§ 6513. — Organic plan.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC6513]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 94--ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
Sec. 6513. Organic plan
(a) In general
A producer or handler seeking certification under this chapter shall
submit an organic plan to the certifying agent and the State organic
certification program (if applicable), and such plan shall be reviewed
by the certifying agent who shall determine if such plan meets the
requirements of the programs.
(b) Crop production farm plan
(1) Soil fertility
An organic plan shall contain provisions designed to foster soil
fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content
of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring.
(2) Manuring
(A) Inclusion in organic plan
An organic plan shall contain terms and conditions that
regulate the application of manure to crops.
(B) Application of manure
Such organic plan may provide for the application of raw
manure only to--
(i) any green manure crop;
(ii) any perennial crop;
(iii) any crop not for human consumption; and
(iv) any crop for human consumption, if such crop is
harvested after a reasonable period of time determined by
the certifying agent to ensure the safety of such crop,
after the most recent application of raw manure, but in no
event shall such period be less than 60 days after such
application.
(C) Contamination by manure
Such organic plan shall prohibit raw manure from being
applied to any crop in a way that significantly contributes to
water contamination by nitrates or bacteria.
(c) Livestock plan
An organic livestock plan shall contain provisions designed to
foster the organic production of livestock consistent with the purposes
of this chapter.
(d) Mixed crop livestock production
An organic plan may encompass both the crop production and livestock
production requirements in subsections (b) and (c) of this section if
both activities are conducted by the same producer.
(e) Handling plan
An organic handling plan shall contain provisions designed to ensure
that agricultural products that are sold or labeled as organically
produced are produced and handled in a manner that is consistent with
the purposes of this chapter.
(f) Management of wild crops
An organic plan for the harvesting of wild crops shall--
(1) designate the area from which the wild crop will be gathered
or harvested;
(2) include a 3 year history of the management of the area
showing that no prohibited substances have been applied;
(3) include a plan for the harvesting or gathering of the wild
crops assuring that such harvesting or gathering will not be
destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and
production of the wild crop; and
(4) include provisions that no prohibited substances will be
applied by the producer.
(g) Limitation on content of plan
An organic plan shall not include any production or handling
practices that are inconsistent with this chapter.
(Pub. L. 101-624, title XXI, Sec. 2114, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3943.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 6506 of this title.
