Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pasture Rule Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vermont certifier says USDA granted 2025 pasture‑rule variance for organic farmers hit by drought
Summary
Vermont Organic Farmers told the committee it secured a National Organic Program variance for the 2025 drought that lets eligible producers in designated counties meet a 90‑day grazing minimum (rather than 120) while maintaining a 30% pasture dry‑matter requirement; the variance was requested by the certifier and applied retroactively.
Nicole Daney, director of Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF), told the committee that VOF — an LLC owned by NOFA Vermont and accredited by USDA to certify organic farms — requested and received a National Organic Program (NOP) temporary variance for the 2025 drought. Daney said the NOP typically grants variances in cases of natural disaster when the USDA issues a secretarial disaster designation.
Daney explained the pasture rule requirements that apply to ruminant livestock under the USDA organic regulations: a minimum of 120 grazing days per year (regionally adjusted) and at least 30% of the animals' diet from pasture measured in dry matter; pasture must also be managed as a crop and producers must keep records of grazing management and stocking rates. She said certifiers cannot waive the rule unilaterally — only the NOP can grant a variance — and producers must route requests through their certifier.
For the 2025 drought, VOF requested a county‑level variance that allows producers in the designated counties to meet a 90‑day grazing minimum while still meeting the 30% pasture dry‑matter requirement. Daney said the variance was retroactive for 2025 and meant that producers in those counties did not have to individually submit variance requests and would not be cited for noncompliance arising from the drought.
Committee members asked whether the variance allowed producers to feed nonorganic feed or whether it applied broadly to grazing. Daney said the NOP is unlikely to grant variances that permit feeding nonorganic feed because organic feed remains commercially available elsewhere in the United States; she described the higher costs and logistical burdens organic producers face when buying out‑of‑state organic feed and said VOF has worked to connect buyers and sellers and identify additional domestic suppliers.
Daney answered procedural questions about the timing of the request: VOF submitted the request in September, the government shutdown briefly delayed processing, and once federal operations resumed the NOP handled the request and granted the variance retroactively.
The committee thanked Daney for the presentation; members asked follow‑up questions about the scope of the variance and options for wintertime organic feed supply.
