In case you missed it, over the last couple of months, there’s been a lot of talk about hydroponic operations perhaps using herbicides just before organic certification, which opened a can of worms in which it seems that container production wasn’t being held to the three years of no synthetic chemicals rule that in-ground production is required to have before harvest. It didn’t go over well. Note I’m using the words “perhaps” and “seems” on purpose here. While the talk has been big, and many questions were being asked, the official stance from the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) has been unclear and official facts have been scarce. 

That is, until June 3, when Jennifer Tucker, deputy administrator of the NOP released a memo stating that any container production (including hydroponic) must meet the same three-year transition period requirements that “any field or farm parcel from which harvested crops are intended to be sold, labeled or represented as “organic,” must .... have had no prohibited substances, as listed in §205.105, applied to it for a period of three years immediately preceding harvest of the crop.”

The memo states, “This means that certifiers are to assess land use histories for container system sites, just as they would for an in-ground soil-based system. If a prohibited substance was applied to the land at the farm or site within the three-year period before the first organic harvest, then the harvested crops shall not be sold, labeled or represented as “organic” until the three-year period has passed. If the operation documents that no prohibited substance was applied within that three-year period, then the land may be eligible for container system production, just as it would be for a soil-based system.”

But, existing organic operations are grandfathered in. The memo concludes by saying that the memo only applies to all new container systems that haven’t yet been certified. “It is not retroactive to already certified operations and sites. All currently certified container system operations retain their certification as long as they maintain compliance with the regulations.”

Such a caveat, of course, leads one to assume that container systems were being certified in a different way, and that herbicide applications were being allowed just prior to certification.

You can read the full memo HERE. 
 

Each year, I’ve shared the rankings of the Strolling of the Heifers Locavore Index, which ranks the top states producing local food and the top consumers of that food. This year’s ranking has some big changes, but that’s mainly because they have new data from the Census of Agriculture. This time around, they could actually place a dollar value on the value of local food produced and sold, rather than just drawing assumptions based on farmers markets and CSAs.  That made a big difference for states such as California, which jumped from 27th to 2nd.

So, (drumroll) …

2019 Locavore Index Top 10
1. Vermont
2. California
3. Hawaii
4. Washington
5. Maine
6. Oregon
7. Idaho
8. New Mexico
9. Wyoming
10. Arizona

Dark green indicates the strongest committment, and dark brown the least. 

It’s clear that locavorism is growing. The value of food sold via farmers markets, CSAs, farmstands and online more than doubled from 2012 to 2017. While the 2012 census didn’t assess the food sold to local retailers, in 2017, it represented $9.04 billion in sales.

You can take a look at the full index HERE. Just as interesting as the top locavores are the states that didn’t perform so hot (looking at you, Alabama). But, I’ll also point out, this doesn’t take into account home gardens or community gardens, which are as local as it gets. Here’s hoping that if they aren’t buying local tomatoes, they’re growing ’em.  

California State University, Chico is looking to make a name for itself by combining sustainability with agriculture education. They just established the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems, which will be led by Cindy Daley. It’s an interdisciplinary partnership supported by the College of Agriculture, College of Natural Sciences, and College of Communication and Education. Through it, the University will be offering degree programs in the field of regenerative science and agriculture and investing in research at the University Farm, as well as providing continuing education for the agriculture community.  

Your next free GrowerTalks webinar is Thursday, June 20 at 1 p.m. Eastern/Noon Central. It will be all about the hows and whys of using HydraFiber in Ellepots for your propagation. HydraFiber, as you may know, is a wood-fiber substrate produced in North Carolina from southern yellow pine.

In Ellepots + HydraFiber = Young Plant Success, Dr. Bill Argo will share his research on wood fiber substrates and offer basic guidelines for growing in the Ellepot system. Bill has worked for The Blackmore Company since 1986, providing technical services on nutritional problems in plug, liner and greenhouse production around North America, and has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific and technical publications on these and other subjects. He has done extensive research in pH and nutritional management of container-grown crops.

Bill will be assisted by Daniel Norden, Senior R&D Manager and Technical Specialist Manager for Profile Products’ horticulture business, to share findings from university and grower trials where HydraFiber Advanced Substrate has been one of the substrate components. HydraFiber has been used successfully in vegetative liner production, as well as bedding plants, poinsettias, direct-stick production, shrubs and perennials.

This is the second in a multi-part series of webinars sponsored by HydraFiber, featuring independent research and trials by academics and growing experts, focused on helping growers build an efficient and effective media program.

Sign up now at www.growertalks.com/webinars.

Catch up on part one of the series HERE.

There are acres of weeds here on our high-elevation hillside in Montana; I’ve been pulling houndstongue and other invasives at a frantic pace and trying to come up with a good mowing/burning plan with the extension agent. Between that, building a fence for the new puppy, and dealing with the basics of landscaping a new yard, I knew there was no way we were going to get a vegetable garden prepared and deer-fenced this spring. So, with a tinge of guilt, I potted up a small patio garden on our balcony. City gardening in the mountains.

That guilt turned into giddy luck last weekend. With snow in the forecast, we pulled every container inside on Friday night. We woke up to 3 in. of snow, and it continued to snow all day, with two more nights of frost. Montana, 6,000 ft, June 8. We’re redefining a short growing season this year. Is there a greenhouse in my future?