Tell USDA to Support Stronger Conservation of Biodiversity in Organic Agriculture!

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Help us make sure the National Organic Program gets its biodiversity conservation guidance right! Currently, there is a loophole for allowing thousands of acres of native prairie, old growth forest or other natural ecosystems to be converted to agriculture and organically certified the next day. Worse - the NOP unintentionally incentivizes this practice by requiring lands to be free from pesticides for three years. NOP’s three-year waiting period for transitioning to organic production serves a critical purpose and it should be retained. But land that has not been plowed or previously planted is an easy target for those looking to quickly overcome NOP’s three-year waiting period, and that needs to change.

Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) is excited to announce some great up-coming events. If you'll be near Salinas, California in late August, join us at this year's Food Safety and Water Quality Forum and get the latest on co-managing food safety and conservation. Later in October, WFA will be hosting two field tours at our on-farm habitat restoration project sites near Watsonville and Hollister, CA. 

Photo courtesy of NRCS

Learn about co-managing food safety and conservation on produce and specialty-crop farms in a webinar hosted by Wild Farm Alliance, Oregon Tilth and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached this settlement of the new deadlines for publishing final rules implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) with the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the Center for Environmental Health.

The settlement also removes any prior deadlines for public comment periods, which CFS says <http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/2919/victory-your-food-will-be-safer-thanks-to-center-for-food-safety-lawsuit>  will allow for “more robust public participation throughout the rulemaking process.”

Right before the winter holidays, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to revise certain sections of the proposed rules of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). In the official statement, Michael Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, stated that FDA plans to make significant changes to four key provisions found in the proposed Produce and Preventative Controls Rules, including the raw manure and compost standards, as well as the water quality standards. These revisions were considered necessary to allow FDA to meet its goals of producing new food safety standards that are flexible enough to accommodate the diversity of the produce sector, as well as be practical to implement. Taylor also stated that there may be other revisions to the proposed rules, which will be determined after FDA completes their initial review of the public comments. FDA plans to publish the revised proposed rules by early summer 2014. At that time, they will seek public comment on only the revised sections of the proposed rules.

We just wanted to send out a huge THANK YOU to everyone who submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the proposed rules of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)! FDA received over 16,000 comments on the proposed FSMA Produce Rule, the bulk of which came from concerned farmers, consumers and advocates. Your hard work will help the FDA understand that biodiversity and on-farm conservation practices are integral parts of farming systems that help protect soil, water, and wildlife habitat.

Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) and Community Alliance with Family Farms (CAFF) are excited to announce the release of new resources to support farmers in 'co-managing' for food safety and natural resources conservation.

'A Farmer's Guide to Food Safety and Conservation: Facts, Tips & Frequently Asked Questions' provides a boots-on-the-ground guide for small and mid-sized fruit and vegetable growers looking to address both food safety and conservation on their operations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently proposing regulations that could have a profound impact on the way wildlife habitat and other conservation practices on farms are managed. Earlier this year the FDA released their proposed (a.k.a. draft) set of rules for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)---the first major overhaul of our nation's food safety practices since 1938. When they become law, the FSMA rules will require the implementation of certain food-safety management practices on many fruit and vegetable farms. While addressing food safety on produce farms makes sense, if not written correctly, these regulations could encourage the needless destruction of wildlife habitat near produce fields.