Washington Fourth District Congressman Dan Newhouse joined a group of representatives to introduce a bill to modernize U.S. Agriculture Department process to respond to changes in organic farming practices.  Newhouse believes the Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Organic Standards Act would better align organic standards authored by the agency with industry best practices and consumer demands.  Newhouse, a third-generation farmer, says it is crucial to ensure transparency in organics process—for both producers and consumers—and provide growers certainty, adding that is how to spark further innovation and improvement within the organic industry.  The bill would require the USDA to request public input on recommended changes to organic standards at least once every five years and establishes a five-year working period for the USDA, in consultation with the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), to implement the recommendations.  It also calls for those two groups to consider the best available information – including environmental and ecological data, consumer and market data, organic production and handling practices, organic research, and scientific data – when implementing recommended changes.