USDA exclude hydroponics or aquaponics from organic certification.
In January of this year, the USDA clarified its position on hydroponics and aquaponics, saying they can be certified organic if they meet all standards, according to The Packer. Currently, being grown in soil is not one of the standards.
A second organic label is born
Consumers who want to know if their plants have been grown in soil should be able to find that information out. (Photo: yuris/Shutterstock)
In response to the USDA allowing soil-less foods to qualify for organic certification, some soil-only advocates have banded together again — this time to create their own label. According to the The Register-Mail, there's a rebel group of scientists and farmers, calling themselves the Real Organic Project, who met in Vermont in late March to create the additional organic certification program. This summer, between 20 to 60 farms across the country will pilot the program.
No name for the label or exact wording has been released, but the label will indicate that produce was grown in soil and animal products came from pastured animals. The labels would be added by the farms themselves after an inspector certified that the farm met the new label's standards. These foods could also carry the USDA organic label, should they qualify for it.
The hydroponic industry responded to the new label by saying a second certification label will confuse consumers and give an edge to traditionally grown products. Advocates for the new label say hydroponic farming has the competitive edge because it can produce more than the traditional method.
Consumers should be informed about how their food is grown and the conditions they're grown under. I'm never in favor of the "more information will confuse consumers" argument because it discounts both the intelligence of shoppers and their right to know about their food. If consumers want to purchase foods that have been produced with soil and not hydroponically or aquaponically, I see no problem in an independent program that allows them to find that information easily.
Wholesum Harvest’s Take On USDA’s Organic Hydroponic Ruling
Wholesum Harvest’s Take On USDA’s Organic Hydroponic Ruling
By Lee Allen|May 16, 201
When the National Organic Standards Board (an advisory body to USDA that generally sets the standards for certification) ruled in November 2017 that hydroponic produce can gain the USDA organic seal, it roiled the organic growing industry.
Those on the purist side, who believe healthy soil is the core philosophy of organic growing, have long fought the ruling.
Hydroponic growers, who are just as passionate about the overall sustainability of the growing method, were thrilled. Their produce finally won approval for organic labeling consideration.
Read the full story about Wholesum Harvest, as well as other articles from American Vegetable Grower‘s April 2018 issue!
Oddly enough, the team at Wholesum Harvest was left unfazed. Wholesum Harvest was featured on the cover of American Vegetable Grower‘s April 2018 issue.
“The short and sweet answer is there has been no effect,” says Jessie Gunn, Marketing Vice President for Wholesum Harvest. “We’re a container production operation, growing certified organic produce with that methodology for more than 25 years. And we’re excited that science won out in the industrial debates and container production is still 100% certifiable organic.”
Wholesum Harvest has organic certification through Quality Assurance International, a USDA-accredited organic produce certifying agency.
“We grow nothing that isn’t organic — we’re 100% dedicated,” Gunn says.
Since Gunn sees organic production as primarily a scientific designation, she sides with those who fought for the ruling, not those who see growing in soil as indivisible from organic growing.
“I conceptualize organics as coming down to the bioactivity of the plant’s root system. And science is an immovable baseline to build one’s position on. I’ve read every line of the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA), and we follow it to a T, subscribing to its general intent of growing in a harmonious way, congruent with the needs of our planet and our environment.”
Allow Organic Referendum
( The Packer staff )
The U.S. Department of Agriculture pulled the plug on the proposed organic marketing board before the drama of a referendum could unfold.
In so doing, has the agency turned back the momentum of the organic movement?
A 3-month public comment period that ended in April 2017 garnered more than 14,700 comments, according to a USDA news release.
The USDA cited specific concerns expressed in those comments, which led to its decision to not pursue the program:
- A majority of organic growers in the U.S., earning less than $250,000 a year, would be exempt;
- How organic promotion would affect other commodities;
- The method of assessing imports, and tracing imported products;
- The financial burden on small producers;
- The burdens of paperwork; and
- The methodology used in voting.
Was the decision fair? Why not test the true support for the organic marketing board with a referendum?
A statement by the Organic Trade Association cast the USDA as unwilling to embrace the growth of organic agriculture. The group said the USDA’s action to terminate the rulemaking process to establish a national research and promotion program for organic “reflects a pattern of holding back forward progress on organic by USDA.”
