Hydroponic task force sends organic issue to NOSB

Hydroponic growing systems that do not use soil should nonetheless be considered for organic certification if they can achieve “equivalent soil functions,” a new report prepared for USDA's National Organic Standards Board recommends. The Hydroponic and Aquaponic Task Force report, which will now be reviewed by NOSB, did not provide a unanimous endorsement for organic certification of hydroponics. The task force members appeared to be split between recommending expansion of the organic industry to include hydroponics or urging NOSB to retain the program's longtime emphasis on soil ecology. However, a subcommittee of the task force that focused on the new growing systems said flatly: “It is critically important to consider hydroponic and aquaponic production systems as eligible for organic certification, because these practices conserve incredible amounts of water, dramatically reduce food safety risks and pose very low environmental impacts - while at the same time holding soil-plant biology and the use of the same animal/plant-based inputs, as soil-field farmers, at the core of their practice.”