AG 9000

An informal committee, the AG 9000 Working Group, representing various commercial and public interest sectors of agriculture, is currently developing a guidance document for the application of ISO 9001:2000 to agricultural crop production. The Working Group intends to fill a gap between ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 15161, which is used in the food and drink industries. Language used in production agriculture is absent in current guidance documents such as ISO 9004:2000. While not a replacement for ISO 9004:2000, the proposed document is intended to help production agriculture address issues by providing guidance specific to crop production. Once completed, the standard will be available for use by crop producers, crop processors, customers and suppliers in the food distribution chain, agricultural universities, and others involved in agribusiness.

A draft document has been created for consideration as a starting point for a potential draft international and American National Standard. This draft document is comprised of two parts:

1. Guidelines for the application of ISO 9001:2000 for crop production and  
2. Tables describing eleven core processes of crop production within the context of ISO 9001:2000 requirements. These tables serve two purposes:
1. Assurance that crop production activities are adequately addressed and linked to ISO 9001:2000 requirements.
2. Provide industry specific guidance for producers and others who want to apply ISO 9001:2000 to crop production.

It is hoped that the draft document will move forward and achieve national as well as international recognition as a guidance standard.  A New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) has been submitted through ISO Technical Committee TC 34 (Food products). A parallel effort is being made toward developing an American National Standard to be published by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE). Upon acceptance by ISO, the document will be issued an official ISO number and the AG9000 designation will be dropped. The AG 9000 Working Group has established formal ties with staff from the American Oil Chemists (AOCS), ASAE and the American Society for Quality (ASQ) to facilitate the standards development process.

To ensure technical accuracy and balance, the AG 9000 Working Group seeks input from those with a familiarity and interest in the subject matter. Interested individuals, particularly those in the government and production agriculture industry sectors, and agricultural management system consultants, are invited to participate in this effort.

Interested persons may contact ASAE Standards Director Scott Cedarquist at 269/428-6331; cedarq@asae.org regarding the overall process or Richard Cantrill 217-359-2344; Richard.Cantrill@aocs.org concerning the ISO process.

June 2005