Saying the $50 billion organic sector offers opportunities for U.S. organic farmers, “it makes no sense that the agency is continuing to take steps to cut it off at the knees.”
“This announcement comes within days of a smiley face GMO disclosure logo, which is bound to cause confusion for consumers and reveals that USDA is not being even-handed,” Laura Batcha, CEO and executive director of the Organic Trade Association, said in the release.
Batcha said the association was certain about the quality of the proposal, which she said was crafted over the course of five years.
“We submitted comments with 1,358 public endorsers named, including over 1,230 certified organic operators,” she wrote.
She called it “unfathomable” that organic stakeholders will not be given the chance to cast their vote and decide for themselves regarding the checkoff.
The USDA decision to end the quest for a national organic marketing board will resonate for several years. In my opinion, even though the debate would have been messy, the market would have been served by a referendum. Without the clout of industry assessments, it will be difficult for organic marketers to have a substantial message about the value of organic certification.
How will the consumer value the USDA organic seal in coming years, given that the confusing labeling of food with “free from” labels will only increase? “Non-GMO” seems to have emerged as a competing label, which surely must frustrate organic operators.
The USDA has put the brakes on the national organic checkoff, and also may have pumped the brakes on consumer momentum toward organic food.
Tom Karst is The Packer’s national editor. E-mail him at tkarst@farmjournal.com.
Zooey Deschanel Has Strong Opinions About What You Should Be Eating
Zooey Deschanel Has Strong Opinions About What You Should Be Eating
BY CATHLEEN KRUEGER MAY 03, 2018
Zooey Deschanel is opening up about her latest venture, The Farm Project, and why she wants you to start asking questions about your food.
“The more that you ask questions and find out where the food [comes and who is growing it, it’s going to totally affect what you buy,” the “New Girl” actress told LIVESTRONG.COM at the opening of the L.A. Food Bowl on May 1. “And when you buy locally, your food is going to be more nutritious, it’s going to taste better and it’s going to be better for the environment.
“And you might not be eating the same thing all year round, but it’s going to create a more interesting plate for you,” she adds.
Deschanel co-founded The Farm Project with her husband, Jacob Pechenik, to empower people to eat local, sustainable, seasonal and organic food.
“Our whole mission is we’re trying to make sustainable, local food as affordable and easy as packaged and processed alternatives,” she told People last year.
As for her own eating habits, Deschanel has been outspoken about her unsuccessful attempts to go vegan in the past. “I have a lot of food sensitivities,” she tells Health. “I can’t eat wheat or soy, and it was very difficult to eat and get enough calories. It was even impossible to eat at a vegan restaurant.”
So she and her family, which includes daughter Elsie, 2, and son Charlie, 1, eat a “flexitarian” diet.
“We’re kind of, like, flexible vegetarians,” she tells LIVESTRONG.COM. “Because if I’m, like, in somewhere, I might have fish. But [the children] don’t really eat any meat. [Elsie] will have a little egg and cheese sometimes. But we’re mostly vegetarian.”
Deschanel also revealed that The Farm Project has been working on Lettuce Grow, a service that provides you with all the equipment and maintenance you need to run an urban farm. “We do these vertical gardens, so you can grow in a very small space,” she says.
So why should we care where our food comes from? Studies have linked pesticides to multiple chronic illnesses, including prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma and breast cancer as well as Parkinson’s disease. What’s more, it’s estimated that Americans lose about 16.9 million IQ points every year due to exposure to organophosphates, the most commonly used pesticide.
Deschanel’s initiative to make local, organic food more accessible is incredibly important, considering that some of LIVESTRONG.COM’s users have mentioned that it can be difficult and costly to find organic options. If you’re on a budget, know that there are certain foods that are more essential to buy organic than others. Find out more by reading our lists of the 21 foods to always buy organic and the 16 foods that are OK to opt for nonorganic.
Has your interest been piqued? If so, watch Deschanel dive into the origins of our food and the potentially harmful processes that go into producing it in her Facebook educational series “Your Food’s Roots with Zooey Deschanel.” And be sure to read up on all the reasons why you should start buying organic!
