Farm Management Update

Quarterly Publication of Ohio State University Extension

Spring 2003

The National Organic Program: Implications for Ohio Producers

Marvin T. Batte and Neal H. Hooker

The U.S. market for organic food is expanding rapidly, growing at a rate of 20 percent or more annually since 1990. However, we have just entered a new era in organic marketing following the final implementation of National Organic Program (NOP) on October 21, 2002. Previously, consumers were confronted with a diverse array of organic standards at the state, retailer, or product levels, making it difficult to consistently and reliably compare one organic product to another. In an effort to resolve this confusion, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has formalized what it means to be organic, with products that meet the standard able to use the new NOP seal.

To be able to use the term organic, the crop must come from a farm that is certified by a state or private agency accredited by USDA. The product may not be genetically modified, sewage sludge cannot be used as a nutrient source, hormones or antibiotics cannot be used on livestock, and irradiation may not be applied as a processing intervention. Small operations (selling less than $5,000 of organic products annually) are exempted from certification but must still meet the other elements of the NOP. Organic farming may be particularly suited for highly populated areas, where consumers increasingly are willing to pay for organic foods, where farmland competes with development pressures, and where citizens raise social and environmental objections to conventional industrialized agriculture. Research is planned at Ohio State University to consider the impact of the NOP on both producers and consumers of organic food products.