The Organic Trade Association is urging USDA to swiftly implement a final Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards rule, saying that strengthening animal welfare standards is long overdue and critical for the sustainability of family farms, the advancement of organic agriculture and the continued trust consumers have in the organic label.

“The organic community and our association have been fighting for some 20 years for the much-needed animal welfare reforms that this regulation makes possible,” Tom Chapman, CEO of the association, said in a press release.

“It is time now for USDA to heed the overwhelming support that this new rule has received from the public and once and for all make this rule a reality,” he said.

The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on Nov. 10.

OTA said the proposed rule drew overwhelming public support. The association’s analysis shows that out 39,090 posted comments, 89% were in favor of the regulation being finalized and only 1% were completely opposed to it.

In some of its key components, the proposed rule would:

• Clarify that enclosed, screened-in porches with a roof do not constitute outdoor access for organic poultry.

• Set minimum indoor and outdoor space and enrichment requirements for organic chickens.

• Forbid the use of gestation crates for organic swine and require that all organic livestock housing ensures animals have sufficient space and freedom to lie down, turn around, stand up and fully stretch their limbs.

• Establish welfare provisions for animals during transport and slaughter.

“Outdoor access is fundamental to the organic regulations, and it is what the market expects,” OTA said in its submitted comments to USDA.

The regulatory clarification that enclosed porches for poultry are not outdoor access “is critical for resolving the market failure, alleviating the direct competitive disadvantage experienced by many organic producers and supporting consumer confidence and expectations of animal welfare under the USDA organic seal,” the association said in its comments.

OTA also stressed the importance of swift implementation of the new regulation.

The association said it opposes a 15-year implementation period put forward by USDA as an option for complying with outdoor space requirements, calling it “excessively long” and “unacceptable.”

OTA recommended poultry operations certified at the time of the final rule’s publication date should have no more than five years to comply and new entrants must comply within one year.

USDA will now review the comments, after which it will finalize and publish the rule. There is no time limit for completing that process.

“USDA has taken a significant step forward in finally clarifying key organic animal welfare regulations. The Organic Trade Association will keep the pressure on to make sure this new regulation is put into place,” Chapman said.

“Now it is time for the department to swiftly implement these long overdue rules, as the organic community and the public clearly support,” he said.