What Do You Think?
Do you shop organic? How important to you is eating seasonal and local foods? Will you be watching out for more of The Farm Project’s work? Share in the comments section!
This Washington Farmer Wants You To Know Why Your Organic Red Peppers Are So Expensive
This Washington Farmer Wants You To Know Why Your Organic Red Peppers Are So Expensive
Flavor isn't the expensive part. It's the aesthetics that cost you.
May 8th, 2018
by Naomi Tomky
Kole Tonnemaker laughs when I ask him why organic red bell peppers fetch such a premium price. An organic farmer in Royal City, Washington, he raises more than 300 varieties of peppers, along with tree fruit, melons, hay, and a wide variety of other fruits and vegetables (as well as quarter horses). But he’s not surprised I’ve singled this item out. Many customers base their sense of pepper prices on the conventional green pepper, which grocery stores across the country currently sell for $1.31 a pound on average. I’m not the first person to ask Tonnemaker why his organic red peppers cost almost twice as much.
The farm Tonnemaker runs with his wife Sonia was originally a tree fruit orchard, one that had been handed down through the family “for more generations than I know about,” he says. The pair first grew peppers to sell in 1992, after a second straight year of losing their tree fruit to a deep freeze. Disheartened, they realized they needed to diversify, and also to find something that they could plant after the frost and sell that year. Hoping for a bit more control—things out of his control are Tonnemaker’s least favorite part of farming—they settled on peppers. What they didn’t know then was that producing the perfect organic red bell pepper would be an exercise in the pursuit of perfection. And at quite the pretty price.
Producing the perfect organic red bell pepper is an exercise in the pursuit of perfection.
Currently, Tonnemaker sells bell peppers for $2.50 a pound at local farmers’ markets. On the farm, he sells the peppers for just $2 a pound, and sells huge mixed bins to local grocery stores for $1.25 a pound. But his biggest customer is his brother, who buys the peppers for $1 a pound and sells them to restaurants and at other farmers’ markets for $3 a pound. Tonnemaker’s 1.25 acres of bell peppers turn out about 16,000 pounds, total, and in the end, they average $1.27 a pound for the entire lot.
Here’s the first thing to know about pepper economics: Color matters, and red is much more time-intensive than green. That’s because peppers change color as they ripen throughout the summer. “Almost all of your red varieties start out green, then, as they mature, turn red,” Tonnemaker says. Most peppers start out green before reaching the hue—yellow, orange, purple, blue, red—they’ll eventually reach after many months of growing.
All that waiting takes time and money, especially considering that there’s already a strong market for plain old green peppers. “If you have a good, long growing season, if you keep picking the green bell peppers off as they get to size, then the plant will continue to flower and continue to fruit,” he says. Picking peppers early, then, is also a chance to increase yield. A plant that produces 10 green peppers if picked regularly might yield only three or four red ones if fruits are allowed to mature fully.
But even on the shortest growth cycle, pepper plants take a lot of nurturing. Long before they hit grocery stores, menus, or markets, they begin life indoors. “The biggest thing is to get them growing well in the greenhouse,” says Tonnemaker, adding that warmth is a huge factor. The soil should be 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but his central Washington farm doesn’t get anything like that. So, their first challenge is getting enough seeds to germinate.
Peppers spend their first eight weeks in the greenhouse
In a good year, the Tonnemakers get 160 days of growing season on their north-facing slope farm—a bit short, considering that peppers spend their first eight weeks in the greenhouse. Melons need only three weeks in the greenhouse, while tomatoes might only need five. Each pepper plant already costs about 30 or 40 cents by the time it moves from greenhouse to ground.
Tonnemaker estimates that each year, he spends about $1,875 on fertilizer, prepping the land and applying plastic mulch, then another $2,850 on mechanical tilling and hand-weeding the one-and-a-quarter acres of pepper plants they grow. (One-third of their pepper land is left to fallow or cover-cropped each year.) They also spend about $2,800 on land payments, water assessment, property taxes, and equipment payments, including depreciation.
The plants are usually transferred to the fields in early May, but if spring stays cool, they might not really grow until as late as the end of June. “Peppers seem to tolerate [cool temperatures] pretty well, but they don’t grow,” Tonnemaker says. “But everything else does, like the weeds.”
