The National Organic Standards Board voted last Wednesday to reject proposals prohibiting hydroponic and aquaponic production methods from being certified USDA organic. This decision followed intense lobbying efforts by groups in the organic community to urge the Board to vote to restrict certification to soil-based systems.
The 15-person Board voted eight to seven to reject the proposal. There are approximately 100 certified organic hydroponic operations in the United States.
Dixon agrees, noting that hydroponic systems do not cycle nutrients back into the soil to build soil health, an important tenant of organic.
Those in favor of certified organic hydroponics, however, argue that these techniques can be quite sustainable and energy-efficient. Hydroponic systems are also generally devoid of pesticides, even those permitted by the organic label, due to their indoor nature.
In 2010, the Board recommended against permitting soilless systems to be certified organic, but the USDA elected not to follow the recommendation at the time.
Dixon hopes that the USDA will put “rigorous” standards into place for container farming, though she notes that outgoing Board member Francis Thicke attempted to present a plan for such standards at the meeting, recommending the adoption of a rule requiring container growers to use compost.
“It was clear that nobody on the hydroponic side was going to be okay with it,” says Dixon.
The NOSB did vote to ban aeroponics from being certified organic; there are currently no certified organic aeroponic operations in the U.S., though several firms were researching the technology for organic production before the vote.
Note: A previous version of this article indicated that Driscoll&apos;s was a hydroponic grower. Driscoll&apos;s does not grow hydroponically but rather in containers. The article has been modified to reflect this.