USDA Rescinds Proposed Organic Animal-Welfare Rules; Small Producers Seek New Label

Apr 03, 2018

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tossed out a set of proposed changes this week that would have redefined living conditions for dairy and beef cattle, sheep, lamb, poultry and egg-laying chickens on certified organic farms.

Small organic farmers say they’re forced to compete with larger operations on an uneven playing field. And already, the Trump administration’s decision has pushed a group of smaller organic farmers to create their own organic label.

Te proposed rules, called the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices, required organic farms to give animals, in particular chickens, more space and access to the outdoors. The rules also would have banned certain practices, such as debeaking birds and tail docking (i.e. shortening an animal’s tail).

After 14 years of developing the regulations, the USDA said it doesn’t have the authority to enforce them; the changes were set to take effect in May.

In a 2017 report, the USDA estimates that up to half of U.S. organic egg producers would have dropped their certification due to the proposed regulations. That would have translated into fewer organic eggs, the USDA says, and cost consumers about $1.50 more a dozen.

Small organic farmers already can’t compete with larger operations who only meet the minimum requirements for organic, according to Francis Thicke, a small organic dairy farmer in Iowa.

Thicke, who also is a former member of the National Organic Standards Board, says his cows graze on pasture and have a diet of 85 percent grass, far beyond the USDA’s certified organic standard of 30 percent.

“It’s very unfair, I think, for small to midsize dairy farmers, who are meeting the spirit and letter of the law, are being forced out of the market,” Thicke says.

He added that he’s part of a group of farmers who want to create a separate label aside from the official USDA organic one to reflect producers’ commitment to the treatment of animals. Under the label, farmers would follow higher standards, including more grazing space for dairy cows and outdoors space for poultry.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.