Note: Subcommittee notes may include preliminary discussions regarding substances considered for addition to or removal from the 

National List. They do not represent official National Organic Program (NOP) policy/regulations or NOSB recommendations. Proposals 

must be voted on by the full Board, to become recommendations to the USDA. Please see the NOP website for official NOP policy, 

regulations, and status of substances used in organic production and handling.

 

Executive Committee (EC) Meeting Notes and

Summary of National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Subcommittee Activities

Tuesday, February 20, 2024 4:00 pm ET

 Present: Kyla Smith, NOSB Chair; Amy Bruch (ADB), NOSB Vice Chair & CACS Chair; Brian Caldwell (BC), Livestock 

Chair; Allison Johnson (AJ), Handling Chair; Logan Petrey (LP), Crops Chair; Jerry D’Amore (JD) - observer; Kim 

Huseman (KH) - observer; Carolyn Dimitri (CD) - observer; Wood Turner (WT) - observer

 Absent: Nate Lewis (NL), NOSB Secretary & PDS Chair; Franklin Quarcoo (FQ), Materials Chair

 Staff: Michelle Arsenault (MA); Erin Healy (EH); Jared Clark (JC); Heather Kumar (HK); Esu Obu (EO)

Agenda

• Review January 16, 2024 notes

• Chairs Report (KS)

o Compost Panel 

o Draft NOSB meeting agenda 

o Proposal submission deadline and process

• NOP news and updates (EH)

o NOP participation on Subcomm calls 

o Rulemaking updates

• Food Technologist update (JC)

• Advisory Committee Specialist (ACS) update (MA)

o Upcoming deadlines (see tables below)

o Spring meeting prep: Travel 

o Nominations timeline

o May 7 Subcomm calls, June 11 calls (NOP all hands)

• Subcommittee Reports/Updates (5 minutes each)

o Handling (HS) (AJ)

o Materials/GMO ad hoc (MS/GMO) (FQ)

o Policy Development (PDS) (NL)

o Livestock (LS) (BC)

o Crops (CS) (LP)

o Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification (CACS) (ADB)

• Additional Items 

• Adjourn

Discussion

• January 16, 2024 were approved as written.

• Chairs Report (KS)

o Compost Panel. The NOSB will invite a fourth panelist from either academia or Government.

o Draft NOSB meeting agenda. The Spring agenda will include time for in-person comments, TOPP

presentations, and a panel on compost.

o Proposal submission deadline and process. The NOSB Chair thanked members for submitting 

their Spring documents on time, and early in some cases. The NOSB officers plan to talk about 

best practices and ways to improve the process to make it smoother. Please feel free to submit 

ideas for ways to improve the workflow during the “in-between times” (between the time 

proposals are due and the meeting). 

• NOP news and updates (EH)
o Rulemaking updates. The Market Development rule is in clearance.

o The NOSB Chair encouraged the NOP to speak up on calls to provide feedback to help guide 

members during the proposal development process. She thanked the CACS representative for 

assisting with CACS documents. 

• Food Technologist update (JC). 

o There are approximately 3 or 4 petitions in the queue, in varying stages of review by the NOP. 

The Food Technologists are assisting with petition review as a training opportunity, in between 

work projects for the NOSB, and it is not interfering with their NOSB work. 

o The NOP Food Technologists sent phase 2 of the inerts spreadsheet (synthetic/nonsynthetic 

determination) to the Materials Subcommittee, and are working on Phase 3, which will 

encompass functional groups.

o The NOSB sent a request for a literature review on parasiticides in Livestock. NOP is currently 

working on scoping that project. 

• Advisory Committee Specialist (ACS) update (MA)

o Upcoming deadlines (see tables below)

o Spring meeting prep: Travel planning is on hold until after March 1, which is the expiration date 

for the Continuing resolution. 

o Nominations timeline. The nominations will be announced this Spring, likely in March, and will 

be open for 60 days. 

o May 7 Subcommittee calls. Given these are the week immediately after the spring meeting, the 

Chairs may want to cancel or reschedule.

o June 11 calls. NOP is hosting an all-hands meeting this week and will work with the 

Subcommittee Chairs to reschedule calls.

o The NOP set a self-imposed deadline of March 19 to send the sunset lists to the HS, CS, and LS. 

