27
Sep
The Growth of Organic Production and Supply Chains Emphasizes Importance to the Public
(Beyond Pesticides, September 27, 2024) A recent article in Flatwater Free Press identifies a growing trend of companies, communities, and farms nationwide advancing organic agriculture and land management. Among the signs of this change is Belltown Farms, a Philadelphia, PA owner and operator of organic and organic-transitioning farms, that, according to Flatwater, is “the second-largest buyer of Nebraska’s increasingly expensive farmland by money spent between 2018 and 2022â€Â with plans to expand to 50,000+ acres in various states across the country. Similarly, the continued success of the Nebraska-based, on-farm processing operation, Grain Place Foods, and its collaboration with farmers focused on small-scale organic production, represents the diversity of economic and organizational models that can exist in local, regional, national, and even international food systems.
This National Organic Month, organic advocates, consumers, and farmers continue to call on federal policymakers to expand opportunities for the proliferation of small-scale farming operations. In advancing growth of organic and integrity of the organic food label, organic advocates are seeking to ensure equity and access to land as integral to any growth. In this context, Beyond Pesticides had identified the promise of organic in fighting existential health, biodiversity, and climate crises and ongoing threats to the system’s integrity, some of which are addressed in the current public comment period (ending September 30, 2024) on issues before the National Organic Standards Board (see more). Issues of critical concern, for example, include the continued allowance of organic-labeled hydroponics (without label disclosure of soil-less production practices), and the use of feedstocks or “compostable materials†that contain synthetic materials not subject to review required for the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.
Nebraska
The leadership of Belltown Farms and Grain Place in Nebraska represents what may become the new normal in agricultural communities across the nation.
Belltown Farms is a Philadelphia-based farming company that owns over 28,000 acres of farmland separated into several thousand acres per hub with hubs based in Nebraska, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. All of these farming operations are either certified organic or in the process of going organic, dispelling the myth that organic is not economically viable and that you cannot grow commodity crops such as corn, soybeans, and grains at scale. According to its website, “Belltown regenerative farming provides an opportunity to have a positive impact on soil health, biodiversity, carbon emissions, and local communities. And, at the same time, supply high-quality ingredients to the expanding organic industry. Belltown builds partnerships with leaders in the American food and beverage industry to provide consistent organic supply chains.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic Integrity Database (the one-stop location to verify organic certification for U.S.-certified producers, operators, and handlers), approximately 16,612.98 acres of the 19,000 acres in their Nebraska portfolio are certified organic based on third-party certification.
The development of organic certified farmland in a state like Nebraska, which contains just 113,000 total certified acres as of the latest USDA organic survey in 2021, is a significant move given that other bidders for this land “were already of significant size and looking to expand†their own operations, based on reporting by Flatwater Free Press. Belltown Farms was drawn to purchase farmland in Nebraska given expensive farmland prices and stricter water rights in neighboring states, says Brian Halweil, Head of Impact and Sales at the organic agribusiness.
David Vetter, founder of Grain Food Places and Grain Place Foundation, welcomes Belltown Farms and their capabilities to expand the total acreage of organic farmland given his decades of experience in the organic community. The Organic Center interviewed David Vetter and Jane Coghlan, a recently appointed board member at The Grain Place Foundation, on the significance of intergenerational action to expand organic agriculture and food systems within and outside of Nebraska.
“The Grain Place farm has been certified organic since 1978. The farm produces organic heirloom barley, soybeans, corn, popcorn and grass-finished beef in a nine-year rotation. In 1987, the family operation took the next step of establishing Grain Place Foods to process its own grains into value-added products onsite,†based on the interview from The Organic Center. “Today, Grain Place Foods employs more than two dozen people, several of whom have worked there for over 15 years. Grain Place Foods also sources organic grain to supplement what is grown on the Vetter farm because the family business has expanded so much. It purchases organic grains from over 100 organic farm families, including more than four dozen neighboring Nebraskan farms.â€
Wegmans
Even household-name grocery conglomerates such as Wegmans are attempting to enter the organic space, albeit in a less systemic approach. In an interview led by Progressive Grocer, editor-in-chief Gina Acosta toured Wegmans Organic Farm in upstate New York to witness what she and the company acknowledge as an incubator for offering organic food options across all 111 stores located in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The goal of this farm is not to produce for all farms across Wegmans’s supply chain, but to trial various organic crops and then partner with their nearly two dozen partner farmers (who are certified organic) to then offer organic produce across their stores.
According to Wegmans’ Organic Farm website, the Organic Farm & Orchard has grown over 100 organic crops since 2007. Wegmans Sustainability Pillars (which include “more sustainable growingâ€) and an interview with their organic farming team showcase growth of organic wheatgrass, pea shoots, and cat grass in a controlled environmental agriculture building (which can include aquaponics and hydroponics). While larger retail chain engagement with certified organic farmers to improve consumer access to fresh, organic produce makes a significant contribution to organic, it demonstrates how strengthening and improving the definition of “organic†is important to ensure consumer trust in the USDA organic label and the value of organic as a public good.
Importance of Organic in Soil
Organic advocates seek to maintain the values, principles, and standards that are integral to the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). A foundational element of the law is the building of soil health. This principle motivates organic advocates to reject hydroponics as an organic form of agriculture, even though it may have a place in nonorganic agriculture. OFPA, at 6513(b), requires that all organic crop production operations submit and follow organic plans that “shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring.†The same section of OFPA goes on to state, “An organic plan shall not include any production or handling practices that are inconsistent with this chapter.†See Daily News, USDA Supports Expansion of “Organic†Hydroponically-Grown Food, Threatening Real Organic, for further context on why indoor agriculture such as hydroponics or aquaculture goes against the original intent of organic for soil health.
Keeping Organic Strong
OFPA establishes a level of public involvement that surpasses other laws regarding agriculture, public health, and the environment through the creation of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), a 15-member stakeholder board representing environmentalists, consumers, farmers, certifiers, retailers, and scientists with governing authority. With this structure, the board receives public input on standards and allowed substances twice a year, as part of a commitment to continuous improvement. The law established a sunset process for any allowed synthetic so that the board could continually evaluate the science and encourage the development of natural alternatives. See Daily News here for further context on ensuring organic integrity and the legacy of attacks on true organic principles of environmental justice, soil health, public health, and climate action.
There have also been proposed rules to improve the viability of a continuously growing industry, including the proposal of new regulations to clarify allowable materials, practices, and subsequent regulations for organic mushrooms and pet food products. See the Daily News here for more information.
This National Organic Month, organic advocates, farmers, and the broader community are interested in maintaining and expanding organic integrity and using the authority Congress gave to the NOSB to establish the National List and guide USDA organic programs.
See Keeping Organic Strong to learn how to engage in this public input process. See the latest Action of the Week, Last Chance This Fall to Tell the NOSB to Uphold Integrity, to submit your comments to the NOSB before the deadline on September 30 at 11:59 PM EDT.
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
Sources: Flatwater Free Press, The Organic Center, Progressive Grocer
