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 of 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.

Donate Today to Support Sustainable Agriculture    

Leonardo Academy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, seeks your tax-deductible contributions to fund the development of a Sustainable Agriculture Standard and to support active participation by as many stakeholders as possible.

 Important Dates

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

Announcements

Four Seats Open on Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee  -- Leonardo Academy is seeking applications for four open seats on the Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the User, Environmentalist, and General Interest categories. (MORE)

Download the Application:  (WORD)   (PDF)

Applications must be received by 12 pm central on Thursday, August 19th. The new Committee members will be announced during the first week of September.

Subcommittees Open for Membership -- Leonardo Academy accepts applications for membership on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Subcommittees on an ongoing basis. The subcommittees play a critical part in the standards development process by taking a direct role in exploring 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. (MORE)

Who's Involved - The 58-member Sustainable Agriculture Standard Development Committee (Standards Committee) consists of a skilled, diverse membership representing a broad range of perspectives from across all areas of agriculture, including commodity producers; specialty crop producers; agricultural product processors and distributors; food retailers; environmental, labor, and development organizations; NGOs; industry trade associations; government representatives; academics; regulators; and certifiers.

Supporting the Standards Committee are six subcommittees that have been working since July 2009 to develop the structure of the standard; draft economic, environmental, and social criteria for possible inclusion in the standard; and develop communications materials for process stakeholders; and collect resources to include in the Sustainable Agriculture Standard Reference Library. 

• Standards Committee Members
• Subcommittee Members
• Observers
• How to Participate