USDA comes out swinging on organic enforcement
Farmers, food processors and importers who were expecting a soft rollout of the USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule might want to think again. Since the March 19 implementation of the rule, the agency has uncovered several incidents of fraud in the organic marketplace, particularly involving imports, and is prosecuting offenders. “We are certainly finding product that has been sent to the United States that cannot be sold as organic in the United States, and we are stopping that,” said Jennifer Tucker, deputy administrator for the USDA’s National Organic Program.
https://www.farmprogress.com/organic-grower-summit/usda-comes-out-swinging-on-organic-enforcement
Huge organic farm in Iowa thrives without chemicals
WEST BEND, Iowa – People who think seriously about how to limit the toll industrialized American agriculture takes on communities, land, and water may want to visit the Fehr family’s organic Clear Creek Acres in northern Iowa. With just shy of 800 residents, West Bend is barely a blip on a prairie landscape, but it has become home base for an uncommonly large expanse of organically grown crops — operations that have found success in challenging the popular convention that pesticides and other agricultural chemicals are needed to feed the world.
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/11/23/huge-organic-farm-in-iowa-thrives-without-chemicals/
Policymakers tout support for organic future
Two top agriculture officials expressed unbridled excitement for the future of the organic agriculture industry on Thursday, Dec. 5, capping off the Organic Grower Summit with words of encouragement for the nearly 600 in attendance. USDA under secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt and Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, both expressed optimism for a sector they believe is on the rise.
https://www.farmprogress.com/organic-grower-summit/policymakers-tout-support-for-organic-future
Nancy’s Probiotic Foods unveils new cultured and creamy European-style organic butter
Springfield Creamery, the family-owned maker of Nancy’s Probiotic Foods, unveiled Nancy’s Organic Butter, a cultured and creamy European-style butter. The new Organic Butter is made with slowly churned organic cultured cream and is available in Sea Salted and Unsalted, with both varieties offering a rich, creamy texture and a delicate cultured flavor, elevating the simplest meals, the Eugene, Ore.-based company says.
Lakeside Organics’ Dick Peixoto awarded Grower of the Year at 2024 Organic Grower Summit
Thursday was the second day of the Organic Grower Summit, an event that connects organic producers and suppliers to discover the latest trends, techniques and innovations in the organic food industry. Hosted by Western Growers and Farm Progress at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel, the two-day symposium featured a trade show, seminars, presentations, networking and a keynote address by Karen Ross, California’s secretary of food and agriculture.
