USDA Blog

This is the sixth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is made up of dedicated public volunteers appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. It advises the National Organic Program (NOP), a...

This is the seventh installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. Annual organic certification fees allow certifiers to carry out their responsibilities. These fees vary according to an operation’s size and other variables. In light of that...

This is the second installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. Organic standards are designed to allow natural substances in organic farming while prohibiting synthetic substances. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances—a...

This is the twenty-second installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations . The fall harvest is in, and organic farmers are already looking forward to planting their spring seedlings. Organic farmers rely on organic seeds to meet the growing...

From Shayla Bailey, USDA: This is the twentieth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations . To mark the 20 th milestone, USDA invited Dr. Jean Richardson, Chair of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), to be a guest author. The NOSB...

This is the tenth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. In late 2012, the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) announced a strengthened residue testing program to help increase consumer confidence in the $32 billion organic industry...

This is the eighteenth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. Consumer demand for organic products continues to grow across the country, representing a $35 billion dollar industry in 2013. To meet this demand, USDA has initiated a...

This is the first in series of Organic 101 pieces that will explore the different rules within the USDA organic regulations. When it comes to organic foods, it’s just as important to know what isn’t allowed as what is. The organic standards are process-based, meaning they establish the rules for an...

This is the fourth installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. When the National Organic Program (NOP) declared in late 2009 that it was the beginning of the “age of enforcement,” it renewed its mission to protect the integrity of the USDA...

This is the eleventh installment of the Organic 101 series that explores different aspects of the USDA organic regulations. Last week the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) published the 2012 list of certified organic operations. Our online database now provides information on 17,750 certified USDA...