USDA/NOP/NOSB/SOP
Regulatory Bodies: CCOF works with a number of regulatory agencies on the federal, state and local levels, both as a certifier and as a trade association. Among other things, CCOF provides comments on proposed rules, testifies at hearings and standards committee meetings, and works with legislative staff on proposed legislation.
USDA |National Organic Program (NOP) |
National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) | CA State Organic Program & Technical Planning Committee
Specific NOP and NOSB Issues: Grower Groups | USDA Access to Pasture Rule Comments
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)
Under the National Organic
Program (NOP), 7 CFR Part 205, the United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) is the official regulatory and enforcement
agency for organic agriculture, food and other products.
Consistent with CCOF’s history,
CCOF remains committed to working with the NOP to ensure organic
food and agriculture maintains the highest standards and consumer
confidence possible. CCOF actively engages the NOP on a variety
of issues ranging from standards interpretation to protection of
organic consumer expectations and addressing drift issues. Please
support CCOF to help continue our vital work.
Back to top
National Organic Program (NOP)
On the NOP website, CCOF clients and the public can obtain a wide
variety of information. Some sections of the website highly recommended
to CCOF certified clients are:
- NOP Policies and News Updates
- Labeling guidelines
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Accreditation
- Appeals Process
- State Organic Program Approval Procedures
- Export Arrangements
- Contact Information
- Background and History
- Upcoming Events
Clients can also view the final rule text, and download the rule
in Spanish and Japanese.
- Read the National Standards on Organic Agricultural Production
and Handling
- View Final Regulations in Japanese
- View Final Regulations in Spanish
- View the Final Rule Fact Sheets in English and Spanish
- Commercial Availability Comments
The National List of Materials is also available on the NOP website,
as is the petitioning process for adding materials to the list.
Back to top
National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is comprised of 15 members
who advise the US Secretary of Agriculture and USDA on implementation
of the National Organic Program. They are hugely influential and
are responsible for review of new materials petitions, many organic
standards interpretations, and recommendations on development of
new organic standards. However, recommendations by the NOSB are
not official policy until they are approved by the National Organic
Program.
CCOF has been very active in monitoring NOSB meetings and providing
commentary reflecting the needs to organic agriculture, consumers
and organic processors. Your support helps keep organic standards
strong.
Back to top
CCOF's Position on Grower Group Certification (Multiple Production Sites)
The certification of grower groups enables a large number of producers from the same geographic region who share common agricultural practices to collectively market products as organic under one certificate. While this system may be more cost efficient for small producers and exporters, as well as for producers in developing nations, it is not necessarily in compliance with the current National Organic Program (NOP) standards since some parcels in the group will not be inspected annually. NOP regulation asserts that all organic production facilities must be inspected annually by a third party certifier, but grower groups typically require only 20% of their operations to be inspected each year. Using this system, a specific organic operation could be out of compliance for up to five years before the certifier became aware of it. At the November 2008 NOSB meeting, the Board accepted a recommendation entitled "Certifying Operations with Multiple Production Units, Sites, and Facilities," that refined the logic of an earlier recmmendation, authorizing certification of operations with multiple production units, sites, or facilities, so long as they meet specific criteria (i.e. geographical proximity) and the group and each production unit is using the same organic system plan. New operations will be inspected, as is currently the practices. It remains to be seen what happens when the NOSB presents this proposal to the NOP.
In an effort to maintain organic integrity, CCOF has routinely not certified grower groups. We believe that all producers of organic products should complete the certification process, including annual inspections for all individual operations. Allowing grower group certification creates a potential for unfair competition with other organic growers and also room for possible corruption. For these reasons, CCOF supports a short-term phase out of grower groups under the NOP and urges the immediate termination of group certification to retail operations. For more information about grower group issues, follow the links below.
NOP Policy...
IFOAM Response...
IOIA discussion...
Read the position statement letter submitted by CCOF...
