[compost_tea] Re: Re: Organic Certification

From: Kirk Leonard <kirk_at_oregonatural.com>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 14:15:04 -0800

Judi, Thomas, Tim and Group -- Thanks for WSDA info. Here's some more
detail. Excerpt is from "LC" note to Judi posted today.

> ...compost tea issue. The "issue" is that a task force of the National
> Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is recomending that "compost and
> vermiculture teas are still under review and are; therefore, not
> eligible to satisfy section 205.203 (SIC, of the National Organic
> Standards Act) at this time". <

This statement is a lie. NOSB did not recommend this, and would not today,
imo. This statement was an inapproriate USDA/NOP edit of the following NOSB
Compost Task Force recommendation of 4/18/02:

"2. Compost and Vermicompost teas

The use of a liquid compost extract, or "compost tea", raises special
issues. The preparation and use of compost tea and compost extract has been
increasing in the U.S. during recent years. Organic producers especially
are interested in compost teas and extracts because the preparations
reportedly provide some degree of control of foliar and root pathogenic
organisms. Various methods and practices have developed for production of
the teas or extracts since the practice originated some years ago in Europe.
However, recent research at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's labs in
Beltsville, MD and Corvallis, OR shows that certain approaches to compost
tea or extract preparation are conducive to growth of enteric bacterial
pathogenic organisms, such as enterotoxigenic E. coli and Salmonella. The
practices and procedures that lead to pathogen growth in the prepared teas
and extracts involve the addition of supplemental nutrients such as sugars,
molasses or other readily available (soluble) carbon sources during batch
production.

The researchers did not observed growth of enteric pathogenic organisms when
compost tea or extract was prepared only with water and high quality
compost. By high quality compost, they mean compost that has met criteria
for destroying pathogenic organisms, i.e., 131ºF for 3 days, or compost that
has less than 3 MPN salmonella per 4 grams compost (dry weight) and less
than 1000 MPN fecal coliforms. The critical determinant regarding pathogen
growth in compost teas and extracts is the addition of the carbon sources
like sugars, molasses, or yeast or malt extracts during the "brewing" phase.

Recommendation: Compost teas if used in contact with crops less than 120
days before harvest must be made from high quality compost described above
and not prepared with addition of supplemental nutrients such as sugars,
molasses or other readily available (soluble) carbon sources."

Not all good news, but clearly supporting use of compost tea. Clearly USDA
is trying to propogate their own propaganda.

On 10/19-20/02, the NOSB, with NOP reps spitting bitter pills about it,
unanimously agreed that a new Compost Task Force be created to take another
look at compost tea. They are still doing that, now called the Compost Tea
Task Force. This is a secret task force and they have said nothing yet, so
the suggestion that any NOSB task force has said anything other than the
recommendation above is also a lie.

I believe NOSB and the current CTTF support compost tea, and OMRI always has
as far as I know. Where on OMRI site was LC pointing?

The problem here is USDA/NOP want to make compost tea history, banned,
un-usable by NOP-certified organic operations, as far as I can tell. Here
is a summary (reports not available, interestingly) of their "research" so
far: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/michel/fateofpaths.htm. More bogus
research is on tap at Beltsville, too.

Someday, there may be an opportunity for public comment on compost tea at
NOSB, when something comes from the CTTF. Presently, USDA have it bound up
in muddle and secrecy, ruling it's officially "raw manure."

WSDA and other certifiers are ruling differently and taking a chance doing
that, btw. They could get whacked by USDA, so we need to be prepared to
come to their defense, and bombarding USNOP when there is an opportunity to
say something....

Please alert your congressperson to this - and as Lawrence suggests, if
Bush-brains get re-elected, this, and all organic ag situations will only
get worse. Wish I could be more upbeat, but we have some work to do to get
through these goofy hoops.

-- Kirk






 
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Received on Fri Feb 06 2004 - 21:52:48 EST

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