During this week’s meeting in Florida, the National Organic Standards Board had a packed agenda, but the hydroponic proposal garnered the most attention. The board, which votes on nonbinding recommendations for the USDA to consider, has grappled with this topic for several years. Attempts to vote on it last November and this April were postponed as board members sought additional information. A public phone discussion in August revealed minimal consensus on the matter. The regulations regarding the certification of hydroponic crops as organic remain 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 permitted over 100 domestic and foreign growers to obtain certification.
Before this week’s meeting, the only somewhat definitive stance on hydroponic crops was taken 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 have strong opinions on this issue. 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 contends that permitting hydroponic cultivation “does not comply with the spirit and letter of the law,” criticizing container growth—a compromise allowing some liquid feeding and a substrate like compost—as “a recipe for widespread cheating.” During this week’s meeting, board members also rejected a motion to limit organic container production to 20% liquid feeding and 50% substrate, by a narrow margin of 7-8.
The petition emphasizes that “current federal regulations require careful stewardship of the soil as a prerequisite for organic certification.” It states, “The motto for pioneering organic farmers, and those who genuinely uphold the spirit of organics, is: feed the soil, not the plant. Nutritionally superior food and enhanced flavor necessitate careful management of a diverse and healthy soil microbiome.” Traditionally, the Organic Trade Association has not supported hydroponics; however, it recently revised its definition of hydroponically grown crops to include anything in a container that receives more than 20% of its nitrogen through liquid and over 50% of its nitrogen requirements added after planting. According to position papers and a spokesperson, the Organic Trade Association did not back 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, Plenty representatives highlighted the ongoing increase in demand for organic food and farming. They view hydroponic crops as a means to align domestic organic growth with future needs. “We must leverage all available solutions to meet rising demand while remaining true to our identity as organic producers,” Plenty’s statement asserts. “We also need to embrace U.S. innovation to maintain our leadership in the industry and develop solutions that will ultimately feed the world. For instance, Plenty’s organic growing system yields up to 350 times that of traditional systems and can be situated near consumers, irrespective of climate, geography, or economic status. We can deploy an organic field-scale farm within months, enabling us to scale U.S. organic production capacity rapidly enough to meet increasing demand.”
Despite the votes cast, the issue of hydroponics in organic agriculture remains unresolved. The NOSB lacks independent policymaking authority and will present its recommendations to the USDA, which can amend organic program policy. However, these votes are likely to influence the next steps. Most do not indicate a shift in the status quo, suggesting that no new government regulations will be necessary. Given the Trump administration’s aversion to regulations, implementing these recommendations should be relatively straightforward. Furthermore, as discussions around health supplements like calcium citrate or calcium carbonate for osteoporosis continue, there is an increasing need for clarity and consistency in organic certification that accommodates innovations in farming practices, including hydroponics.