• Subcommittee Reports/Updates (5 minutes each)

o Handling (HS) (AJ). The HS completed all its sunsets and have a couple of outstanding TRs to 

review. On its last call, the HS discussed the limited scope TR on yeast, microorganisms, and 

enzymes, which was focused on excluded methods. Members also discussed the idea of inviting 

speakers to Subcommittee calls and inviting stakeholder feedback on fermentation. 

o Materials/GMO ad hoc (MS/GMO) (WD for FQ). The MS completed the discussion documents on 

Research Priorities and Inerts, and the proposal on the TR template updates. 

o Policy Development (PDS) (ADB for NL). The Subcommittee completed a proposal on PPM 

updates, which consist of minor changes. 

o Livestock (LS) (BC). The LS completed its sunset reviews for the Spring meeting and cancelled 

todays call. The Subcommittee has one TR to review and may have a petition to review soon. 

o Crops (CS) (LP). The Crops Subcommittee did not have a call today. The CS has completed its 

sunset reviews for the Spring meeting and have discussed adding a fourth panelist to the 

compost panel, possibly someone from academia. 

o Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification (CACS) (ADB). The CACS is working on several large, 

complex topics that are not black and white. For the Spring meeting, they will present 3 

discussion documents (Residue Testing for a Global Supply Chain, Climate Induced Farming Risk 

and Crop Insurance, and Organic Food System Capacity and Constraints), and one proposal on

transition to organic. The CACS is looking forward to public comments on its work. 

• Additional Items. 

o The USDA appointed a new Chief diversity officer. The NOSB has been discussing invitations to 

have someone speak at the NOSB meeting on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)

and the new chief diversity officer may be available to speak or may recommend someone in 

her office. The NOSB is interested in hearing from folks outside of USDA that perhaps consult 
with USDA. https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/03/02/usda-announces-firstpermanent-chief-diversity-and-inclusion

o Oral comment period sign up. The NOP explained the sign-up procedure for the oral comment 

sessions. 

o A member asked about changes in roles with regard to the Executive call, and whether the 

Deputy Administrator would continue to attend the calls. 

• The meeting was adjourned

Previous ES Notes

Future call schedule (3rd Tuesday 4:00 PM ET | 1:00 PM PT, except where noted) 

January 16, 2024

February 20, 2024

March 19. 2024

April 16, 2024

May 21, 2024

June 18, 2024

July 16, 2024

August 20, 2024 

September 17, 2024

October 15, 2024

November 19, 2024

December 17, 2024

NOSB Work Agenda

Milestones 

Spring 2024 Milestones Target dates (tentative) Weeks PTM 

(prior to meeting)

NOP - Publish FRN, Open public comment ~Nov 17, 2023 16 -20

NOP - Draft Spring 2023 NOSB meeting tentative agenda Feb 9, 2024 ~ 10

NOSB - Spring 2024 proposals due to NOP Feb 15, 2024 ~ 9 

NOP - Post proposals Mar 5, 2024 7.5

Public comment closes Apr 3, 2024 3.5

NOP - Send compiled public comments to NOSB Apr 5, 2024 3

Public comment webinars Apr 23 & 25, 2024 1 

Spring 2024 NOSB meeting - Milwaukee, WI Apr 29 - May 1, 2024 0

Final recommendations due May 29, 2024 30 days post 

meeting
Fall 2024 Milestones Target dates 

(tentative)

Weeks PTM 

(prior to meeting)

NOP - Publish FRN, Open public comment ~May 24, 2024 21

NOP - Draft Fall 2024 NOSB meeting agenda Aug 2, 2024 ~10

NOSB - Fall 2024 proposals due to NOP Aug 14, 2024 ~9

NOP - Post proposals Aug 30, 2024 ~7.5 

Public comment closes Sep 30, 2024 ~4.5

NOP - Send compiled public comments to NOSB ~Oct 3, 2024 ~2

Public comment webinars Oct 15 & 17, 2024 1

Fall 2024 NOSB meeting - Portland, OR Oct 22 - 24, 2024 0

Final recommendations due Nov 25, 2024 30 days post
 Note: Subcommittee notes may include preliminary discussions regarding substances considered for addition to or removal from the 

National List. They do not represent official National Organic Program (NOP) policy/regulations or NOSB recommendations. Proposals 

must be voted on by the full Board, to become recommendations to the USDA. Please see the NOP website for official NOP policy, 

regulations, and status of substances used in organic production and handling.

