Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 15 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Subtitle 22 - ORGANICALLY PRODUCED COMMODITIES › Chapter 15.22.01 - Organic Definitions › Section 15.22.01.01 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this
				subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Allelochemic" means a substance produced
				by an organism, or synthesized, that produces one or more reactions in a
				different species.
(2) "Certified
				handling operation" means a processor, distributor, or retailer that has
				obtained a permit under this subtitle.
(3) "Commingled" means inseparably mixed or
				interspersed with other product and not distinguishable from it.
(4) "Cover crop", "nurse crop",
				"intercropping", or "green manure crop" means a crop:
(a) Planted primarily to cover the soil
				surface as mulch to retain moisture, prevent erosion, and recover and bind
				available nutrients from the soil for future use; or
(b) To be plowed under to replenish nutrients
				in the soil and increase soil tilth.
(5) "Department" means the Maryland
				Department of Agriculture or its designee.
(6) "Distributor" means a person who
				transports or sells food or fiber for resale.
(7) "Farm" means land or growing area used
				for agricultural purposes under the management of a permitted producer or
				applicant for a certification permit.
(8) "Farm unit" means a tillable unit or
				growing area which has definite boundaries and for which an individual
				management plan is developed by an applicant for a certification
				permit.
(9) "Handle" means to sell,
				process, or package agricultural products.
(10) "Handler" means any person engaged in
				the business of handling agricultural products.
(11) "Julian date" means a calendar date
				expressed by three consecutive digits which indicate the day of the year in a
				series from 001 (=January 1) to 365 (= December 31 of a non-leap year) or 366
				(= December 31 of a leap year).
(12) "Logo" means either the Maryland
				certified organic logo or the Maryland organic certification pending
				logo.
(13) "Organic" or "organic
				product" means a product that is produced, handled, and certified as provided
				by COMAR 15.22.02 and 15.22.03.
(14) "Organic farming" means a system of farm
				management practices designed to:
(a) Build,
				replenish, and maintain soil fertility by providing optimal conditions for soil
				biological activity;
(b) Build soil
				humus by:
(i) Using crop rotations,
(ii) Using organic materials for soil
				building, and
(iii) Applying
				balanced mineral amendments;
(c) Reduce the use of off-farm inputs and
				reliance on nonrenewable resources; and
(d) Use, when necessary, mechanical,
				botanical, or biological methods to control pests.
(15) "Organic farm plan" means a
				producer-established written plan for the present and future (for the next 3
				years or longer) management of an organic farm, including, but not limited to,
				written plans to rotate crops, build humus, stabilize soil nutrients, and build
				fertility levels.
(16) "Organic
				handling plan" means a written plan to manage an organic handling operation,
				including all aspects of processing and handling and other practices as
				required under this subtitle, and that has been approved by the
				Department.
(17) "Permaculture"
				means a system of farming, such as orchards, in which the soil is not tilled or
				renewed annually.
(18) "Person"
				means an individual, group of individuals, corporation, association,
				organization, cooperative, or other entity.
(19) "Pesticide" means any substance or
				mixture of substances intended for:
(a)
				Preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest;
(b) Use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or
				dessicant; or
(c) Use as a spray
				adjuvant such as a wetting agent or adhesive.
(20) "Pheromone" means a substance that is
				produced and discharged by an organism, or synthesized and released, that
				induces one or more physiological responses in another organism of the same
				species.
(21) "Processor" means a
				person who manufactures agricultural commodities into agricultural
				products.
(22) "Producer" means a
				person who grows or produces organic food, fiber, seed, planting material, or
				feed.
(23) "Raw manure" means
				agricultural animals' excrement, both solid and liquid, that has not been aged,
				aerated, composted, fermented, aerobically digested, or otherwise humified or
				processed in such a way as to improve its value as a biological
				activator.
(24) "Retailer" means a
				person, other than the operator of a restaurant, who sells product at retail to
				its ultimate consumer.
(25)
				"Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture or a designee.
(26) "Synthetic" means a substance that is
				formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that
				chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant,
				animal, or mineral sources, except that this term does not apply to substances
				created by naturally occurring biological processes.
(27) "Vendor" means a person who sells
				organic food or products.