For families buying organic eggs, outdoor access can sound like a simple promise. USDA's January 19, 2017 livestock and poultry rule made that promise more concrete: poultry exits must be distributed so birds can readily reach the outdoors, and outdoor areas must contain soil and vegetation. The change concerns organic production conditions, not a general standard for every egg sold. [2017-00888]

The design changed between documents. USDA's April 13, 2016 proposal sought to exclude solid-roofed structures from outdoor access. The final rule instead allows unenclosed roofed porches and lean-tos when birds can freely reach other outdoor space. At least half the outdoor space must be soil, with maximal vegetation appropriate to season, climate, geography, species and production stage, maintained without harboring pests. [2017-00888][2016-08023]

That distinction gives shoppers and farmers a better question than whether a building has a roof: what space can the birds actually use? The final provisions also require housing that permits natural movement and dust bathing. Outdoor access remains subject to specified temporary-confinement exceptions, which producers must record; an outdoor standard does not mean birds must remain outside in dangerous conditions. [2017-00888]

The published schedule separates the promise from its implementation. It specified March 20, 2017 effectiveness and generally March 20, 2018 implementation, with separate transitions for egg outdoor access and broiler indoor space. The proposal and final text show one USDA rulemaking process, not independent evidence of improved animal welfare. Their public value here is a more inspectable account of what organic poultry production would require. [2017-00888][2016-08023]

Source documents

  1. National Organic Program (NOP); Organic Livestock and Poultry Practiceshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-19/html/2017-00888.htm
  2. National Organic Program; Organic Livestock and Poultry Practiceshttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-04-13/html/2016-08023.htm