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CapitalPress.com
April 13, 2018
People & Places
Institute ensures organic material compliance
OMRI’s list of
approved organic
products grows to
more than 6,000
Western
Innovator
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
EUGENE, Ore. — The
growing consumer appetite
for organic food has caused a
chain reaction through the ag-
riculture industry, all the way
through to farm input suppli-
ers.
Rising interest in organic
farming has spurred the cre-
ation of new products and
companies seeking to supply
those growers with organic
fertilizers, pesticides and other
goods.
Over the past 20 years, the
number of products listed for
organic use by the Organic
Materials Review Institute has
increased from fewer than 200
to more than 6,000.
OMRI, a nonprofit based in
Eugene, Ore., is charged with
ensuring those crop, livestock
and processing products com-
ply with organic standards es-
tablished by the USDA.
In just the last year, the
number of products listed by
OMRI has shot up 20 percent.
There is some confusion
about the institute’s role in the
organic industry, said Peggy
Miars, its executive director.
Companies occasionally try
to convince OMRI to approve
a product even though it con-
tains a prohibited substance,
not understanding the organi-
zation doesn’t make such calls,
she said.
OMRI doesn’t decide
whether it’s appropriate for
a substance to be allowed in
organic production — that
responsibility falls to the
USDA’s National Organic Pro-
gram and an advisory group
of industry stakeholders, the
National Organic Standards
Board.
Not an advocate
“We never advocate for or
against a particular substance,”
said Miars.
Instead, the institute eval-
Executive director: Peggy
Miars
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Employees: 56
uates the formulations of
branded products to determine
if they’re composed of sub-
stances that are permitted by
USDA.
When a substance is pro-
posed for inclusion in organic
production, the USDA may also
hire the institute to research the
material’s impacts on the envi-
ronment and human health.
However, OMRI doesn’t
make recommendations and
stays out of controversies
about approving or prohibiting
substances, said Miars.
“One reason OMRI is re-
spected is because we are neu-
tral,” she said. “We don’t go
one way or another.”
The vast majority of prod-
ucts listed by OMRI — 86
percent — pertain to growing
crops, and most of those are
fertilizers and soil amend-
ments.
The remaining 14 percent
are fairly evenly split between
livestock products and pro-
cessing products, such as those
used to make cheese and wine.
In recent years, there have
been a lot of new innovations
with anaerobic digestate. This
liquid and solid waste comes
from anaerobic digesters, such
as those that generate pow-
er from dairy manure, said
Kelsey McKee, OMRI’s re-
view program and quality di-
rector.
OMRI’s role is to en-
sure the digestate byproduct
doesn’t contain substances that
are prohibited in organic pro-
duction, she said.
Input suppliers are also
developing new products con-
taining specific beneficial mi-
crobes and mycorrhizal fungi,
McKee said.
These soil amendments go
beyond general compost: Cer-
tain bacteria and fungi can re-
duce pressure from pathogens
or maximize nutrient availabil-
ity, she said.
OMRI determines whether
these microorganisms are ge-
netically engineered, which is
excluded from organic farm-
ing, or are grown in synthetic
media that aren’t allowed.
“Different microbes can
have different roles,” McKee
said. “We are looking at where
are they getting it, how are
they growing it.”
Growing workload
Before OMRI was founded
two decades ago, organic certi-
fiers such as Oregon Tilth and
California Certified Organic
Farmers would review brand-
ed products for compliance
with organic standards.
As the work became in-
creasingly time-consuming,
these and other organic groups
chipped in financially to
launch OMRI, which would be
dedicated to this function.
With the climbing num-
ber of products proposed for
listing, the institute has been
swamped with work.
When Miars was hired sev-
en years ago, the organization
received about 40 applications
a month. It’s now up to 130.
Since the organization
wasn’t willing to compromise
on thoroughness, the backlog
has lengthened OMRI’s re-
view periods, Miars said. “We
had a reputation for being real-
ly slow.”
A hiring spree that in-
creased OMRI’s staff by 50
percent over the past two years
has reduced the wait time. In
late 2016, the median review
process took seven months, but
it’s now down to two months.
OMRI is also automat-
ing its application process to
require less data-entry from
employees, which the institute
hopes will further improve ef-
ficiency.
“We are relying more and
more on technology,” Miars
said.
