certain organic producers for implementing conservation practices. Controversy Certain types of agricultural systems have generated disagreement about whether they can be included in the certification. One of these systems is hydroponics, which do not rely on soil for production. In the regulatory process, hydroponics has been subdivided into the following operations: Hydroponics, growing plants in a water and nutrient solution usually in a substrate such as coconut coir Aquaponics, which combines aquaculture, raising aquatic animals, and traditional hydroponics Aeroponics, which mist or spray the roots of the plants with water that contains water soluble nutrients. The topic first came up at a meeting of the NOSB in April, 1995, which briefly stated that "Hydroponic production in soilless media to be labeled organically produced shall be allowed, if all provisions of the OFPA have been met." The NOSB has made several proposals and recommendations since then but no action was taken until the fall 2017 NOSB meeting. At that meeting, the NOSB was only able to pass a motion to prohibit aeroponic systems in organic production. In 2018, the USDA issued a clarifying statement that the "certification of hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic operations is allowed under the USDA organic regulations" and would consider the NOSB recommendation on aeroponics. in 2019, the Center for Food Safety filed a formal petition to prohibit hydroponics, primarily due to the lack of compliance with soil requirements, which was denied. This was followed by a lawsuit in 2020, which the United States District Court for the Northern District ruled against in March 2021. See also Organic certification List of organic food topics References External links National Organic Program at USDA.gov Organic farming in the United States United States Department of Agriculture programs Agriculture in the United States Food safety Livestock 1990 introductions 2009 introductions 2012 introductions 2014 introductions