International Fresh Produce Association gives organic feedback

Apr 25, 2025

The International Fresh Produce Association says it emphasized the need for practical, science-based standards that support organic production while ensuring supply chain viability in remarks submitted for the National Organic Standards Board’s spring 2025 work agenda. The comments were developed in consultation with the association’s organics committee.

“Organic growers face unique challenges that require flexible, regionally aware, and evidence-based certification standards,” IFPA Director of Production and Environmental Policy Sara L. Neagu-Reed said in a news release.

“Our recommendations to the NOSB are designed to help safeguard organic integrity while ensuring that growers have practical tools and fair, consistent oversight that reflects the realities of organic farming today,” she continued. “IFPA thanks the NOSB for its work in advancing organic standards and looks forward to continued collaboration to support a transparent, science-based, and practical regulatory environment for organic produce.”

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.