Cutting
down
on
mind-numbing tasks serves
another worthwhile function:
making jobs at OMRI more
rewarding.
Recruiting and training ed-
ucated workers costs money,
so the nonprofit must focus on
retaining them, she said. “It’s
Corporate Officers
Heidi Wright
Chief Operating Officer
Rick Hansen
Chief Financial Officer
Headquarters: Eugene,
Ore.
Peggy Miars, left, executive director of the Organic Materials Review Institute, and Kelsey McKee,
OMRI’s review program and quality director, work to ensure farm inputs and other products meet
organic standards.
Established 1928
Board of Directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Harrison Forrester
Mike Omeg
Cory Bollinger
Jeff Rogers
Organic Materials
Review Institute
Founded: 1997
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Capital Press
Function: Reviewing brand-
ed products for compliance
with organic standards.
Listed products: More than
6,000
Product categories: More
than 86 percent are crop-re-
lated, 7 percent are pro-
cessing-related and nearly 7
percent are livestock-related.
Product origins: 70 percent
are from the U.S., 13 percent
are from Mexico, 7 percent
are from Canada, and 10
percent are from 36 other
countries.
good to see people want to stay
with OMRI and grow with us.”
To that end, the institute en-
courages its employees to give
presentations and write articles
about obscure materials-relat-
ed dilemmas.
For example, can paper
bags with colored ink be used
in organic compost? The an-
swer is yes — the ink is con-
sidered an unavoidable envi-
ronmental contaminant.
The institute has also set its
sights beyond the U.S.
In 2012, OMRI started a
program to review materials
that are compliant with Cana-
da’s organic standards, and it’s
looking to replicate the effort
in Mexico.
Currently, organic materials
review in Mexico is conducted
by organic certifiers, Miars
said. “There are certifiers and
growers in Mexico who would
love it if we could launch that
program tomorrow.”
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From left, Clancey Krahn, Jim Krahn,
Allan Hanselman, ODFA board vice
president, and Gracie Krahn at ODFA’s
annual convention.
ODFA Photos
Tom Thomson and Bruce Wilson are
honored at ODFA’s annual convention.
From left, Oregon State University Ag-
riculture Dean Dan Arp; Todd Leuthold,
ODNC board member; and Chad Allen,
ODFA board president.
From left, Allan Hanselman and Pete
DeHaan share a moment ODFA’s annu-
al convention.
Oregon Dairy Farmers honor five for lifelong contributions
Capital Press
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Dairy
Farmers Association acknowledged five
individuals’ contributions to the state’s
dairy industry during the organization’s
annual convention.
During the awards luncheon, ODFA
recognized Pete DeHaan for his years
of service on the ODFA Board. DeHaan
served as the producer representative
for the Western States organization,
participating in conference calls, and
traveling to meetings throughout the
West and in Washington, D.C., last
spring as part of the Oregon delegation
that met with elected officials and oth-
ers. He also represented ODFA at sev-
Calendar
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“Submit an Event.” Calendar items
can also be mailed to Capital Press,
1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR
97301 or emailed to newsroom@
capitalpress.com. Write “Calendar”
in the subject line.
Saturday, April 14
eral National Milk conferences.
ODFA and the Oregon Dairy and
Nutrition Council jointly recognized
Oregon State University’s College of
Agriculture Dean Dan Arp. He has been
a friend of the dairy industry for many
years and will retire this summer.
Additionally, ODFA presented
awards to acknowledge three recipients
for their lifelong contributions to the
industry. Bruce Wilson and Tom Thom-
son received the Distinguished Service
Award and Jim Krahn received the
Community Service Award.
Wilson and Thomson were honored
for their work to develop and enhance
the Online Decision-making and Re-
cord-Keeping system, known by the ac-
fers an introduction to farm equipment
maintenance and repair including:
how small gas engines and larger gas
and diesel engines run, basic mainte-
nance and tuning; trouble-shooting
problems and how to tell whether you
can fix a problem. Register online at
http://bit.ly/JacksonSmallFarms or
send an email to paula.burkhalter@
oregonstate.edu or call 541-776-
7371. Cost: $20 each person Web-
site: http://bit.ly/JacksonSmallFarms
Small Acreage Expo. 8:30 a.m.-
3:45 p.m. Heritage Farm, 1919 N.E.
