Hydroponics, aquaponics seek place in organic milieu

Can certified organic produce come out of hydroponic or aquaponic systems?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service is attempting to answer that question.

In September 2015, the National Organic Program appointed 16 members to a task force to explore hydroponic and aquaponic production practices and their alignment with the USDA organic regulations. The task force was charged with preparing a report to inform the National Organic Standards Board as it tries to figure out how hydroponics and aquaponics fit into organic production.

The board is a federal advisory committee whose 15 members represent the organic industry. Board members recommend whether substances should be allowed or prohibited in organic production or handling, assist in developing standards for substances to be used in organic production and advise the secretary of agriculture on other aspects of the organic regulations.

The public will have a chance to comment on findings and as the board develops a proposal on hydroponic and aquaponic production practices.

"Some of these systems are new and discussions within that federal advisory committee will figure out where those fit," said Laura Batcha, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Organic Trade Association.

Both systems share some common attributes. Both typically involved closed systems. Hydroponic systems rely on application of nutrients made from mixing chemicals, salts and trace elements. Aquaponics involves creating a freestanding ecosystem which relies on bacteria and composting red worms to convert the ammonia and solid waste from fish - often, tilapia - into a complete plant food.

"It's a symbiotic system," said Hector Crisantes,

master grower with Nogales, Ariz.-based Crisantes Ranches, which operates some shade house and greenhouse facilities.

Proponents of aquaponics describe it as "a necessarily organic process," since the use of pesticides would harm the fish living in the system and any growth hormones or antibiotics given to the fish would hurt the plants.

An industry awaits the board's findings, said Rachel Mehdi, organics category manager with Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group.

And, she said, there's a lot of questions" that need to be addressed.

"There's a lot of farming techniques being employed," she said, noting there are different types of greenhouse farming that have emerged over the years.

"It's why we have an organic certification and law. It's going to define something," Mehdi said.

If hydroponic and aquaponic practices meet strict organic standards, certification will follow, she said.

"It may not fit everyone's view of what organics should be," she said. "There will be lots of debate, but the reality is there's a law that will manage and interpret that, and things will continue to evolve from that."

Perhaps, organic consumers might consider only product grown in the ground to meet their own standards for organically grown," Mehdi said.

"Is there a demand for that? Those are questions that we'll have to answer in the future," Mehdi said.

The Watsonville, Calif.-based Organic Farming Research Foundation, which works "to foster the widespread adoption and improvement of organic farming systems" and provides education and grant programs, also is waiting from guidance in melding aquaponics and hydroponics in its efforts, said Brise Tencer, executive director.

She was asked, for instance, how the foundation would respond to a grant application from such a producer.

"I don't know what we'd do with the application," she said.

Tencer said hydroponics, in particular, is rich with possibilities for organic production.

"This is really an outstanding area," she said. "As you know, regulations have evolved over the years to meet consumer expectations to make sure farmers can produce these things in a viable way. It's a new territory. There's a lot of mixed opinions on this topic."

Robert Jennings, CEO and president of Dripping Springs, Texas-based Bella Verdi, said does not doubt hydroponic practices meld with organic production. Indeed, his company just opened a new 20,000-square-foot greenhouse near Austin Texas, to increase production of the company's living and specialty lettuces, as well as other leafy greens.

"We are now able to be more flexible and responsive to our customers' needs and the growing marketplace as consumers are looking for choices that include locally grown, healthy, and organic products - not to mention less waste, which is met through our living lettuce products," Jennings said.

Jennings said Bella Verdi comports to USDA organic standards.

"First, let's examine the roots of the USDA program. It was designed to get traditional farmers to adopt sustainable practices and to stop bad actors," he said. "It was designed to move dirt farmers into more sustainable practices."

Hydroponics came out of the 1960s, and is "in the vanguard of sustainable practices" because it requires no soil, pesticides, fertilizers or fungicides, Jennings said.

That makes it better for the environment, he said.

"USDA has vacillated about whether hydroponics can be organic. They are at the not-sure stage," Jennings said.

For now, as far as the organic category is concerned, Bella Verdi is on the outside looking in, Jennings said.

"We don't do certified organic," he said.

The only possible way in, for now, would be to buy all of its seeds from Santa Cruz-based California Certified Organic Farmers Inc., "and their seeds are much more expensive."

Jennings awaits a final decision from USDA, which would bring more clarity to the marketplace.

"The whole thing just creates confusion for the consumer," he said.