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Organic farming is agriculture that makes healthy food, healthy soils, healthy plants, and healthy environments a priority, along with crop productivity. Organic farmers use biological fertilizer inputs and management practices such as cover cropping and crop rotation to improve soil quality and build organic soil matter. By increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil, organic farmers enhance the soil’s ability to absorb water, reducing the impacts of drought and flooding. Improving soil organic matter also helps it to absorb and store carbon and other nutrients need to grow healthy crops, which, in turn, are better able to resist insects and diseases.

Organic production systems do not use genetically modified (GM) seed, synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Some of the essential characteristics of organic systems include design and implementation of an organic system plan that describes the practices used in producing crops and livestock products; a detailed recordkeeping system that tracks all products from the field to point of sale; and maintenance of buffer zones to prevent inadvertent contamination by synthetic farm chemicals from adjacent conventional fields.

The National Organic Program (NOP) develops the rules and regulations for the production, handling, labeling, and enforcement of all USDA organic products. This process, referred to as rulemaking, involves input from the National Organic Standards Board (a Federal Advisory Committee made up of fifteen members of the public) and the public.

The national standard states that organic food must be produced without the use of conventional pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, sewage-sludge-based fertilizers, herbicides, genetic enginerring (biotechnology), antibiotics, growth hormones, or irradiation. Animals raised on an organic operation must meet animal health welfare standards, not be fed antibiotics or growth hormones, be fed 100% organic feed, and must be provided access to the outdoors.* Land must have no prohibited substances applied to it for at least three years before the harvest of an organic crop. The NOP states that all farms, ranches, and handling operations that display the “USDA Organic” seal must be certified organic by the state or by a private agency, accredited by the USDA, to ensure the NOP standards are followed.

To gain organic certification, a farmer (of cropland, pasture or livestock) submits an organic system plan to an accredited certifier each year. This documents how the farmer adheres to NOP standards. Certified organic farms and processing facilities undergo annual inspections to verify that they are meeting the standards. Organic inspectors examine all elements of a farm operation for adherence to the standards and verfiy that the farm is being managed according to the farmer’s organic system plan.

Public funding such as USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and private funding from organizations such as OFRF, is critical to training the next generation of scientists and developing new talent. Research delivers valuable information, tools, and resources that help all farmers—both organic and non-organic—increase the environmental and economic sustainability of their operations. The continued growth of organic agriculture requires investment in research, education, and extension programs that provide sound information and assistance to America’s farmers. The results from OFRF’s evaluation of USDA research and 2016 National Organic Research Agenda provide a thorough analysis of organic research to date and current priorities for research based on a national survey of organic farmers.