§205.236. Origin of livestock. — Inbound Citations

(a) Produced in accordance with the requirements specified in § 205.101 or §§ 205.202 through 205.207 or §§ 205.236 through 205.240 and all other applicable requirements of part 205; and

(a) Temporary variances from the requirements in §§ 205.203 through 205.207, 205.236 through 205.240 and 205.270 through 205.272 may be established by the Administrator for the following reasons:

(1) Natural disasters declared by the Secretary;

(2) Damage caused by drought, wind, flood, excessive moisture, hail, tornado, earthquake, fire, or other business interruption; and

(3) Practices used for the purpose of conducting research or trials of techniques, varieties, or ingredients used in organic production or handling.

(3) Must be biobased with content determined using ASTM D6866 (incorporated by reference; see § 205.3).

Biologics. All viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous products of natural or synthetic origin, such as diagnostics, antitoxins, vaccines, live microorganisms, killed microorganisms, and the antigenic or immunizing components of microorganisms intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of diseases of animals.

Breeder stock. Female livestock whose offspring may be incorporated into an organic operation at the time of their birth.

Buffer zone. An area located between a certified production operation or portion of a production operation and an adjacent land area that is not maintained under organic management. A buffer zone must be sufficient in size or other features (e.g., windbreaks or a diversion ditch) to prevent the possibility of unintended contact by prohibited substances applied to adjacent land areas with an area that is part of a certified operation.

Bulk. The presentation to consumers at retail sale of an agricultural product in unpackaged, loose form, enabling the consumer to determine the individual pieces, amount, or volume of the product purchased.

Caponization. Castration of chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and other avian species.

Cattle wattling. The surgical separation of two layers of the skin from the connective tissue along a 2-to-4-inch path on the dewlap, neck, or shoulders used for ownership identification.

Certification activity. Any business conducted by a certifying agent, or by a person acting on behalf of a certifying agent, including but not limited to: certification management; administration; application review; inspection planning; inspections; sampling; inspection report review; material review; label review; records retention; compliance review; investigating complaints and taking adverse actions; certification decisions; and issuing transaction certificates.

Certification office. Any site or facility where certification activities are conducted, except for certification activities that occur at certified operations or applicants for certification, such as inspections and sampling.

Certification or certified. A determination made by a certifying agent that a production or handling operation is in compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part, which is documented by a certificate of organic operation.

Certification review. The act of reviewing and evaluating a certified operation or applicant for certification and determining compliance or ability to comply with the USDA organic regulations. This does not include performing an inspection.

Certified operation. A crop or livestock production, wild-crop harvesting or handling operation, or portion of such operation that is certified by an accredited certifying agent as utilizing a system of organic production or handling as described by the Act and the regulations in this part.

Certifying agent. Any entity accredited by the Secretary as a certifying agent for the purpose of certifying a production or handling operation as a certified production or handling operation.

Certifying agent's operation. All sites, facilities, personnel, and records used by a certifying agent to conduct certification activities under the Act and the regulations in this part.

Claims. Oral, written, implied, or symbolic representations, statements, or advertising or other forms of communication presented to the public or buyers of agricultural products that relate to the organic certification process or the term, “100 percent organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s)),” or, in the case of agricultural products containing less than 70 percent organic ingredients, the term, “organic,” on the ingredients panel.

Class of animal. A group of livestock that shares a similar stage of life or production. The classes of animals are those that are commonly listed on feed labels.

Commercially available. 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.

Commingling. Physical contact between unpackaged organically produced and nonorganically produced agricultural products during production, processing, transportation, storage or handling, other than during the manufacture of a multiingredient product containing both types of ingredients.

Compost. The product of a managed process through which microorganisms break down plant and animal materials into more available forms suitable for application to the soil or as a component of mushroom substrate.

Conformity assessment system. All activities, including oversight, accreditation, compliance review, and enforcement, undertaken by a government to ensure that the applicable technical requirements for the production and handling of organic agricultural products are fully and consistently applied.

Control. Any method that reduces or limits damage by populations of pests, weeds, or diseases to levels that do not significantly reduce productivity.

Crop. Pastures, cover crops, green manure crops, catch crops, mushrooms, or any plant or part of a plant intended to be marketed as an agricultural product, fed to livestock, or used in the field to manage nutrients and soil fertility.

Crop residues. The plant parts remaining in a field after the harvest of a crop, which include stalks, stems, leaves, roots, and weeds.

