Understanding the best practices for how to implement buffer zones on your farm can be confusing and it can be challenging to know how to use buffers as an on-farm resource. Oregon Tilth’s BigQA is designed to give tips on the ins and outs of when (and why) you need to have buffer areas on your farm. In addition, links are included to resources that will help you know when your buffer area is meeting (or not) the requirements of your unique situation.
BIG QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
What do I need to know about buffer zones on my organic farm?
WHAT IS A
BUFFER ZONE?
DO I NEED A
BUFFER ZONE?
IS THERE A
MINIMUM SIZE
REQUIREMENT?
In USDA organic regulations, a
buffer zone is “an area located
between a certified production
operation or portion of a
production operation and an
adjacent land area that is not
maintained under organic
management.”
If there is any risk of
contamination from adjacent
properties or activities that
pose a threat to crops you
intend to be “sold, labeled or
represented” as organic, you
need a buffer.
No. The buffer zone only
must be adequate to prevent
the unintended application of
a prohibited substance – from
adjacent non-organically
managed or unmanaged
lands – to organic crops.
WHAT DO BUFFER
ZONES PROTECT
CROPS FROM?
Prohibited substances:
Substances not allowed in the
organic standards like pesticide
spray drift or run-off
Excluded methods:
Such as contamination of organic
crops by pollen from GMO
varieties grown nearby
CAN ORGANIC
CROPS BE
HARVESTED FROM
A BUFFER ZONE?
No. Crops can be grown in a
buffer zone but they may not
be sold or represented as organic.
Certifying agents may perform
pesticide or GMO residue testing
of organic crops to verify that
buffer zones are adequate.
UNDERS TA ND I N G the BAS I CS
When planning
and building buffer zones,
they “must be sufficient in
size or other features (e.g.,
windbreaks or a diversion
ditch) to prevent contact by
prohibited substances applied
to adjacent land areas.”
You must use “distinct,
defined boundaries and
buffer zones such as runoff
diversions to prevent the
unintended application of
a prohibited substance to
the crop or contact with a
prohibited substance applied
to adjoining land that is not
under organic management.”
Just ask yourself: Do I have
a situation – e.g., an adjacent
conventional farm, drainage
from roadways, etc. – that could
allow prohibited substances to
reach my crops?
The only requirement is
that a buffer does its job.
Size matters, but so does the
planting and management
plan (e.g., plant type, height
of a hedgerow, plant density
and bioswales).
Factors such as common
wind patterns, land slope,
chemical application activity
and stormwater drainage
patterns all will inform how
you set up your buffer.
Buffer areas provide a
dedicated zone to monitor
effective means to prevent
crop contamination. For
example, buffer areas can
provide visual cues from
plant life impacted by a
neighbor’s aerial spraying
(e.g., 10 feet closest to
neighboring field has leaf
spotting, next 10 feet has
random discoloration and
next 25 feet are untouched).
Buffer zones should
be clearly indicated on the
required Farm Map.
Resources:
Ask questions
via the Oregon Tilth
Farmer Hotline:
(503) 581-8102
USDA Buffer Zone FAQ
http://1.usa.gov/22mAfck
BIG QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
How can
I use my buffer zones to conserve natural resources and promote biodiversity?
uat i
sit
PROTECT
WATER QUALITY
When buffer zones are near
water, “filter strips” of perennial
grasses and forbs can be planted
to prevent materials from
entering waterways. Buffers
slow run-off, allowing more
water to remain and be absorbed
in fields or field edges.
on
PROVIDE HABITAT
FOR POLLINATORS +
BENEFICIAL INSECTS
RESTORE
NATIVE PLANT
COMMUNITIES
A diverse mixture of plants
in a buffer provides food and
habitat for pollinators, spiders
and other beneficial insects
year-round. Native plants often
provide the greatest benefit.
Buffers can be used to establish
native grasses, forbs, shrubs, and
trees to restore or mitigate the
loss of native plants. Prepping the
site goes a long way. Competition
from weeds can envelop a poorly
prepped site, killing off specially
selected buffer plants.
REDUCE
EROSION FROM
WIND
Planting rows of trees and
shrubs helps a buffer act as
a windbreak or shelterbelt,
reducing the potential for soil
erosion in fields from wind.
The windbreak plants can also
provide the added benefit of
wildlife habitat.
PROVIDE
WILDLIFE
HABITAT
A buffer area featuring a mix of
trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs can
provide food, shelter and enable
movement of birds and terrestrial
wildlife. If planting along water,
create shade with plantings to
lower water temperatures to
improve aquatic habitat.
Additi on a l re s ou rce s
National Agroforestry
Center’s Design Guidelines
for Buffers, Corridors, &
Greenways
Oregon Tilth
Resource Library’s Guides
for Buffer Areas
Xerces Society’s
Pollinator Conservation
Resource Center
www.tilth.org/resources
www.xerces.org/pollinatorresource-center/
www.nrcs.usda.gov
http://nac.unl.edu/buffers/
index.html
W W W. T I LT H . O R G
USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS)
(503) 378-0690
@ O R E G O N T I LT H
J O I N T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N # T I LT H N AT I O N
All Regions
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