Peppers are what Tonnemaker calls a “noncompetitive plant,” meaning that in normal years he might have to weed by hand three or four times before the peppers really take off and fend for themselves among the weeds—compared to just once with a tomato. “If we start having any sort of a rain, then we get a flush of weed growth and we’ve got to be right there with [the weeding].”
Farmers lose at least 50 to 60 percent of the first August red bell peppers to sunburn.
The Tonnemakers plant in plastic mulch, so there’s just a little opening around the pepper plant. Hand-weeding is essential for making sure nothing comes up around that plant. While they mechanically cultivate between the rows of peppers, which takes care of 90 to 95 percent of the weeds, the small space around the plant remains key for weeding. Some years that’s easier than others. In a cold, wet spring, the weeds go crazy. During a dry, warmer spring, the pepper plant becomes competitive more quickly. Still, until it gets really warm, almost everything else grows better than peppers.
“Thinking about all that makes one want to quit farming.”
But with warmth comes sunshine, which poses a new danger: sunburn. Conventional growers simply pile on fertilizer, which encourages leaf growth and protects the plants. But organic plants often don’t have the same vigor. Tonnemaker estimates he loses at least 50 to 60 percent of the first August red bell peppers to sunburn. The plants do better later in the year, with the best crop coming in early September, if they can survive that long..
Picking generally begins in mid-August. Once the harvest starts, pickers walk the entire field each week, maybe more often, selecting just the biggest and best-colored peppers. The harvesting costs of bell peppers work out to about 35 cents a pound. The season lasts until around the end of September or early October, and those last peppers aren’t dregs, says Tonnemaker: “That’s when the sun isn’t as intense, but the ground is still warm and the days are still warm.” For his farm, the premium harvest time for red bell peppers is in those final days before the killing frost—which could be a short window with little notice before closing.
Since they’ve outsourced the marketing to Tonnemaker’s brother’s company and eliminated the need for boxing (they sell by the bin to groceries and at markets), picking cost has gone down to just 35 cents a pound, even though they’ve starting having to pay pickers more. “With the escalating minimum wage in Washington, we cannot afford to hire inexperienced students on summer break as in years past,” he says. Instead he focuses on bringing in the most experienced, productive pickers—mostly family with a little help on weekends. Recently, they added a raised bed mulch layer, lifting the plants about 9 inches, which reduced labor costs by lessening how much workers need to stoop when they plant, weed, and pick, and making the work easier on family members who’ve been doing it for more than three decades. However, it increased other costs with the necessary equipment and modifications to old tools.
But even more than the long growing time, the short harvest season, the constant weeding, and the sunburn, Tonnemaker gets worked up when he talks about the price of seeds for his organic red bell peppers. The heirloom seeds he prefers are only about 5 cents each, but high-coloring, high-yielding hybrids can cost as much as 20 cents per seed. Looking back over the costs he’s provided me, Tonnemaker later emails that “thinking about all that makes one want to quit farming.”
Our drive to have access to the perfect size and shape and color just adds a huge amount of expense for the grower.
For most of the several hundred varieties of peppers they grown on the farm, looks don’t necessarily matter much. “You want it to be a good size, and you want it to look appealing, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be something exact,” Tonnemaker says. Some heirloom peppers are just really small. “They have beautiful color and they taste fine, but they’re just not these great big, beautiful, candy-apple red peppers.”
But red bell peppers are another story: the size, shape, and color must be exact. Growing to meet the public’s high standards of cosmetic appeal piles on the expense, driving up the price for hybrid seeds designed to meet them. On the plus side, it reduces waste, but Tonnemaker mourns the varieties he’s watched disappear over the last 20 years. “If we want to keep growing them, we’re out of luck. They’ve been replaced by the newer and redder.”
And that, concludes Tonnemaker, is the real issue: Our drive to have access to the perfect size and shape and color just adds a huge amount of expense for the grower. Prices in the world of red bell peppers aren’t driven by flavor, but by cosmetic appeal. They cost so much not because that’s what it takes to produce peppers that are good enough to eat, but because that’s the price of producing peppers that look good enough to buy.