A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 1,2001 USD A Rep: Organic Rules To Be Practical (Continued from Page A 1) really lose the forest with too much fixation on the leaves.” Keating, an ag marketing spe cialist with the NOP, said that zero tolerance of synthetic mate rials and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not the main thing consumers look for in their food sources. They are more interested in wholistic pro duction practices such as crop rotation, pasturing, and overall animal welfare, he said. Although the organic move ment originally gained impetus out of a concern for residual pes ticides on food, that focus has broadened into a much wider concern for sustainable ag prac tices, with the nation’s lawmak ers increasingly joining that movement, he said. The role that consumers play in organic policy should be a bal anced one, according to Keat ing. “It’s important to respond to consumer demand, but we don’t want a standard written by con sumers,” he said. A finalized version of the NOP’s organic rule will be re leased in the spring. Reporting on an October meeting of the NOSB, Keating noted the board’s recommenda tion to require that cattle and other ruminants have access to pasture in order to be certified organic, and the requirement that poultry have access to the outdoors be made more clear in the final rule. The NOSB is also moving toward stricter standards for compost production, Keating said, with the final recommen dations from a compost task force expected in early spring. With organic farming now be coming subject to federal regula tions, Leslie Zuck, executive director of PCO and organic farmer from Spring Mills, said that the nonprofit certifying agency is taking up the responsi bility to insure that Pennsylva nia producers have the information and training they need to continue operating under the USDA’s national or ganic program. “We’re here to help you know what works and what doesn’t work,” she said. PCO President Mike Brown back pointed out vast changes in the perceptions and practices of organic agriculture since his first attempts as an organic pro ducer in 1982. At that time, Brownback had decided that “America wasn’t ready for organic produce,” he said, and switched back to a conventional farrowing-to finish hog operation. He contin ued to question the system he was using, however, and re turned to organic vegetable pro duction in 1991. “I want to produce something my customers want,” Brown back said of his decision to remain in organic agriculture. “I want to feel good about what I do, and I want to be rewarded at the marketplace.” “(Farming organically) has to be more than a mental decision. It has to be a philosophical deci sion,” he said. Brownback and his wife Terra operate a 188-acre organic vege table, hay, and grain farm near Loysville, serving more than 200 community supported agricul ture (CSA) customers as well as supplying various wholesalers in the area. Other PCO representatives and farm inspectors spoke to the group on specific issues related to making the transition to or ganic farming and maintaining certification. One of the topics that raised questions from the audience was the definition of buffer zones re quired to protect organically certified fields from chemical and pollen drift from neighbor ing fields and lawns. Several producers pointed out instances in which the buffer zones required by organic regu lations were inadequate against the drift of unwanted materials. PCO farm inspector AI John son emphasized the site-specific nature of the rules, which take into account a variety of factors including lay of the land, width of buffer zones, and the type of vegetation in buffer zones. “Every situation is different,” Johnson said, with decisions being made on a “case-by-case basis.” Johnson said he conducts thorough farm inspections, which include looking at the practices used on neighboring farms and yards. Ultimately, or ganic producers “are under the responsibility to minimize the impact of the outside environ ment.” In some cases, that could mean planting a thick stand of fast-growing trees and/or widen ing the buffer zones on field bor ders, he said. Johnson stressed the impor tance of recordkeeping in ac quiring and maintaining organic certification as written proof of the materials applied to fields. “Recordkeeping makes the difference between an organic farmer and a certified organic farmer,” he said. Other speakers included Alfred Walker, chairman of the PCO materials board. Walker, a working chemist, focused on the formidable task of interpreting federal lists of ac cepted and prohibited materials, including that compiled by the Organic Materials Review Insti tute (OMRI). Walker said his job is to help people understand the pitfalls involved in material selection and urged producers to be in quisitive. “Many people don’t think they should ask questions when they should,” he said. Established in 1997, PCO ed ucates and certifies organic farmers within Pennsylvania, with the goal of assuring the in tegrity of organic products grown and processed in the state. According to Zuck, PCO has certified about 250 farms to 42 nd Anniversary 1959-2001 CnitOMr Affredatta Day* Refreshment AM to 2 PM BothM^s-" 10% DISCOUNT On All Sanitatlonand Animal Health Products purchased fund paid for at Open house. EXTRA S% OFF v < uUn.inii:iutTiy E^ymma from Advanced Agri Solutions ifIHBHIIMMSi Are you aware we are able to meet y Directions: Along Route 934, ii 4 Miles So Phon eTIMOH Hospital Exchange (continued from Page A 1) ing to Rogers. This year’s sign-up list has her expecting more than 10,000 cookies for the exchange, sched uled Dec. 6-7 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily in the hospital lobby. The cookie exchange works like this: First, contributors bring six dozen cookies. They select m dozen of their choice to take home with them. An other 2»/z dozen are sold to raise funds for the hospital, and the additional dozen will be distrib uted to the firefighters and rescue workers at New York’s Ground Zero. “It’s a way almost everyone can participate,” Rogers said of helping the hospital and the rescue workers with the added bonus of attaining unique varieties of cookies. As founder and chairperson of the annual cookie exchange, Rogers constantly convinces friends, neighbors, and family to help with the event. This Thanksgiving, she told 25 dinner guests that they must each bring a batch of cookie dough. After the Thanksgiving feast, the guests baked cookies in Rogers’ kitchen until the oven door fell off. Opening and date, including about- 75 dairies and a variety of vegetable, fruit, and livestock operations. Producers must show proof of organic practices for three years prior to becoming eligible for certification. PCO also lists “transitional” farms in their directory. For more information about PCO and organic certification, call (814) 364-1344 or e-mail PaOrganic@aol.com. HOSTETTER iut electrical needs on the farmland re Bellefrove, 4 Miles North of Annville, ith of Rt. 22 ft Rt. 81 , - # 1896 mm7m closing the oven door must have Worn it out. “After that, we had to take the door oft and put on manu ally whenever we removed cookie sheets if that wasn’t a job,” Rogers said. Auxiliary member Phyllis Wolf, Akron, is another staunch cookie lover. For breakfast, she has dunked a cookie in her coffee every morning for the past 47 years. In addition to making cookies for the hospital, Wolf also spreads holiday joy by giving cookies to residents in a local nursing home. For the past two years, the cookie exchange has provided $l,lOO annually for the hospital. “We are fortunate to have a hospital of this caliber in the community. I get a thrill out of making money for the hospital,” Rogers said. “You don’t need to sign up ahead of time —just show up in the hospital lobby the morning of the exchange. Please bring your recipe to share.” The dozen of cookies to be sent to Ground Zero should be packaged separately and clearly marked. Both Rogers and Wolf make at least seven different varieties for Christmas holidays. Rogers also loves new recipes. Every year she makes at least one new variety in addition to traditional ones. “Some years are winners, and some are not,” Rogers said of experimenting with unknown recipes. This year she made two new varieties that she considers winners. Check next week’s cookie fea ture in Lancaster Farming for her winning cookie recipes, plus many more favorites from our readers. 1% Now Handling May-O-Mats Cow Mats Idengb? »A. 36
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