If you've been into our shop or visited our online store, you've likely noticed a number of products with a small emblem on the packaging that says "OMRI Listed."  This can be a very helpful tool if you're attempting an organic grow.  It is important to note, though, that the use of OMRI Listed products does not necessarily indicate a grow is fully organic and it also doesn't provide a grower the right to use "USDA Certified Organic" in their marketing.

What is OMRI?

OMRI stands for Organic Materials Review Institute, a non-profit that determines which products are allowed for organic processing and production.  Products with the OMRI Listed designation are allowed for use in certified organic operations under the USDA National Organic Program.  More information on becoming a USDA Certified Organic grower is available here:  https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/becoming-certified

Which Products are Listed?

Brands who make input products such as fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, cleaners, microbial inoculants, and many others, submit an application and fee to OMRI in order to begin the review process.  Once approved, the brand is required to pay fees to OMRI in order to maintain their listing and use of the "OMRI Listed" designation on their packaging.  There are currently more than 7,500 listed products.  A full list can be found here:  https://www.omri.org/omri-lists/download

Is OMRI Listing Important?

This is a very subjective question that's up to each individual grower.  If you're not concerned about organic growing, than an OMRI listing should have little weight on your decision about which products to use.  If organic growing is important, OMRI listing can help act as a guide to easily identify products that fall under USDA Organic guidelines.  But just because a product isn't OMRI listed, doesn't mean that it wouldn't potentially be organic and be accepted under USDA organic guidelines.  A company and/or brand may simply not have applied for OMRI listing or may be unwilling or unable to pay the OMRI fees.  That doesn't necessarily make their product inferior or inorganic.

In our opinion, OMRI offers a great service that's very helpful to growers so they can easily identify input products deemed acceptable under USDA organic rules.  That doesn't mean there aren't thousands of great organic grow products on the market that simply haven't attained OMRI listing.  Those products simply require a bit of extra attention and investigation by the grower to ensure they meet the standards that they deem important.