The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) ASCS--United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service.
2. (2) Agricultural product--Any agricultural commodity or product, whether raw or processed, including any commodity or product derived from livestock that is marketed in the United States for human consumption or livestock consumption.
3. (3) Allelopathic--The ability of a plant species to produce substances that are toxic to certain other plants.
4. (4) Annual crop--A crop which reaches maturity during a specific seasonal growing period and is harvested at maturity.
5. (5) Biological control--The use of parasites, predators, or pathogens to suppress pest populations.
6. (6) Botanical pesticides--Natural pesticides derived from plants.
7. (7) Certified organic farm--A farm, or portion of farm, or site where agricultural products or livestock are produced, that is certified by the Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) or an organic certifying agent, as utilizing a system of organic farming as described by these rules.
8. (8) Code--The Texas Agricultural Code.
9. (9) Commingled--Inseparably mixed or interspersed with other food or fiber and not distinguishable from it.
10. (10) Contaminated--As applied to organic food or fiber, unfit for use because of the presence of illegal quantities of toxic, synthetic, or other prohibited substances; as applied to irrigation water or soil, unfit for use because of presence in the resulting crop of illegal quantities of toxic, synthetic, or other prohibited substances.
11. (11) Cover crop--A crop planted primarily to prevent soil erosion, recover nutrients from the subsoil, increase water infiltration, and increase the levels of nitrogen and organic matter in the soil.
12. (12) Department or TDA--The Texas Department of Agriculture.
13. (13) Distributor--A person who is engaged in the business of selling food or fiber for resale, including, but not limited to, a wholesaler, broker, packer, repacker, shipper, or agent.
14. (14) Farm--All agricultural land that is leased, owned, or otherwise held by and under the management of a certified producer or applicant for certification.
15. (15) Farm plan--All documents relevant to the previous three years', current, and future management of an organic farm, including, but not limited to, written plans to rotate crops, build humus, and stabilize soil nutrients.
16. (16) Field--A clearly demarcated, contiguous tract of agricultural land leased, owned, or otherwise held by and under the management of a certified producer or applicant for certification.
17. (17) Green manure crop--A cover crop or other crop planted primarily to be plowed under to increase soil tilth and fertility.
18. (18) Guano--Partially decomposed excrements of birds, bats, seals, or other animals.
19. (19) Handle--To sell, process, or package agricultural products.
20. (20) Hazard analysis critical control point or HACCP--A system designed to eliminate the potential of contamination and commingling of food and fiber products during handling and processing.
21. (21) Illegal quantities--Amounts that are not lawful under federal or state statutes or regulations.
22. (22) Ingredient information panel--An ingredient statement which shall appear on the primary display panel or on the information panel and shall list the ingredients in descending order of predominance. The ingredient statement shall be in letters and numbers at least 1/16 inch in height and shall be located before or after the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
23. (23) Julian date--A calendar date expressed by a decimal number, three consecutive digits of which indicate the day of the year in a series from 001 (January 1) to 365 (December 31 of a non-leap year) or 366 (December 31 of a leap year).
24. (24) Livestock--Cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, or equine animals used for food or fiber, fish used for food, wild or domesticated game, or other nonplant life.
25. (25) Logo--The copyrighted "Texas Department of Agriculture Certified Organically Produced" and "Texas Department of Agriculture Transitional-Organic Certification Pending" logotypes.
26. (26) Low ecological profile--As applied to a soil-, crop-, or pest-management practice, a practice that has a low degree of or no adverse effects on human health or the environment.
27. (27) Manuring--The application to soil of the excreta of agricultural animals, including stable litter and paunch wastes, to increase tilth and fertility.
28. (28) Material use report--A report of records required by the department or an organic certifying agent regarding the use of materials listed as allowed or allowed with restrictions, which have been used for production, processing, or handling of certified food or fiber.
29. (29) National list--A list of substances categorized as allowed or prohibited for organic crop production inputs, processing ingredients and aids, and handling materials as provided under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.
30. (30) Organic certifying agent--A private organic certification organization, or a person accredited under this chapter.
31. (31) Organic farming--A system of ecological soil management that relies on building humus levels through crop rotations, recycling organic wastes, and applying balanced mineral amendments and that uses, when necessary, mechanical, botanical, or biological controls with minimum adverse effects on health and the environment.
32. (32) Organic fiber--Fiber that is produced under a system of organic farming and that is processed, packaged, transported, and stored so as to maintain segregation and prevention of contamination from other fiber and from synthetic pesticides, prohibited defoliants, and/or desiccants.
33. (33) Organic food--Food for human or livestock consumption that is produced under a system of organic farming and that is processed, packaged, transported, and stored so as to retain maximum nutritional value without the use of artificial preservatives, coloring or other additives, ionizing radiation, or prohibited materials.
34. (34) Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 or OFPA--The national organic standards, 7 United States Code §6501, et seq., under the authority of the United States Department of Agriculture.
35. (35) Organically produced--An agricultural product that is produced, handled, or processed in accordance with these rules.
36. (36) Participant--A producer, processor, retail store, or distributor location certified to use the "Texas Department of Agriculture Certified Organically Produced" logo and/or the "Texas Department of Agriculture Transitional-Organic Certification Pending" logo.
37. (37) Person--Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization.
38. (38) Pesticide--A substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pest, or any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
39. (39) Pheromone--A substance that is secreted by an organism to the outside and that causes a specific reaction in a receiving organism of the same species.
40. (40) Principal display panel--A part of the label most likely to be seen by the consumer at retail sale. It is this part of the package which shall bear the declaration of net quantity of contents and statement of identity.
41. (41) Processing--Cooking, baking, heating, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, extracting, cutting, fermenting, eviscerating, preserving, dehydrating, freezing, or otherwise manufacturing, and includes the packaging, canning, jarring, or otherwise enclosing of food in a container.
42. (42) Processor--A person who is engaged in the business of manufacturing raw agricultural commodities into food or fiber products.
43. (43) Producer--A person who is engaged in the business of growing or producing food or fiber.
44. (44) Propagation materials--Plant materials including seeds, transplants, cuttings, layerings, bulbs, tubers, slips, crowns, offsets, grafts, buddings, and root stocks or other plant materials used to cultivate plants.
45. (45) Raw manure--Agricultural animals' excrement, both solid and liquid, that has not been aged, aerated, composted, fermented, aerobically digested, or otherwise humified or processed in such a way as to improve its value as a biological activator.
46. (46) Retailer--A person, other than the operator of a restaurant, who is engaged in the business of selling certified food or fiber at retail to its ultimate consumer.
47. (47) SCS--United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Services.
48. (48) Semiochemical--A pheromone, allelochemic, or other naturally occurring substance involved in the chemical interaction between organisms.
49. (49) Synthetic--A substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological processes.
50. (50) Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Material List--A list of substances categorized as allowed, allowed with restrictions, or prohibited for organic crop production inputs, processing ingredients, and aids, and handling materials as provided under these rules or the OFPA.
51. (51) Toxin--A chemical, drug, radiological agent, or biological agent that is present in an amount sufficient to cause significant adverse effects in humans, crops, livestock, other beneficial organisms, or the environment.
52. (52) Transitional period--A period of 36 months from the last date of application of a prohibited material during which a farm or field unit may be certified as Transitional-Organic Certification Pending. Upon completion of the required transitional period a farm or field unit may then be certified as Organically Produced.

Source Note:The provisions of this §18.1 adopted to be effective June 7, 1994, 19 TexReg 4009.