Sustainable Agriculture Standard—Objective and Need

The objective of the sustainable agriculture standard-setting initiative is to establish a comprehensive, continuous improvement framework and common set of economic, environmental and social metrics by which to determine whether an agricultural crop has been produced and handled in a sustainable manner.

A national standard for sustainable agriculture has the potential to address a range of stakeholder needs, including supporting producer efforts to adopt sustainable production practices, establishing a framework for continuous improvement along the agricultural supply chain, providing a means of clear communication of sustainability achievements and harmonizing the myriad sustainable agriculture standards that are currently in place or in development. Read the Needs Assessment Task Force Brief to the Full Standards Committee for more information on the need for a sustainable agriculture standard.

 Announcements

Seven New Members Selected for Open Seats on the Standards Committee -- After a two month application submission and review period, Leonardo Academy has appointed seven new members to the SCS-001 Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee:

1. Steve Flick, Show Me Energy Cooperative (Producer)
2. Bill Norman, National Cotton Council (User)
3. Kindley Walsh Lawlor, Gap Inc. (User)
4. Andrew Manale,  Soil and Water Conservation Society/ USEPA (Environmentalist)
5. LaRhea Pepper, Organic Exchange (Environmentalist)
6. Dr. John Fagan, Earth Open Source/Global ID Group Inc. (Environmentalist)
7. Douglas Constance, Sam Houston State University (General Interest)

                                                                                                                                      
These individuals will be filling seats vacated by Hans Brand of B&H Flowers, Frans Wielemaker of Dole Fresh Fruit International, Colleen Kohlsaat of Levi Strauss & Company, Suzy Friedman of Environmental Defense Fund, Ron Strochlic of the California Institute of Rural Studies, David Pimentel of Cornell University and John Kukoly of QAI-SAI Global. (MORE)

Subcommittee Co-Chairs Have Been Elected -- The SCS-001 Subcommittee members elected a series of co-chairs that will lead the Subcommittee work over the next several months. Leonardo Academy is pleased to appoint the following individuals to the Subcommittee Co-Chair positions:

• Economic Sustainability Criteria Development:  Russell Williams, American Farm Bureau Federation; Tracy Miedema, Stahlbush Island Farms
• Environmental Sustainability Criteria Development:  John Thorne, CropLife America; Patrick Bohlen, MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center
• Social Sustainability Criteria Development:  Molly Anderson, Wallace Center at Winrock International; Bama Athreya, International Labor Rights Forum
• Structure & Process:  Jim Pierce, Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association; Ken McCauley, National Corn Growers Association
• Reference Library & Information:  Betsy Peterson, California Seed Association; Bill Wolf, Wolf, DiMatteo + Associates
• Fundraising & Communications:  Douglas Johnson, Environmental Intelligence, Inc.; Annie Gardiner, Green Penguin Communications

SCS-001 Subcommittees Open for Membership -- Leonardo Academy is now accepting applications for membership on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Subcommittees. The subcommittees will be exploring a range of key issues, engaging additional stakeholders, developing draft criteria and providing recommendations and guidance to the Standards Committee, the body charged with identifying, deliberating and building consensus around issues relevant to the standard under development, and determining the criteria that will be included in the framework of the final standard.

The following subcommittees are open for membership by all interested parties:

1. Criteria Development – Economic Sustainability
2. Criteria Development – Environmental Sustainability
3. Criteria Development – Social Sustainability
4. Structure and Process of Standard Development
5. Reference Library and Information
6. Fundraising and Communications

Applying for the Subcommittees -- Interested parties are required to submit an application for the subcommittee(s) of their interest. Individuals who have previously submitted applications do not need to reapply but should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further details. Download the Subcommittee Application here: (WORD) (PDF). We will continue to accept applications on an ongoing basis from individuals who wish to participate in the Subcommittee work.

 Important Dates

• Subcommittee Teleconferences - Please visit the Sustainable Agriculture Standard project calendar for upcoming teleconference dates.
• SCS-001 Standard Development Timeline