Northwest Horticultural Council
Organics
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The Pacific Northwest is the national leader in the production of organic apples, pears, and cherries. Over 15 million boxes of organic apples are now harvested from more than 28,000 acres in Washington state, amounting to over 90 percent of the fresh organic apple crop in the United States. There is also a significant volume of organic pears and cherries grown in our region, with more than 6,500 acres planted across the Pacific Northwest. According to certifier data, an additional 1,000 acres of tree fruit orchards in Washington state were transitioning to organic in 2022.
In many ways, the Pacific Northwest is the epicenter for organic pome fruit and cherry production in the United States. The total value of the organic tree fruit crop for the region topped $756 million in 2021, of which organic apples alone accounted for approximately $668 million. In fact, tree fruit accounted for 50 percent of farm gate sales for all Washington state organics that year.
Washington state hosts 89 percent of the reported organic apple acres in the U.S., producing 97 percent of the nation’s reported fresh organic apple volume. Washington also has 71 percent of the organic pear acreage and grows 60 percent of the volume in the country, and 83 percent of the sweet cherry acreage and 93 percent of the volume (USDA NASS, 2022).
Any operation, or portion of operation, that produces or handles crops, livestock, livestock products, or other agricultural products that are intended to be sold, labeled, or represented as “100 percent organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))” must be certified organic by a USDA-accredited certifying agent.
I. USDA AMS National Organic Program
The National Organic Program (NOP), under the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), develops the rules & regulations for the production, handling, labeling, and enforcement of all USDA organic products. This process, referred to as rulemaking, involves input from the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) (a Federal Advisory Committee made up of 15 volunteer members of the public) and the public. The NOP also maintains a Handbook that includes guidance, instructions, policy memos, and other information on the organic standards.
Spanish translations of various organic regulations and other information may be found here.
For those interested in learning about the National Organic Program, including the public comment process, inspections, enforcement, and audits, visit the NOP Organic Training webpage and create an account at the Organic Integrity Learning Center. Registration for the National Organic Program Microlearning course is free and each course can be covered in 10 to 15 minutes. Instructions may be accessed here.
A. National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Meeting Information
The 15-member NOSB typically meets publicly twice annually (in the spring and in the fall) to review allowed and prohibited materials, consider new topics, and make recommendations to USDA on a wide range of issues involving the production, handling, and processing of organic products. The NOSB accepts public input prior to the bi-annual meetings in the form of written and oral comments.
The NHC encourages organic industry members to submit comments on materials under review to voice the challenges faced by our organic farmers and stakeholders. Comments can be as simple as a few sentences expressing why these materials are important to Pacific Northwest organic tree fruit production. For an overview of the commenting process and tips for submitting comments, check out the NHC’s article “Commenting 101” in the Good Fruit Grower magazine. Tips from USDA on submitting comments can be found here.
During the spring meeting, NOSB members discuss materials under sunset review on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). At the fall meeting, the Board votes to continue listing or to de-list sunset materials. A two-thirds vote (10 members) is needed to remove a currently listed material or to add a petitioned material to the National List. NOSB meetings are free and open to the public, and no registration is required, except to sign up for oral comments.
If you have any questions or would like assistance submitting comments, please contact Dan Langager, technical communications manager, at langager@nwhort.org or 509-453-3193.
Fall 2026 Meeting
The NOSB will hold its annual fall meeting virtually (via Zoom) on October 27, 28, and 29, 2026. Public comment webinars will take place virtually the week prior on October 20 and 22.
During the virtual meeting, the Board will review a petition to add Chitosan to the National List as both a plant disease control material and as a crop and soil amendment. The petition states that chitosan “improve[s] disease control flexibility and resilience, and also reduce[s] grower reliance on copper-based fungicides.”
The NOSB will also vote to maintain or remove the materials up for sunset review this year on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Some of the materials important to tree fruit growing and packing that are currently under sunset review include:
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- Ozone gas – irrigation system cleaning
- EPA List 3 Inerts – inert ingredients used in passive pheromone dispensers only
- Calcium chloride – plant nutrient, for use as foliar spray to treat physiological disorders associated with calcium uptake
- Magnesium oxide – crop or soil amendment, for use only to control the viscosity of a clay suspension agent for humates
- Peracetic acid (PAA) – sanitizer and disinfectant, for use in disinfecting equipment and to control fire blight bacteria
- Chlorine materials – as algicides, disinfectants, and sanitizers, including irrigation systems and food contact surfaces:
- Calcium hypochlorite – to disinfect water in cherry hydrocoolers and packing line wash water, and to sanitize food contact surfaces
- Chlorine dioxide – to disinfect and sanitize food contact surfaces and storage rooms, and in dump tanks and spray bars as a fruit rinse
- Hypochlorous acid – to sanitize pack line flumes and to help control fire blight
- Sodium hypochlorite – to disinfect and sanitize food contact surfaces and storage rooms, and in dump tanks
Meeting Resources
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- Meeting Agenda (pdf)
- Meeting Materials (All Proposals and Discussion Documents) (pdf)
- Handling materials start on page 45, Crops materials start on page 139.