 

Executive Committee (EC) Meeting Notes and

Summary of National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Subcommittee Activities

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 4:00 pm ET

 Present: Kyla Smith, NOSB Chair; Amy Bruch (ADB), NOSB Vice Chair & CACS Chair; Nate Lewis (NL), NOSB 

Secretary & PDS Chair; Brian Caldwell (BC), Livestock Chair; Allison Johnson (AJ), Handling Chair; Franklin 

Quarcoo (FQ), Materials Chair; Logan Petrey (LP), Crops Chair; Jerry D’Amore (JD) - observer; Kim Huseman (KH) 

- observer; Mindee Jeffery (MJ) - observer; Nate Powell-Palm (NPP) – observer; Carolyn Dimitri (CD) – observer; 

Wood Turner (WT) - observer

 Absent: 

 Staff: Jennifer Tucker (JT); Michelle Arsenault (MA); Erin Healy (EH); Jared Clark (JC); Heather Kumar (HK); Esu 

Obu (EO)

Agenda

• Review December 19, 2023 notes

• Chairs Report (KS)

o Draft NOSB meeting agenda: Compost Panel. In person oral comments. Equity Speaker.

o Proposal submission deadline and process

o NOSB members at ACA in San Antonio

• NOP news and updates (JC for EH)

o Response to CACS work agenda request

o Market Development Rule (Proposed Rule) (mushrooms, pet food)

o SOE rollout update

o Food Technologist work requests 

• Food Technologist update (JC)

• Advisory Committee Specialist (ACS) update (MA)

o Upcoming deadlines (see tables below)

o Spring meeting prep: Travel

o Nominations timeline

• Subcommittee Reports/Updates (5 minutes each)

o Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification (CACS) (ADB)

o Handling (HS) (AJ)

o Materials/GMO ad hoc (MS/GMO) (FQ)

o Policy Development (PDS) (NL)

o Livestock (LS) (BC)

o Crops (CS) (LP)

• Additional Items 

• Adjourn

Discussion

• December 19, 2023 notes were approved with no changes.

• Chairs Report (KS)

o The Chair shared ideas for the Spring meeting agenda and asked for feedback. The NOSB is 

thinking about hosting a panel on compost, a speaker on equity, and setting aside time for inperson oral comments. The group discussed blocking time and will move ahead with all three 

suggestions. 
o The proposal submission deadline is February 15 in order to get something on the agenda for 

the Spring meeting, and the Chair reminded Subcommittee Chairs to send documents to the 

NOP as soon as they are finalized.

o The January 2 Subcommittee calls were moved to January 23, (HS, CS, LS, CACS). There is also a 

5th Tuesday in January in case Subcommittees need extra time. 

o Several NOSB members will be attending the Accredited Certifiers Association (ACA) training in 

San Antonio at end of January. There is a listening session on NOSB topics. 

• NOP news and updates (JC for EH)

o Market Development Rule (Proposed Rule) (mushrooms, pet food). In clearance at USDA. Under 

the new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the proposed rule was 

designated non-significant, so does not have to go to OMB. 

o Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule implementation update. The rule published 

one year ago, and the implementation deadline is in March 2024. The NOP has been focused on

outreach about the rule and technology work (i.e. trade modules and export certificates). 

Additional components, such as the recommendation from the Board about GPS location 

identification, will be deferred for now, until the technology work is done. NOP noted that it is

discussing the GPS recommendations and ways to incorporate it. 

o The NOP provided a verbal approval of the CACS work agenda request on “Organic Food System 

Capacity and Constraints” and will follow up with written approval. 

o Preparation for the ACA training is underway. Many NOP staff will be participating. 

o The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is thriving. The mentors/mentees 

component is growing and working well. A member asked about other metrics to measure 

success. Metrics include such things as number of events, people engaged, number of mentors 

and mentees, number of certified ops, outcomes, acreage added, attrition, number of organic 

system plans (OSPs) that get completed, etc. The NOP is launching a transitional producer plan 

(TPP) to help producers document their organic practices and materials use during transition. 

This will be announced and posted on the AMS website soon. The group also discussed the 

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its role in the TOPP program.

o The NOP is preparing the next call for nominations for the NOSB. There will be 5 seats open as of

January 24, 2025. The Board members flagged potential gaps in skillsets, as two of the members 

rotating off have expertise in livestock. 

o The NOP response to the Fall 2023 NOSB recommendations should be sent soon. 

o The Board expressed appreciation to the Food Technologists and their work gathering the 

information on international standards for the sunset reviews.

o Technical Report (TR) template updates/Excluded methods. NOP addressed several aspects of 

this project that it finds challenging, and the group discussed issues and solutions. NOP offered 

several alternatives such as adding questions to the petition template instead of the TR 

template and noted the need to follow standard processes for requesting public comments 

through the proposal process; the process should be the same as when the PPM is updated. 

