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issue a letter revoking the exemption. The farmer a free pass. Thus, the safety and health issues The ultimate
or processor has only ten days to respond to the posed by pesticides and herbicides are not ad-
FDA’s actions, including collecting all of the dressed at all in the proposed rules, but major effect of these
evidence that supports a continued exemption; barriers are placed in the path of those farmers rules will be
no other information can be provided after those who wish to use fertilizers such as manure or to reduce the
ten days. compost tea, or who integrate livestock with fruit
An FDA hearing officer then decides wheth- and vegetable production. safety of our
er or not to hold a hearing. If the hearing officer Anything involving animals at any stage food supply
agrees with the decision to revoke the exemption, appears to terrify the FDA. The agency cat- by increasing
the producer has only sixty days from the date egorizes all animal-based soil amendments as
of the original letter from the FDA revoking the “treated” or “untreated.” In order to be consid- our reliance
exemption to come into full compliance with ered “treated,” a manure-based compost must on foreign

all the newly applicable regulations. In contrast, be processed using specific methods and meet food sources.
large-scale industrial farms have two years to specific microbiological standards. Even treated
come into full compliance. While the producer compost requires farmers to wait forty-five days
may appeal the decision to a court, many appeals in between application and harvest of the crop.
will be meaningless because the producer will “Untreated” animal-based soil amendments―
have to comply with all of the regulations during including raw manure, compost made using
the appeal, which would most likely put them out alternative processes, vermicompost or worm
of business before their appeal is ever heard by castings, and compost teas with any additives
the court. such as molasses or kelp―have to be applied at
The number of farms targeted this way least nine months prior to harvest. In practical
by the FDA is likely to be small, but it will be terms, the use of manure and many other proven
devastating for those affected. We have already organic soil amendments will be forbidden un-
seen the harm that targeting individual produc- less the farmer can produce scientific evidence
ers can have in the case of raw milk and raw showing, to the FDA’s satisfaction, that his or her
cheese producers. The uncertainty of not know- methods are safe.
ing who might be the agency’s next target will When it comes to having animals on the
have a chilling effect on many small producers, farm, FDA continues its unscientific and fear-
unless the FDA is forced to change its proposal based approach. until the 1950s, most farms
to comply with the spirit as well as the letter of in the U.S. were diversified small farms that
the Tester-Hagan provision. had both livestock and crop production. yet the
agency ignores the proven track record of this
On-FArm PrODuce type of farming, creating extensive regulations
SAFeTy STAnDArDS rule for the presence of both domestic livestock and
For farmers who don’t qualify for the wildlife on the farm. In an effort to avoid the
Tester-Hagan exemption or whose exemption is criticisms that have been leveled against the
revoked, the proposed produce safety rules cover leafy Greens marketing Agreement, the agency
every aspect of growing and harvesting crops, is careful to say that farmers do not necessarily
including worker training, hygiene, domestic have to create a sterile, lifeless buffer zone; at the
livestock, wildlife, and buildings and equipment. same time, however, it’s unclear how a farmer
All of these provisions carry record-keeping re- can meet the regulatory requirements without
quirements and give FDA inspectors significant doing precisely that.
discretion in determining what is “appropriate”
or “reasonable.” Thus, the proposed rule not PrevenTATIve cOnTrOlS
only imposes significant costs, but it also creates AnD THe HArPc rule
significant uncertainty and risk for producers. As with the produce safety rule, small-scale,
Fundamentally, the rules take an approach of direct-marketing producers are exempt from
“guilty until proven innocent” for natural farm- the Preventative controls rule under the Tester-
ing methods, while giving chemical methods Hagan amendment. For processors who don’t
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