Sponsor
Daniel Milton Newhouse
Representative · R-WA
The bill creates a testing-based pathway to organic certification that broadens market access and strengthens labeling verification, but it imposes new testing costs and access inequities for some producers and introduces short-term regulatory uncertainty during implementation.
Farmers and wild-crop harvesters can use testing to certify soils or growing media as free of prohibited substances and qualify land/crops for organic production without a 3‑year organic history, expanding market access for producers and small businesses.
Consumers may have greater confidence in organic labeling because the Secretary must develop verification guidelines to ensure testing accuracy and reliability.
Small and mid-sized producers will face new testing costs and administrative burdens to certify soils/growing media prior to planting, increasing compliance expenses and potentially squeezing farm margins.
Producers in rural or low-resource areas with limited access to testing laboratories may be disadvantaged in entering organic markets compared with better-resourced peers.
Certifying agents and producers may face delay and uncertainty during rulemaking while the Secretary develops approved verification methods, creating temporary compliance gaps and confusion about acceptable procedures.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds a testing-based option to verify soil or growing media are free of prohibited substances before planting and requires USDA to develop verification guidelines.
Official title: To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to provide producers with the option to confirm the absence of prohibited substances through testing, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 5, 2026 by Daniel Milton Newhouse · Last progress February 5, 2026
Creates a testing-based option to verify that soil or other growing media contain no prohibited substances before planting for purposes of organic certification and requires the Secretary of Agriculture to publish verification guidelines. The bill amends existing organic production rules to let crop producers (not livestock) and managers of wild crops use laboratory testing or Secretary‑certified methods instead of relying solely on a 3‑year history free of prohibited substances, and it directs the Department to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking within 60 days to develop criteria and approved verification methods.
Representative · R-WA