78th St., Vancouver, Wash. A full day of
workshops will be offered, and repre-
sentatives from a variety of agricultural
organizations and agencies will be on
hand. Cost: $15 in advance, $25 at the
expo. Website: expo2018.brownpap-
ertickets.com
Oregon Hemp Convention. 10
a.m.-7 p.m. Portland Expo Center,
2060 N Marine Drive, Portland, Ore.
Cannabis industry leaders, entrepre-
neurs, networkers and newcomers
will gather to learn best business
practices for maintaining a successful
cannabis business. Website: http://
oregonhempconvention.com/
Understanding and Maintaining
Farm Equipment. 1-5 p.m. Dunbar
Farms, Medford, Ore. This class of-
Thursday, April 19
In the Field: Salem Agriculture
ronym ODARK. They wrote grants and
raised $115,000 from multiple sources
to develop ODARK as an online re-
cord-keeping tool for manure manage-
ment. More recently they have raised an
additional $55,000 to convert ODARK
to a planning tool.
Throughout their careers, both men
have focused on helping producers un-
derstand and conquer engineering and
agronomic challenges, ODFA said in
a press release. Together, Wilson and
Thomson have written the majority of
the Comprehensive Nutrient Manage-
ment Plan and Confined Animal Feed-
ing Operation plans in Oregon.
Krahn served as executive director of
ODFA for 23 years. During his tenure,
Seminar. 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wil-
lamette Heritage Center, 1313 Mill
St. SE, Salem, Ore. A no-cost sem-
inar for a discussion specifically de-
signed to provide agribusiness own-
ers and their managers with the tools
they need to get organized. Topics
include the new tax cuts, finances
and financial statements, regula-
tory updates on water and wet-
lands, organizing an agri-business
and estate planning for farms and
ranches. Sponsored by Schwabe,
Williamson and Wyatt. RSVP at
http://bit.ly/2FwaRPV. Cost: Free
Shepherds’
Extravaganza.
2-10 p.m. Washington State Fair,
110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup,
Wash. Sheep and Fleece Show,
vendors of supplies, used fiber-re-
lated equipment, demonstrations,
workshops. Cost: No cost after
admission to the Spring Fair.
Website: www.shepherds-extrav-
he and Oregon producers worked on a
variety of issues. Highlights include be-
ing involved in the organization of the
Western States Dairy Producers Trade
Association. He was involved with im-
migration and served on the Governor’s
Oregon Immigration Committee, a pro-
cess that lasted two years. Krahn was
actively engaged in recruitment of OSU
students and restarted the OSU Dairy
Judging Team. Through the years, the
teams won 10 contests.
He was also influential in developing
the Oregon CAFO program by bringing
producers, regulators and environmental
groups together. He was also involved
in the 2008 Air Emission Legislative
Report.
aganza.com
Thursday-Sunday
April 19-22
Puyallup Spring Fair. Wash-
ington State Fairgrounds, 110
Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup, Wash.
Website: http://www.thefair.com/
spring-fair
Friday, April 20
Changing Hands: A Workshop
on Farm Succession Planning
and Access to Land. 7:30 a.m.-
5 p.m. Harmony West Campus,
Clackamas Community College,
7726 SE Harmony Road, Mil-
waukie, Ore. Rogue Farm Corps’
workshop will bring together as-
piring and retiring farmers for a
full day of training on land access
and succession planning. Cost:
$20 Website: www.roguefarm-
corps.org/planning
Saturday, April 21
Oregon Women for Ag Auc-
tion and Dinner. 5:30 p.m. Linn
County Fair and Expo Center,
3700 Knox Butte Road, Alba-
ny, Ore. This exciting event is a
fundraiser for Oregon Women for
Agriculture, which advocates for
all things involving agriculture in
the state. Web: owaonline.org
Tree School East. 9 a.m.-4
p.m. Baker High School, 2500
E St., Baker City, Ore. This year
the school will offer 29 classes
on everything from multi-aged
forest management to geology.
Sponsored by OSU Extension,
the Oregon Forest Resources
Institute and the Oregon Small
Woodlands Association. Cost:
$50, $20 for 18 and younger with
an adult family member. Website:
http://extension.oregonstate.
edu/baker/
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Idaho FFA ............................... 4
Markets ............................... 13
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