United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5029

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 1 of 6

File Name: NOP 5029 - Seeds Final Authorized Distribution: Public

Guidance

Seeds, Annual Seedlings, and Planting Stock in Organic Crop Production

1. Purpose

This guidance describes practices for certified operations to demonstrate their proactive efforts to 

procure all organic seeds, annual seedlings, and planting stock in support of their organic system 

plan (OSP). This guidance clarifies “equivalent variety” and also describes the form, quality, or 

quantity criteria that need to be met before seeds or planting stock can be categorized as

commercially unavailable as organic. Further, this guidance outlines considerations regarding 

the inputs and substances routinely used during crop production. 

2. Scope

This guidance applies to all National Organic Program (NOP) certifying agents, certified and

exempt organic crop producers, and suppliers of seeds, annual seedlings, and planting stock.

3. Background

The USDA organic regulations at 7 CFR § 205.204 require that organic producers use organic 

seeds, annual seedlings, and planting stock. The regulations allow producers to utilize nonorganic seeds and planting stock when equivalent organic varieties are not commercially 

available. 

In August 2005 and November 2008, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) provided 

recommendations that outlined specific concepts and procedures for determining commercial 

availability of organic seeds and planting stock. These recommendations also identified the 

responsibilities of the NOP, certifying agents, and operations for promoting and sourcing organic

seeds and planting stock and emphasized that utilizing organic seed is a fundamental part of 

supporting a healthy, viable organic seed industry. Considerable public comment at NOSB 

meetings has supported these goals. This guidance represents NOP’s current thinking on this 

topic.

4. Policy

Producers should develop and follow procedures for procuring organic seeds, annual seedlings, 

and planting stock and maintain adequate records as evidence of these practices in their organic 

system plan (OSP). Producers must also provide clear documentation regarding the inputs and 

materials used during crop production (as required at § 205.201(a)(2)). Certifying agents must 

assess procedures and documentation of certified production and handling operations as they 

source seeds, annual seedlings, and planting stock on an annual basis. Each of these concepts is 

described in more detail below. 
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5029

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 2 of 6

File Name: NOP 5029 - Seeds Final Authorized Distribution: Public

4.1 Sourcing of Seeds, Annual Seedlings, and Planting Stock 

4.1.1 Certified operations must use organic seed, annual seedlings, and planting stock in 

accordance with the requirements at § 205.204.

4.1.2 Certified operations may use non-organic seed and planting stock only if 

equivalent organically produced varieties of organic seeds and planting stock are 

not commercially available. 

a. Commercial availability is defined at § 205.2 and refers to the ability to obtain 

a production input, in this case seed or planting stock, in an appropriate form, 

quality, or quantity to fulfill an essential function in organic production. For 

the purposes of this exception, an “equivalent variety” is a variety of the same 

“type” (e.g. head lettuce types versus leaf lettuce types) or has similar 

agronomic or marketing characteristics needed to meet site specific 

requirements for an operation. These characteristics may include, but are not 

limited to: number of days until harvest; color, flavor, moisture, chemical, or 

nutrient profiles of the variety of the harvested crop; vigor or yield of 

harvested crop; regional adaptation, disease and pest resistance, or the plant’s 

utility in a crop rotation.

b. Price cannot be a consideration for determination of commercial availability.

4.1.3 The following considerations could be acceptable to justify use of non-organic 

seeds and planting stock as not commercially available. These considerations 

must be described by the operation in their organic system plan (OSP), pursuant 

to § 205.201(a)(2), and approved by the certifying agent.

a. Form Considerations: Examples of forms may include, but are not limited to, 

treated or non-treated seeds or planting stock, use of pelleted seed, or use of 

bare root nursery stock or container plants. 

b. Quality Considerations: Examples may include, but are not limited to, 

germination rate of the seed; presence of weed seeds in the seed mix; shelf life 

and stability of the seeds; and disease and pest resistance.

c. Quantity Considerations: Producers may provide evidence that quantities are 

not available in sufficiently large or small amounts given the scale of the 

operation.

4.1.4 For certified operations producing edible sprouts, there is no exception to the 

requirement to use organic seed, as stated at § 205.204(a)(1). 

4.1.5 Certified operations may use non-organic annual seedlings to produce an organic 

crop only when a temporary variance has been granted by the AMS Administrator 
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5029

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 3 of 6

File Name: NOP 5029 - Seeds Final Authorized Distribution: Public

in accordance with § 205.290(a)(2) due to an extreme weather event or business 

disruption beyond the control of the producer (§ 205.204(a)(3)).

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4.1.6 Use of non-organic planting stock to produce organic crops is subject to 

commercial availability as per § 205.204(a)(1). If planting stock is from a nonorganic source and is used to produce perennial crops, then that planting stock

may be sold, labeled or represented as organic planting stock after 12 months of 

organic management (§ 205.204(a)(4)). 

4.2 Recordkeeping for Organic Producers

4.2.1 The following records should be maintained by organic producers:

a. A list of all seed and planting stock, indicating any non-organic seeds or stock 

used, and the justification for their use including lack of equivalent variety,

form, quality or quantity considerations. Records describing on-farm trials of

organic seed and planting stock can be used to demonstrate lack of equivalent 

varieties for site specific conditions.

b. The search and procurement methods used to source organic seed and planting 

stock varieties, including:

1. Evidence of efforts made to source organic seed, including 

documentation of contact with three or more seed or planting stock 

sources to ascertain the availability of equivalent organic seed or 

planting stock. Sources should include companies that offer organic 

seeds and planting stock. 