While members don’t want to see this delayed, they supported another public comment 

collection. Given that this is already on the work agenda, and the MS presented a discussion 

document at a previous meeting, the Subcommittee will move ahead with a proposal for the 

Spring 2024 meeting. The group supported this solution. 

• Food Technologist update (JC). The work on international standards was completed and returned to the 

NOSB and the Food Technologists are now working on the inerts work request. 

• Advisory Committee Specialist (ACS) update (MA)

o Upcoming deadlines (see tables below)
o Spring meeting prep. The NOP is prepping various items for the Spring meeting, including the 

draft meeting agenda and travel. The NOP will send guidance about making travel arrangements 

after March 1, which is when the next Continuing Resolution expires. 

o Nominations timeline. The call for applications will be published in the Spring - March or April - 

and will be open for 60 days. The NOP will send outreach materials to Board members to use for 

outreach to their stakeholders. 

• Subcommittee Reports/Updates (5 minutes each)

o Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification (CACS) (ADB). The Chair thanked the program for 

approving the work agenda request on Organic Food System Capacity and Constraints, and 

thanked the lead for developing the well thought out request. The CACS is working on several 

documents for the Spring meeting and has begun hosting guest speakers on its calls. 

o Handling (HS) (AJ). The HS has been reviewing an extensive list of sunset reviews, as well as 

three petitions. The Subcommittee voted to not add rye pollen extracts, magnesium carbonate, 

or magnesium carbonate hydroxide to the National List, and will bring the proposals and 

discussions to the full Board for a vote. 

o Materials/GMO ad hoc (MS/GMO) (FQ). The Food Technologists are working on the Inerts work 

request from the Board. The TR template update was discussed above.

o Policy Development (PDS) (NL). The PDS continues to refine updates to the Policy and 

Procedures Manual (PPM) which will be presented at the Spring meeting. The group completed 

conversations about outgoing member interviews. 

o Livestock (LS) (BC). The LS is working on several sunset reviews and is on track to complete them 

prior to the Spring meeting. 

o Crops (CS) (LP). The Crops Subcommittee is working on completing its sunset reviews, research 

priorities, and one petition on carbon dioxide. 

• Additional Items. None. 

• The meeting was adjourned

Previous ES Notes

Future call schedule (3rd Tuesday 4:00 PM ET | 1:00 PM PT, except where noted) 

December 19, 2023

January 16, 2024

February 20, 2024

March 19. 2024

April 16, 2024

May 21, 2024

June 18, 2024

July 16, 2024

August 20, 2024 

September 17, 2024

October 15, 2024

November 19, 2024

December 17, 2024
NOSB Work Agenda

Milestones 

Spring 2024 Milestones Target dates (tentative) Weeks PTM 

(prior to meeting)

NOP - Publish FRN, Open public comment ~Nov 17, 2023 16 -20

NOP - Draft Spring 2023 NOSB meeting tentative agenda Feb 9, 2024 ~ 10

NOSB - Spring 2024 proposals due to NOP Feb 15, 2024 ~ 9 

NOP - Post proposals Mar 5, 2024 7.5

Public comment closes Apr 3, 2024 3.5

NOP - Send compiled public comments to NOSB Apr 5, 2024 3

Public comment webinars Apr 23 & 25, 2024 1 

Spring 2024 NOSB meeting - Milwaukee, WI Apr 29 - May 1, 2024 0

Final recommendations due May 29, 2024 30 days post 

meeting

Fall 2024 Milestones Target dates 

(tentative)

Weeks PTM 

(prior to meeting)

NOP - Publish FRN, Open public comment ~May 24, 2024 21

NOP - Draft Fall 2024 NOSB meeting agenda Aug 2, 2024 ~10

NOSB - Fall 2024 proposals due to NOP Aug 14, 2024 ~9

NOP - Post proposals Aug 30, 2024 ~7.5 

Public comment closes Sep 30, 2024 ~4.5

NOP - Send compiled public comments to NOSB ~Oct 3, 2024 ~2

Public comment webinars Oct 15 & 17, 2024 1

Fall 2024 NOSB meeting - Portland, OR Oct 22 - 24, 2024 0

Final recommendations due Nov 25, 2024 30 days post