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Planting Flexibility for Organic Farmers Posted 23 June 2008 Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced that the United States Department of Agriculture/National Organic Program (NOP) has accepted a request made by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to grant a temporary variance to the NOP crop rotation requirement due to recent rains and flooding in the state. “Organic certification requires longer crop rotations.  Organic farmers, as well as other farmers, are faced with challenges planting crops this late in the season,” Northey said.  “This variance will give them much needed flexibility when making decisions on planting this year.” The Department made the request on June 9th in response to the significant and historical rainfalls that have occurred frequently during much of May and June.  Consequently, there have been very few opportunities for farmers to complete field work due to saturated soils, flooding and severe weather. Organic farmers are faced with the challenge of either not planting a cash crop this year to comply with the crop rotation regulation or planting the same crop, such as soybeans, in a field where that crop was planted last year.  This variance will allow organic farmers the flexibility they need to make viable cropping decisions during this extraordinary time. Organic farmers are committed to organic practices and requirements, such as using no pesticides or fertilizers, and this temporary variance will not affect the integrity of the organic crops that they produce this year. The Department will continue to work with the Iowa Organic Advisory Council, Iowa Organic Association and the National Organic Program during this time period as it monitors weather conditions impacting Iowa organic producers.  Certification organizations operating in the state and organic farmers will be notified of this variance.  For more information please contact the Agricultural Diversification and Market Development Bureau at 515-281-5783.

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