- Subcommittee Proposals and Discussion Documents (Individual documents)
- Federal Register Notice of Meeting
The deadline to submit written comments is 8:59 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday, October 1, 2026, via Regulations.gov (Docket Number AMS-NOP-26-0892).
Additional information, including a link to sign up for oral commenting, can be found on the NOSB’s fall 2026 meeting webpage.
Spring 2026 Meeting
The NOSB held its annual spring meeting in person on May 12, 13, and 14, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska. Public comment webinars took place virtually the week prior on May 5 and 7. The meeting and comment webinars were broadcast via Zoom.
At the meeting, the NOSB voted to approve the petition to allow pear ester (Ethyl-2E,4Z-Decadienoate, also known as DA), a semiochemical, to the National List as a synthetic kairomone. The board’s vote was unanimous. The listing will permit the use of passive pear ester-based mating disruption products – dispensers, lures, and traps – in organic production. The NOSB voted to include with the listing an annotation stating that “microencapsulated formulations are prohibited” because of the board’s concerns over microplastic pollution (the NOSB’s pear ester discussion document can be read here). The pear ester listing recommendation now goes to the USDA National Organic Program to write a final rule and allow for implementation. The NHC has worked for three years to support the passage of this petition and will provide comments to the NOP during the rulemaking process. The Washington State Department of Agriculture has provided an interim allowance notice for the passive mating disruption products until the final rule is completed.
The NOSB also voted to approve changes to the board’s Policy and Procedures Manual, approved a proposal on residue testing, and held discussions on several other agenda items, such as integrating livestock and agroforestry crops, consistency in organic seed usage, induced mutagenesis, and eCommerce labeling.
The deadline to submit written comments was May 4, 2026. The NHC’s comments can be read here. In addition, the NHC provided oral comments May 5 in support of the pear ester petition and the materials under sunset review listed above. All written comments submitted to the NOSB this spring can read at Regulations.gov (Docket Number AMS-NOP-25-0914).
Additional information can be found on the NOSB’s spring 2026 meeting webpage.
Upcoming Meetings
Details for the 2027 meetings have not yet been announced. NOSB spring meetings typically take place in late April or early May, and fall meetings typically in late October or early November.
All NOSB meetings include a virtual broadcast for those unable to travel. It is likely oral comment opportunities will continue primarily as virtual webinars held the week before the full NOSB meeting. In addition, three hours of in-person oral commenting are scheduled for the first day of the full NOSB meeting, when NOP holds the meeting in person.
Additional information on the NOSB and its agendas, meetings, and workplans can be found at AMS.USDA.gov.
B. NHC Comments to NOSB
C. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances
The USDA organic regulations allow most natural substances in organic farming while prohibiting most synthetic substances. The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances – part of these regulations – lists the exceptions to this basic rule: synthetic substances are prohibited unless specifically allowed, and natural substances are allowed unless specifically prohibited.
II. Pacific Northwest State Departments of Agriculture
A. Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Organic Program
The WSDA is accredited as a certification agency by USDA. As a certification agent of the National Organic Program, the WSDA Organic Program’s role is to inspect and certify organic operations, verifying that they are meeting all of the USDA organic standards requirements. WSDA created this fact sheet regarding preventing contamination of organic tree fruit from orchard bins.
B. Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Organic Program
The ODA is a USDA-accredited certifying agent for organic crop production and organic handling/processing.
C. Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Organic Program
The ISDA is an accredited certifying agent of the USDA’s National Organic Program. ISDA has been serving the state’s organic community since 1990 when the Idaho legislatures passed the Organic Food Products Law (Title 22, Chapter 11, Idaho Code). In 2002, ISDA became one of the nation’s first accredited certifying agencies.
III. Links
NHC Science Advisory Committee – Organic Subcommittee Members
Inadvertent Residues on Organic Fruit
WSDA Fact Sheet – Organic Tree Fruit Bins (BMP to prevent contamination)
USDA Organic Market Development Grants (OMDG) Program
NOP International Trade Partners
| Recent Trends in Certified Organic Tree Fruit in Washington State: | ||||
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
Click here for links to more information on international, federal, state, and private organics.
The NHC assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions incurred in preparing and publishing this webpage. Any errors or omissions noted, or questions or advice related to organic production or the NOSB, should be directed to Dan Langager, technical communications manager.
Updated 9/1/26
