The Northwest Horticultural Council is encouraging growers to provide comments on the organic materials under review at the annual fall meeting of the National Organic Standards Board. The meeting will be held Oct. 25–27 in Sacramento, California, with a virtual option for those unable to travel.

Critically important materials up for review in October include:

—Fixed coppers and copper sulfate for disease management.

—Sticky traps used in pest monitoring and trapping.

—Micronutrients: soluble boron and sulfates, carbonates, oxides or silicates of zinc, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and cobalt.

Also of significance to the organic tree fruit industry, and also under current review, are carbon dioxide, nitrogen and acidified sodium chlorite.

The NOSB will also vote on a human capital management initiative that defines the process of providing technical support to NOSB members from expert staff within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies.

To see the full list of materials and proposals under review, go to:
ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/NOSBMeetingPacketOctober2022.pdf.

The Northwest Horticultural Council says it is important that the NOSB hears from the tree fruit industry. Comments can be as simple as a few sentences expressing why these materials are important to your organic production. Feedback can be submitted via written and oral comments.

The board will hear oral comments via two virtual webinars hosted by the NOSB on Oct. 18 and 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific Time. Time slots for three-minute oral comments are assigned on a first-come basis and are expected to fill up quickly. A link to sign up for oral comments can be found at: ams.usda.gov/event/national-organic-standards-board-nosb-meeting-sacramento-ca-2022.

The deadline to submit written comments is 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time, Sept. 29. Written comments are submitted electronically via Regulations.gov at: regulations.gov/document/AMS-NOP-22-0042-0001 (Docket # AMS-NOP-22-0042).

For tips on submitting comments, go to: prod-regulations-faq/pdf/Tips-For-Submitting-Effective-Comments.pdf.

If you have any questions or would like assistance submitting comments, contact Dan Langager at the Northwest Horticultural Council, by email at: langager@nwhort.org or by phone at: 509-453-3193.

—by Jonelle Mejica