Crop rotation. The practice of alternating the annual crops grown on a specific field in a planned pattern or sequence in successive crop years so that crops of the same species or family are not grown repeatedly without interruption on the same field. Perennial cropping systems employ means such as alley cropping, intercropping, and hedgerows to introduce biological diversity in lieu of crop rotation.

Crop year. That normal growing season for a crop as determined by the Secretary.

Cultivation. Digging up or cutting the soil to prepare a seed bed; control weeds; aerate the soil; or work organic matter, crop residues, or fertilizers into the soil.

Cultural methods. Methods used to enhance crop health and prevent weed, pest, or disease problems without the use of substances; examples include the selection of appropriate varieties and planting sites; proper timing and density of plantings; irrigation; and extending a growing season by manipulating the microclimate with green houses, cold frames, or wind breaks.

De-beaking. The removal of more than one-third of the upper beak or removal of more than one-third of both the upper and lower beaks of a bird.

De-snooding. The removal of the turkey snood (a fleshy protuberance on the forehead of male turkeys).

Detectable residue. The amount or presence of chemical residue or sample component that can be reliably observed or found in the sample matrix by current approved analytical methodology.

Disease vectors. Plants or animals that harbor or transmit disease organisms or pathogens which may attack crops or livestock.

Drift. The physical movement of prohibited substances from the intended target site onto an organic operation or portion thereof.

Dry lot. A fenced area that may be covered with concrete, but that has little or no vegetative cover.

Dry matter. The amount of a feedstuff remaining after all the free moisture is evaporated out.

Dry matter demand. The expected dry matter intake for a class of animal.

Dry matter intake. Total pounds of all feed, devoid of all moisture, consumed by a class of animals over a given period of time.

Dubbing. The removal of poultry combs and wattles.

Emergency pest or disease treatment program. A mandatory program authorized by a Federal, State, or local agency for the purpose of controlling or eradicating a pest or disease.

Employee. Any person providing paid or volunteer services for a certifying agent.

Excipients. Any ingredients that are intentionally added to livestock medications but do not exert therapeutic or diagnostic effects at the intended dosage, although they may act to improve product delivery (e.g., enhancing absorption or controlling release of the drug substance). Examples of such ingredients include fillers, extenders, diluents, wetting agents, solvents, emulsifiers, preservatives, flavors, absorption enhancers, sustained-release matrices, and coloring agents.

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.

Feed. Edible materials which are consumed by livestock for their nutritional value. Feed may be concentrates (grains) or roughages (hay, silage, fodder). The term, “feed,” encompasses all agricultural commodities, including pasture ingested by livestock for nutritional purposes.

Feed additive. A substance added to feed in micro quantities to fulfill a specific nutritional need; i.e., essential nutrients in the form of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

Feedlot. A dry lot for the controlled feeding of livestock.

Feed supplement. A combination of feed nutrients added to livestock feed to improve the nutrient balance or performance of the total ration and intended to be:

(a) The producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced and handled by operations certified under this part, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(iii) and (a)(3), except, that, synthetic substances allowed under § 205.603 and nonsynthetic substances not prohibited under § 205.604 may be used as feed additives and feed supplements, Provided, That, all agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients list, for such additives and supplements, shall have been produced and handled organically.

(3) When roughages are used as bedding, they shall have been organically produced in accordance with this part by an operation certified under this part, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(iii) of this part, and, if applicable, organically handled by operations certified under this part.

(a) The producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced and handled by operations certified under this part, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(iii) and (a)(3), except, that, synthetic substances allowed under § 205.603 and nonsynthetic substances not prohibited under § 205.604 may be used as feed additives and feed supplements, Provided, That, all agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients list, for such additives and supplements, shall have been produced and handled organically.

(3) When roughages are used as bedding, they shall have been organically produced in accordance with this part by an operation certified under this part, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(iii) of this part, and, if applicable, organically handled by operations certified under this part.

(a) The producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced and handled by operations certified under this part, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(iii) and (a)(3), except, that, synthetic substances allowed under § 205.603 and nonsynthetic substances not prohibited under § 205.604 may be used as feed additives and feed supplements, Provided, That, all agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients list, for such additives and supplements, shall have been produced and handled organically.

(a) The producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced and handled by operations certified under this part, except as provided in § 205.236(a)(2)(iii) and (a)(3), except, that, synthetic substances allowed under § 205.603 and nonsynthetic substances not prohibited under § 205.604 may be used as feed additives and feed supplements, Provided, That, all agricultural ingredients included in the ingredients list, for such additives and supplements, shall have been produced and handled organically.