NOFA Vermont is engaged with a broad range of public issues of interest to our members and related to our programs in organic agriculture, local food systems, and consumer education.
Some of our recent work…
In the wake of the recent peanut butter food-borne illness outbreak, calls by members of Congress, the Obama Administration, consumer groups and the public to revamp and tighten-up food safety regulations have reached a fever pitch. Six food-safety-related bills have been introduced in Congress; each proposes new food handling, processing and record-keeping requirements that would affect farmers, food manufacturers and marketers - both large and small.
HR 2749 Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009: July 23rd Letter from Peter Welch supporting the Farr-Kaptur Amendment
Read NOFA Vermont's Policy Note on this Issue
Further Resources and Information from the NOFA Interstate Council (including HR 875)
Contact NOFA-VT for additional information about the above, other issues that we have been working on and any issues that are of concern to you.
Vermont Compost Company and Natural Resource Board Reach Agreement
Vermont Compost company agreement-NOFA Vermont e-newsletter
Vermont Compost company-Natural Resource Board press release
Vermont compost company Consent Agreement
Articles and Resources
Vermont Compost Company Legal Fight Heats Up by Dave Rogers, NOFA-VT Policy Advisor, Published in NOFA Notes, Summer, 2008
ANR's Clamp-Down on Composting Operation Inexplicable by Carl Etnier, Published in The Times Argus, August 3, 2008
Composting: Not Just Agricultural, But It's Part of the Natural Cycle by Dennis Saur, Published in The Times Argus, August 3, 2008
There's Something Rotten...In Vermont by Shay Totten, Published in Seven Days, July 16, 2008
Environmental Politics, Brattleboro Reformer, Opinion, July 22
Oh, Scrap! Businesses feel pinch of order to close down Vt. Compost Co by Sarah Hinckley, published in The Times Argus, July 16, 2008
VT Compost Told to Halt Operations by Louis Porter, published in The Times Argus, July 10, 2008
A Proposed Pasture Rule At Last!
The USDA "Gets It Right" (Mostly)
NOFA Vermont's Comments to the National Organic Program
On Friday, October 24th the USDA's National Organic Program published its long-awaited and anxiously anticipated proposed rule to clarify and strengthen grazing requirements for ruminant
livestock on certified organic dairy and livestock farms.
The "pasture rule", when revised and finalized following a 60-day comment period, will have a critical role in shaping the future of certified organic dairy and livestock farming in Vermont and throughout the country. Organic dairy and livestock producers, consumer groups, organic farming associations, animal welfare organizations, environmental groups, and industry associations have, over several years, strongly advocated for a requirement that organic ruminant animals be pastured throughout the growing season and that they derive a significant portion of their diet from grazed forages. The economic, health, animal welfare and environmental benefits of well-managed animal grazing systems are widely recognized and supported by family farmers and the majority of organic consumers. NOFA-VT and other members of the National Organic Coalition have been actively involved in a nationwide grassroots effort to help the USDA-National Organic Program "get the pasture rule right".
And, for the most part, it has! The proposed rule adopts the key grazing provisions called for by those advocating a strong and credible pasture rule. The ninety-page draft rule also proposes new
standards pertaining to a number of other livestock production practices, including organic livestock feeds, living conditions, origin of livestock and health care. Not all of the proposed standards in these areas are satisfactory and will require revision in order to make them applicable to and appropriate for all organic livestock operations.
NOFA-VT and other organizations are now carefully reading and discussing all of the provisions in the proposed rule. During the comment period we will be engaging organic dairy producers
and others in developing and submitting comments and recommendations for revision to the USDA National Organic Program.
A copy of the proposed rule and related information and updates may be found at: Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance -- http://www.nodpa.com and National Organic Coalition --
http://nationalorganiccoalition.org. The next issues of NOFA-VT's Dairy and Livestock Program Newsletter and NOFA Notes will
include updates and comments on the proposed rule. For further information contact NOFA Vermont at 802-434-4122, info@nofavt.org.