Have you ever wanted to give the officials in Washington, D.C. a piece of your mind? Well, here's your chance to speak out about the standards dealing with organic foods.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will meet on February 9, 1:30 - 5:00 p.m. It will accept written or oral comments on any organic issue.

If you'd like to make comments, send your request to Karen Thomas, U.S. Department of Agriculture, AMS, Transportation and Marketing, National Organic Program, Room 2510-S, South Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456.

Her fax number is (202) 205-7808. You can get more information by calling (202) 720-3252.

If you travel to Washington to attend, NOSB will meet February 9 - 11 in USDA's South Building. Meetings will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and are open to the public.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for the NOSB to receive committee reports, address current issues and discuss the status of the proposed national organic rule and the public comments received.

The NOSB, which grew out of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, is responsible for organic issues related to crop standards, processing, labeling and packaging, livestock standards, accreditation, materials and international issues.

The production and marketing of organic products in Tennessee is on the increase. There's certainly a limited demand for organic agricultural products.

Niche markets for such products appear to have been growing quite rapidly over the years, especially recently. Standards for organic products should enhance this industry.

On December 16, 1997, USDA published its proposed rule for the National Organic Program in the Federal Register. The period for public comment on the proposed rule was extended through April 30, 1998, and resulted in an outpouring of 280,000 comments.