The National Organic Standards Board fall meeting will be held virtually this October 27 – 29, 2026. The full schedule is online here. This is an important meeting for the organic seed community because the Board will discuss the stubbornly high percentage of organic crops grown without organic seed. If we want to change the status quo and support organic seed farmers, we must make our voices heard!
Public Comment via Zoom Webinars and Written Comments
If you are a seed producer, representative of a company selling organic seed, grower using organic seed, plant breeder developing varieties for organic systems, organic certifier, or organic seed policy specialist, please consider submitting written and/or giving oral comments at this crucial meeting. If you need assistance preparing your comments, have questions about what to expect, or just want some feedback and support, Milo Petruziello, OSA’s Assistant Director of Policy and Advocacy, is here to help! Email him at milo@seedalliance.org to set up a time to chat.
If you wish to give oral comments, you can sign up to give 3-minute oral testimony via Zoom Webinar here. We recommend signing up as soon as possible because spots fill up quickly! Public comment webinar dates are:
- Day 1: Tuesday, October 20 | Noon – 5:00 PM ET
- Day 2: Thursday, October 22 | Noon – 5:00 PM ET
If you prefer to provide written comments, the deadline is October 1st. We know from experience that the NOSB really does read them! They must be submitted through the Federal Register (it’s not as complicated as it sounds, and Milo is here to help!). Here are the instructions from the NOSB meeting website:
Go to Regulations.gov and search for docket # AMS-NOP-26-0892.
- Choose the “Documents” tab
- Under the Notice for the meeting, choose the “Comment Button”
- Read the “Commenters Checklist” for best practices and submit your comment. See page for accepted file formats.
- To submit a comment on behalf of multiple commenters, click “upload attachment with multiple comment submissions”, and you will be prompted to provide the total number of comments. This number will be reflected in the overall comment count.
The best place to start with drafting your comments is to review the NOSB’s discussion document on Consistency in Organic Seed Usage. The discussion document includes background information and a list of questions the NOSB wants feedback on, so we recommend using it to inform your comments. The most important thing is to tell the Board how this issue impacts you.
Pre-Meeting Hosted by National Organic Coalition on October 14
Join National Organic Coalition (NOC) for a virtual community-wide gathering in advance of the NOSB meeting on Wednesday, October 14, 1 to 5 pm ET.
The National Organic Coalition (NOC) will convene the organic community for timely, solution-oriented conversations in connection with the National Organic Standards Board meeting. This fall’s meeting offers a chance to hear directly from farmers, advocates, and policy experts about on-the-ground realities for organic farms, federal policy issues, NOSB topics, and ways you can take action to support organic.
