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Does OMRI restrict compost tea products?
By Annie Amos
Compost tea is made by steeping compost in water. Typically, manufacturers aerate the tea during the steeping process, and then filter it to get a liquid product that will not clog irrigation or spray lines. Manufacturers may add other ingredients such as molasses or yeast to increase microbial growth. Crop producers use compost tea for a variety of purposes, including plant disease control and soil fertility. Because it is a liquid, the microbial biomass, fine...
This article describing our policy position on Corn Steep Liquor (CSL) was reposted to our website on January 13, 2011, after originally appearing in our spring 2010 OMRI Materials Review newsletter. Subsequent to reposting, the NOSB met again in April 2011 to further discuss CSL. While our position did not substantively change following the April 2011 NOSB meeting, we are amending the article to include additional details that resulted from the discussion.
This article describes OMRI’s position regarding CSL,...
What alternatives to antibiotics exist for the control of fire blight on fruits such as apple and pear in organic production?
By Amber Lippert
If you grow pome fruits (such as apple, pear, and quince), chances are you know about fire blight. This destructive disease is caused by a bacterium, Erwinia amylovora, which forms cankers that can kill branches and tree trunks. Bacterial “ooze” infects flower blossoms and new shoots, and subsequently spreads into woody tissues. The bacteria can also be spread by...
Is charcoal allowed as a soil amendment in organic farming?
The answer depends on how the charcoal is made. If the charcoal is produced by burning untreated plants or animals, then the charcoal would be permitted as a soil amendment on organic farms. Guidance NOP 5034-1, Materials for Organic Crop Production lists biochar as an allowed nonsynthetic substance. Charcoal produced by burning manure, sewage sludge or fossil fuel sources, such as coal, is prohibited.
...What extraction processes and carriers are prohibited and allowed for use in flavors used in organic processing?
Organic standards have additional requirements for flavors beyond what are considered natural flavors used in conventional foods. To begin with, some ingredients that are identified as “natural flavors” are in fact “nature identical” substances that are synthetic, such as ethyl citrate. These are not the same as true nonsynthetic flavors.
Natural flavors may contain synthetic solvents, carriers and...
Are genetically modified substrates or growth media permitted in organic production under the Canadian organic standards?
By Shannon McCormick
Genetically modified substrate or growth media are allowed in Canadian organic production only if the material is removed first from the permitted substance, and if a non-genetically modified alternative is not commercially available. (Consumption, and physical methods such as filtration or centrifugation, are examples of generally accepted events which separate or...
What is insect frass and how does OMRI review it?
By Tara Sistrunk
Insect frass is debris or excrement from larvae and mature insects. Similar to the production of worm castings, frass is produced by introducing larvae or mature insects to feedstocks such as food scraps or grains, and then allowing them to grow. Larvae or mature insects are then separated from their excrement, which is...
What is EDDI, and why is it used? Can it be used as a feed additive for organic cows?
EDDI stands for ethylenediamine dihydriodide, a synthetic feed additive. EDDI is also used for therapeutic purposes and administered subtherapeutically for the claimed prevention of certain diseases. Because it is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) in small doses by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and because the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) refers to EDDI as an nutritional source of iodine, OMRI recognizes...
By Tina Jensen Augustine
The use of internal parasiticides in organic livestock production is permitted under the livestock health care practice standard at §205.238 for emergency situations when preventative practices and veterinary biologics have failed to control a parasitic infection. There are two synthetic parasiticides permitted on the National List at §205.603(a): fenbendazole and...
What is sugar (beet) lime, how is it made, and why is it prohibited for use in USDA organic crop production?
Beet sugar refineries typically operate on-site limekilns that burn limestone to produce calcium oxide—also known as burned lime or quick lime. In addition to calcium oxide, carbon dioxide is also produced. Both calcium oxide and carbon dioxide are used in sugar refining processes, and the chemical reaction can be written as follows:
CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2
Cane sugar refining...
