[USCC] correction

Mon Apr 20 13:46:20 CDT 2009

Allison,

I do a lot of work in product labeling. Also, please understand that the
term 'organic' on a fertilizer label, as far as state fertilizer control
officials are concerned, relates to the form of nitrogen in the product (not
organic certification). Theses official AAPFCO terms have been around for a
long time, and will not likely be changed. However, there are some new
AAPFCO fertilizer statements that can only be placed on the label of
products that can be used in the production of certified organic food crops.

Thanks,

Ron

Ron Alexander

R. Alexander Associates, Inc.

1212 Eastham Drive

Apex, NC 27502

USA

919-367-8350

919-367-8351 fax

alexassoc at earthlink.net

www.alexassoc.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com
[mailto:compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com] On Behalf Of Allison L H Jack
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 1:24 PM
To: compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
Subject: [USCC] correction

A postscript:

Patrick McNelly caught my typo and poor geographical knowledge, thanks!

The product is of course Milorganite and it is from Milwaukee, not Detroit.

My point about the confusion surrounding labelling is the same however. On 

the front page of Milorganitie's website it says "For better results. 

Naturally." Home gardeners wishing to increase their soil organic matter 

may be confused about what "natural" means and may or may not know that the 

biosolids feedstock used in Milorganite is not allowable in commercial 

organic agriculture under the 2002 federal regulation.

I volunteer and garden at the Ithaca Community Garden where the rules 

clearly state that plots must be "maintained organically" but don't provide 

any guidance on what that means or which legal definition of "organic" 

they're referring to. Does that mean I can spray copper sulfate on my plot? 

You can't imagine the level of confusion among gardeners!

Edo made a comment about potential consumer backlash if they discovered 

that a compost was made from manure at a conventional livestock facility. I 

would argue that the average consumer is too confused to evaluate organic 

amendments at this level of detail. Also, as far as I know, there is no 

push to change the National Organic Program's rules to restricting compost 

feedstocks to manure from certified organic livestock facilities.

-Allison

Cornell University

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**********

Allison L H Jack

Graduate Student

Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology

http://pppmb.cals.cornell.edu

Cornell University

335 Plant Science

Ithaca, NY 14850

607.273.5762

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********* 

"...Advancing a productive and sustainable agriculture"

from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences mission statement

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