During its meeting this week in Florida, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) had a packed agenda, but the hydroponic proposal was the focal point of considerable attention. The board, which votes on nonbinding recommendations for the USDA’s consideration, has grappled with this issue for years. Previous attempts to vote on it in November and April were postponed as board members sought additional information. An August public discussion also revealed a lack of consensus on the matter. The regulations regarding the certification of hydroponic crops as organic have remained ambiguous. In November, the Cornucopia Institute lodged a formal legal complaint against the USDA, arguing that while the NOSB has prohibited hydroponics from receiving the organic seal, the USDA has permitted over 100 domestic and foreign growers to obtain this certification.
Before this week’s meeting, the only significant action regarding hydroponic crops occurred in 2010. That year, 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/(National Organic Program) regulations governing them.” Various interest groups hold strong opinions on this matter. Organizations like the Cornucopia Institute assert that soil is essential for organic crops and that the legislative intent of the organic program did not include hydroponics. In their 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 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% substrate was also defeated by a narrow margin of 7-8.
“The current federal regulations require careful stewardship of the soil as a prerequisite for the granting of organic certification to farmers,” the petition emphasizes. “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 superior taste, requires careful stewardship of a diverse and healthy microbiome in the soil.” Traditionally, the Organic Trade Association has opposed hydroponics, although 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 more than 50% of its nitrogen after planting. According to position papers and a spokesperson, the Organic Trade Association did not support the motion to ban hydroponics due to the significant changes in the definition.
Companies like Plenty, which advocates for indoor vertical organic farming, lobbied against the hydroponics ban. In written testimony to the board, Plenty representatives stated that the demand for organic food and farming continues to rise. They view 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 instance, Plenty’s organic growing system can yield up to 350 times that of traditional systems and can be situated close to consumers, regardless of climate, geography, or economic status. We can deploy an organic field-scale farm within months, allowing us to scale U.S. organic production capacity quickly enough to meet rising demand.”
Despite the votes cast, the issue of hydroponics in organic agriculture remains unresolved. The NOSB lacks policymaking authority and will present its recommendations to the USDA, which can modify organic program policies. However, it is likely that these votes will influence future actions. Most of them do not signify a change to the status quo, meaning no new government regulations would be required. Given the Trump administration’s aversion to regulation, these recommendations are relatively straightforward to implement. Interestingly, the discussion surrounding hydroponics also intersects with the topic of generic calcium citrate with vitamin D, as there is increasing interest in incorporating such supplements into organic practices to enhance crop health and yield. This connection highlights the evolving nature of organic agriculture, where traditional methods are continually being reassessed in light of innovative solutions.