The Department of Agriculture, on October 24, 2008 (73 F.R. 63584) issued a proposed rule amending existing regulations concerning organic livestock production (7 CFR Part 205). The proposed rule is premised upon the belief that consumers expect that ruminant livestock animals graze pastures during the growing season.
The proposed rule covers livestock feed, livestock living conditions, and pasture management. It would put in place a requirement that organically produced livestock must have access to the outdoors at all times, unless otherwise provided for in the regulation. Access to pasture is included both in the discussion of livestock living conditions as well as in feed requirements. The rule also establishes a pasture practice standard that includes detailed requirements for the management of outdoor access areas. The proposed rule would expand the definition of livestock to include bees and fish for food and would include pastures, sod, cover crops, green manure crops, and catch crops as a "crop" subject to organic production standards.
Pasture Practice Standard
A producer of organic livestock must create a management plan for the pasture that will be incorporated into the organic system plan. The pasture must be maintained as any other organic “crop”.
The pasture management plan must include a detailed description of (1) crops grown in the pasture, (2) cultural practices regarding the crops, (3) the haymaking system, (4) maps of the location of the pasture, (5) types of grazing methods, (6) location and types of fencing, shade, and water, (7) soil fertility, seeding, and crop rotation, (8) pest, weed, and disease control practices, (9) erosion control and protection of the natural environment, (10) pasture and soil sustainability practices, and (11) restoration of pastures practices. Fences and buffer zones must be used to prevent ruminants and their waste products from entering ponds, streams, and other bodies of water. The pasture system must include a sacrificial pasture used to protect other pastures from excessive damage during saturated soil conditions on the pasture. The sacrificial pasture must be located in low risk for erosion, low risk for run-off areas, and must be managed to provide feed value, and maintain or improve soil, water, and vegetative resources.
Dairy and Livestock Feed
Dairy animals still are to be under the organic management plan for one year prior to production in order to have there milk labeled "organic," except when the dairy animals consume the crop or forage from the land that has been under an organic plan for at least three years in the twelve months prior to the sale of the organic milk or milk products, and, along with the organic crop and forage requirement, the entire distinct herd is converted to organic production. If these two instances occur, and no milk produced under this exception is put in the stream of commerce as organic after June 9, 2007, the producer may provide a minimum of 80% feed that is either organic or grown from land that is under an organic plan for the first nine months prior to the sale and provide feed that is authorized by the section regarding “livestock feed” for the final three months. The proposed regulation clarifies the last subparagraph of this section by applying it to the exception above. Once an operation is certified organic under the above exception, than all dairy animals will be under the organic management from the last third of gestation.
The livestock feed, mentioned above, could include synthetic substances allowed under the regulations and nonsynthetic substances to be used as feed additives and supplements. The proposed regulations require these additives and substances to be produced and handled organically, which was not clarified in the previous regulation.
The proposed regulations provide more prohibitions on the feed a producer of an organic livestock operation can provide. In addition to existing prohibitions on drugs, excess supplements or additives, plastic pellets for roughage, formulas containing urea or manure, mammalian or poultry slaughter by-products, and feed in violation of the FDCA, the rule specifies that the producer cannot provide livestock feed that has added antibiotics and that ruminant animals cannot be restrained or restricted from actively obtaining feed grazed from the pasture during the growing season, except under certain specified conditions. The rule establishes precise formulas for how much dry matter is fed daily to animals and requires monthly reports documenting the feed ration for each type of animal, the daily dry matter demand, and the actual dry matter fed.
Access to Pasture
With limited exceptions, producers of organic livestock operations must now provide "year-round" access to outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, water for drinking, and direct sunlight suitable to the species. Dry lots and feedlots are prohibited.
The producer can temporarily deny non-ruminants access to pasture based on the animal’s stage of life, which is a change from the old regulation that allowed this temporary restraint to apply to ruminants and non-ruminants.
A producer could only temporarily deny ruminants access to pasture when (1) the animal is segregated for treatment, (2) it is during the week before and week after birthing, (3) it is during the first six months for a newborn, (4) during inclement weather for goats, (5) during shearing for sheep, and (6) during short periods for milking of dairy cows, which the duration and frequency of the milking cannot be done to deny ample access to pasture. During temporary housing, the ruminants must be provided with a lying area with bedding that complies with the regulations, yards and passageways that are kept in good condition, feeding and watering equipment that is protected from fouling, and specified bedding for newborns.
The administrator can still grant temporary variances.