Pesticides are regulated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA defines a pesticide as any substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, control, repel, or mitigate any pest. That’s ANY substance and ANY pest, whether it’s an insect, weed, rodent, snail, slug, fungus, or plant-pathogenic bacteria or virus. This means […]
Organic
When Pesticides Can Be Used
(Note: The Provisions of the Organic Foods Production Act that deals with pest management refer to “crop pests, weeds, and diseases” – the summary below refers to all three as pests.) The Organic Foods Production Act Provisions indicate that the producer must use management practices to prevent pests. Examples are crop rotation, allowed nutrient practices, […]
Organic Certification
How do you become (and stay) certified? Organic producers and processors must be certified by an accredited agent of the USDA National Organic Program (in California, organic operations must also register with the California Organic Program). State Departments of Agriculture are often the certifying agent for their state, but there are also accredited private companies […]
What Organic Means
What does “organic” mean and how does it differ from “natural”? When it is used to describe plant products, food or other crops, animals, animal feed, or fibers, the term “organic” has a very precise legal definition. All products that are sold, or labeled, as organic must meet all requirements in the United States Department […]
Pesticides in Organic Production
This module provides an overview of how and when pesticides are used in the production of ornamental and food-producing plants by organic growers. There is a common belief that the organic designation means pesticide-free, but in fact pesticides are often used in organic production. It is important to understand what IS or IS NOT a […]