Organic Producers Face Wide Variety of Management Regulations

(WASHINGTON, DC) Under USDA organic regulations, farmers who convert to organic farming systems must make changes across the spectrum of their production inputs and practices. Organic producers rely on complex rotations, cover crops, and nonchemical practices for pest and nutrient management. Practices associated with soil health, including the use of cover crops and rotational grazing, are more widely used in organic farming systems than in conventional systems. Nearly 40 percent of all organic field and specialty crop producers use cover crops (based on 2014 growing season), higher than among conventional producers (11 percent). For livestock, regulations require that organic dairy cows obtain part of their dry matter intake, or forage, from pasture during the grazing season. Rotational grazing is a soil-health strategy that is also used more frequently in the organic dairy sector. In 2014, 65 percent of organic livestock producers used rotational grazing, compared with 22 percent of conventional livestock producers.