2. Records may include, but are not limited to: letters, faxes, email 

correspondence, and phone logs from seed suppliers and companies; 

seed catalogs; searches of organic seed databases; receipts; receiving 

documents, invoices, and inventory control documents.

4.3 Inputs Used for Treatment of Seeds or Planting Stock

4.3.1 Substances used in the treatment of seed and planting stock need to be described 

in the OSP. Allowed treatments include:

a. Peracetic acid is specifically allowed for use in disinfecting seed per 

§ 205.601(a)(6).

 1

 Please see procedures for requesting a temporary variance in the NOP Program Handbook: Guidance 

and Instructions for Accredited Certifying Agents and Certified Operation, NOP 2606 – Processing 

Requests for Temporary Variances.
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5029

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 4 of 6

File Name: NOP 5029 - Seeds Final Authorized Distribution: Public

b. Hydrogen chloride is specifically allowed for delinting cotton seed for 

planting per § 205.601(n).

c. Chlorine materials may be used per § 205.601(a)(2). Use of chlorine products 

in handling of seeds on-farm can be considered a production use that is not in 

direct contact with the crop, provided the treatment is followed by immediate 

rinsing with potable water that does not exceed the maximum residual 

disinfectant limit under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

2

d. Other synthetic substances listed for appropriate uses in § 205.601 (e.g. for 

pest or disease control, or as a soil or plant amendment).

e. Nonsynthetic substances that are not prohibited are allowed as seed or 

planting stock treatments. 

4.3.2 Examples of types of treatments that should be reviewed by the certifying agent:

a. Pesticides, including fungicides, herbicides and insecticides: All pesticides 

used as seed treatments must be compliant for organic production, including 

inert and active ingredients. Botanical or biological preparations cannot be 

genetically modified per prohibition for excluded methods as defined by § 

205.105(e) and § 205.2.

b. Pelleting: A clay coating applied to seed to increase its size and modify its 

shape into a more uniform ball. Pelleting allows for more even and efficient 

direct seeding of fields or containers either by hand or mechanically with the 

use of seeding equipment calibrated to the specific sizes and shapes of the 

pelleted seed. Ingredients used in pelleting must be nonsynthetic or included 

on the National List at § 205.601 for an appropriate use.

c. Inoculants: Bacteria that fix nitrogen from the air and soil that are 

commercially prepared for use with legumes during seeding. The materials 

used in Rhizobium or other microbial preparations cannot be genetically 

modified per the prohibition of excluded methods as defined by § 205.105(e) 

and § 205.2.

4.3.3 Substances used by a seed or planting stock purveyor prior to the harvest of their 

non-organic seeds or non-organic planting stock for sale and use in organic 

production are not considered “treatment”. Substances that are used by a seed or 

planting stock purveyor for seed cleaning and preparation (e.g. trisodium 

phosphate and chlorine solutions) after they harvest their non-organic seeds for 

sale in organic production are also not considered “treatment”, since they do not 

remain on the seed when it is planted. These substances do not need to be 

 2 Please see NOP 5026 - The Use of Chlorine Materials in Organic Production and Handling.
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5029

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 5 of 6

File Name: NOP 5029 - Seeds Final Authorized Distribution: Public

described in the OSP by the certified operation and do not require review by the 

certifying agent.

4.4 Role of Certifying Agents

4.4.1 Certifying agents must verify the procedures that certified operations utilize to 

obtain and plant organic varieties suitable for their operations as part of their 

annual review of the OSP.

4.4.2 Certifying agents must review substances and inputs used to treat seeds and 

planting stock for compliance with the USDA organic regulations.

4.4.3 Certifying agents shall verify the commercial availability requirements on an 

annual basis, in their review of the OSP, pursuant to§ 205.402(a)(1).

4.4.4 Certifying agents should review an operation’s progress in obtaining organic 

seeds, planting stock and transplants by comparing current source information to 

previous years.

5. References

5.1 USDA Organic Regulations

§ 205.2 Terms defined.

Annual seedling. A plant grown from seed that will complete its life cycle or produce a 

harvestable yield within the same crop year or season in which it was planted.

Commercial availability. The ability to obtain a production input in an appropriate form, quality, 

or quantity to fulfill an essential function in a system of organic production or handling, as 

determined by the certifying agent in the course of reviewing the organic plan.

Excluded methods. A variety of methods used to genetically modify organisms or influence their 

growth and development by means that are not possible under natural conditions or processes 

and are not considered compatible with organic production. Such methods include cell fusion, 

microencapsulation and macroencapsulation, and recombinant DNA technology (including gene 

deletion, gene doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes when 

achieved by recombinant DNA technology). Such methods do not include the use of traditional 

breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, or tissue culture.

Planting stock. Any plant or plant tissue other than annual seedlings but including rhizomes, 

shoots, leaf or stem cuttings, roots, or tubers, used in plant production or propagation.

Transplant. A seedling which has been removed from its original place of production, 

transported, and replanted.
United States Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue S.W. NOP 5029

Agricultural Marketing Service Room 2646-South Building Effective Date: March 4, 2013

National Organic Program Washington, DC 20250 Page 6 of 6

File Name: NOP 5029 - Seeds Final Authorized Distribution: Public

§ 205.204 Seeds and planting stock practice standard.

5.2 NOP Program Handbook

NOP 2606 – Processing Requests for Temporary Variances

NOP 5026 – The Use of Chlorine Materials in Organic Production and Handling

Approved on February 28, 2013