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Developing Accepted Standards for Biochar

Not all Standards are Created Equal. Standards:Generally contain prohibitionsGenerally mandate certain actionMay be private specifications or public lawEnforcement may be self-regulated or independently verified. Standards have Consequences. May impose order and consistency through codification

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Developing Accepted Standards for Biochar

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    1. Developing Accepted Standards for Biochar North American Biochar Conference Boulder, Colorado August 10, 2009 Panelist: Tracy Miedema Stahlbush Island Farms, Inc., Corvallis Oregon USDA National Organic Standards Board National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee

    2. Not all Standards are Created Equal Standards: Generally contain prohibitions Generally mandate certain action May be private specifications or public law Enforcement may be self-regulated or independently verified

    3. Standards have Consequences May impose order and consistency through codification of materials and practices May set a long term direction for a field of research, social issue, or industry sector May be disruptive to the status quo May reinforce the status quo Scope matters and may influence outcomes

    4. The Process of Setting Standards Generally speaking... messy politicized slow Nevertheless important!

    5. What Sparks the Development of Standards Sometimes mandated by law Sometimes driven by industry Sometimes driven by shared aspirations and ideals* *seems to be what is sparking the discussion of biochar standards

    6. How Ideas Begin to Coalesce into Standards Commitment to a process: collaboration and time Outcome driven Usually involves committee work Some form of broad-based validation

    7. Examples of Standards Development Case studies: USDA Organic Standards 1990 OFPA 2002 Final Rule 2009 Regulation is still young and developing National Sustainable Agriculture Standards to date, 18 months into the process rocky start dust beginning to settle

    8. Developing Biochar Standards Now is a perfect time to begin discussing sustainable biochar production standards since this movement is showing a groundswell of energy and is pursuing clear, achievable, goals. Find Points of Consensus: Interim, tacit agreements can be reached early and form a strong foundation

    9. Developing Biochar Standards Accepted standards are to be met (not necessarily exceeded) so assume your colleagues will “toe the line,”…which is just fine.

    10. Developing Biochar Standards Ensure multi-stakeholder representation. This will need to be deliberate. An all-volunteer effort may not be sufficient (i.e. consider recruiting under-represented interests)

    11. Developing Biochar Standards Have commitment to the standards development process…since it will be most likely be a long one. Knock off the easy stuff first….and go process-heavy around points of disagreement.

    12. Developing Biochar Standards Let the standards setting process further, rather than hinder the biochar movement.

    13. Thank You! Panelist: Tracy Miedema tracy@stahlbush.com Stahlbush Island Farms, Inc., Corvallis Oregon USDA National Organic Standards Board National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee

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