During this week’s meeting in Florida, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) had a packed agenda, but the hydroponic proposal garnered significant attention. The board, which votes on nonbinding recommendations that the USDA considers, has faced challenges with this issue for years. Previous attempts to vote on it last November and this April were postponed as board members sought additional information. An August public telephone discussion revealed a lack of consensus on the topic. The regulations regarding the certification of hydroponic crops as organic have remained ambiguous. Last November, the Cornucopia Institute filed a formal legal complaint against the USDA, asserting that while the NOSB has prohibited hydroponics from receiving the organic seal, the USDA has allowed over 100 domestic and foreign growers to obtain certification.
Before this week’s meeting, the most definitive action regarding hydroponic crops occurred in 2010, when the NOSB recommended that “Hydroponics…certainly cannot be classified as certified organic growing methods due to their exclusion of the soil-plant ecology intrinsic to organic farming systems and USDA regulations governing them.” Various interest groups hold strong opinions on this matter. Organizations like the Cornucopia Institute argue that soil is essential for organic crops, and that the legislative intent of the organic program did not encompass hydroponics. In a petition to the NOSB, Cornucopia stated that allowing hydroponic cultivation “does not comply with the spirit and letter of the law,” criticizing container growth, which permits some liquid feeding and a substrate like compost, as “a recipe for widespread cheating.” During this week’s meeting, a motion to limit organic container production to 20% liquid feeding and 50% in the container also failed by a narrow margin of 7-8.
The petition emphasizes, “The current federal regulations require careful stewardship of the soil as a prerequisite for granting organic certification to farmers.” It continues, “The mantra for pioneering organic farmers, and those who truly uphold the spirit of organics, is: feed the soil, not the plant. Nutritionally superior food and exceptional taste depend on the careful stewardship of a diverse and healthy microbiome in the soil.”
The Organic Trade Association has historically opposed hydroponics, although they recently acknowledged a shift in the NOSB’s definition of hydroponically grown crops: Anything in a container receiving over 20% of its nitrogen through liquid and more than 50% requiring differentiation added after the crop is planted. According to their position papers and representatives, the Organic Trade Association did not support the motion to ban hydroponics due to this significant change in definition. Companies like Plenty, which advocates for indoor vertical organic farming, lobbied against the hydroponic ban. In written testimony to the board, Plenty stated that the demand for organic food and farming continues to rise, viewing hydroponic crops as a means to adapt domestic organic growth for the future.
“We must take advantage of all available solutions to meet growing demand while staying true to our identity as organic producers,” Plenty’s statement asserts. “We also must embrace U.S. innovation to maintain our leadership in the industry and foster the solutions that will ultimately feed the world. For example, Plenty’s organic growing system yields up to 350 times that of traditional systems and can be located close to consumers, regardless of climate, geography, or economic status. We’re able to deploy an organic field-scale farm within months, enabling us to scale U.S. organic production capacity swiftly to meet growing demand.”
Even though votes have been cast, the issue of hydroponics in organic agriculture remains unresolved. The NOSB lacks policymaking authority and will present its recommendations to the USDA, which has the power to alter organic program policy. However, it is likely that these votes will influence future actions. Most of these do not signify a change in the status quo, suggesting that no new government regulations will be necessary. Given the Trump administration’s aversion to regulations, implementing these recommendations could be relatively straightforward.
Additionally, the growing interest in integrating supplements such as calcium magnesium citrate with vitamin D into organic practices highlights the evolving landscape of organic agriculture, emphasizing the need for clarity and adaptation to meet both consumer demands and regulatory standards. The discussion around hydroponics and organic certification is not merely about farming techniques; it also encompasses broader themes of sustainability, innovation, and the future of food production.