Back to top
USDA NOP Proposed Rule for Access To Pasture (Livestock)
In late October, 2008, the USDA announced its proposed Rule for access to Pasture (Livestock) and solicited comments through the Federal rulemaking process. The open comment period on the proposed Rule, which ended December 23, 2008, is one of the greatest opportunities to influence organic standards since the original rule was published in 2002. You can read the proposed rule here National Organic Program -- Access to Pasture (Livestock); Proposed Rule.
CCOF Activities and Outreach
CCOF staff members Robin Allan, Grower and Livestock Certification Supervisor, and Elizabeth Whitlow, Regional Service Representative (RSR) represented CCOF in our effort to analyze, interpret and comment on the proposed rules. To inform our positions and comments on this proposed rule, CCOF met with its Livestock Committee, other members, certifiers and a variety of organizations to fully explore the potential positive and negative effects of this major change to the organic rule. CCOF’s work helped members and many others in the livestock communities gain a better understanding of the implications of the proposed rule change. A partial list of CCOF’s activities includes:
- Participated in Organic Trade Association (OTA) and Accredited Certifier Association (ACA) taskforces.
- Attended the National Organic Coalition (NOC) meeting on the proposed rule in Washington DC
- Testified at the USDA listening session in Chico, California, on December 5, 2008. There is a transcript from this session to be available on the NOP website.
- Met with USDA, Resource Conservation Districts, NRCS, the local water boards, and County Agricultural Commissioners in Two Rock, CA.
- Met with or spoke to a wide variety of CCOF and non-CCOF certified organic dairy producers in a wide variety of regions. In the North Coast meetings were attended to help producers understand the rules and support their comments. These efforts led to engagement with Congress Representatives Woolsey and Pelosi, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and California Legislators Huffman and Leno.
- Spoke with numerous CCOF certified beef producers.
CCOF Comments on Livestock Rule
Read CCOF’s comments to the National Organic Program -- Access to Pasture (Livestock); Proposed Rule
Because of CCOF’s work, CCOF members and the many others in the dairy and livestock communiies gained a much better understanding of the implications of the proposed rule change. Although many California producers initially felt the rule was fine, once CCOF staff did their excellent outreach, producers had a better understanding of the rule changes, allowing them to develop their own well-written and compelling response to the proposed regulations.
CCOF’s comments on the proposed organic livestock rule began with the recognition that organic consumer expectations are vital to the success of the organic market place. Organic consumers expect and deserve a pasture-based management system. We strongly commend and support the NOP’s efforts in crafting the rule, and despite many specific objections or recommendations for change, we endorse the thinking behind the NOP’s efforts. CCOF submitted written comments pointing out that some of the proposed changes to the rule :
- Contradict the intent of the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA);
- Conflict with other agency requirements (either federal or state);
- Are overly prescriptive and will be too burdensome or unrealistic to enforce;
- Do not related to pasture and should be handled through another rulemaking process.
We focused our comments on the certifier’s perspective, on how to enforce the rule, and asked “Will this proposed rule give CCOF the tools that we need to draw the line between compliant and non-compliant operations? Will this proposed rule allow CCOF to take action against non-compliant operations, and will that action stand up to any legal challenge?”
Fundamentally, CCOF supports strong and enforceable livestock standards. In the process of reviewing this proposed rule, CCOF became concerned about a number of areas that could negatively affect small operations, as well as areas that lack a sufficient enforcement mechanism to meet the rule’s stated intentions. We realized that while certain aspects of the proposed rule were popular with some groups, they did not provide a sufficient tool for addressing problems or shortcomings in grazing practices. CCOF worked hard in its comments to ensure a level playing field that does not unduly burden the small farmer with complex record keeping and that provides certifiers with effective mechanisms for identifying and addressing shortcomings among so called “bad actors." For more information about CCOF’s activities related to access to pasture and grazing practices, read about our Unannounced Livestock Compliance Initiative.
Highlights from our comments include:
- CCOF did not support the proposed 30% DMI requirement; instead, we proposed alternative language that will result in better results where they are most needed.
- Clarify “livestock feed” definition so that a producer of an organic livestock operation must provide livestock with a total feed ration composed of agricultural products, including pasture and forage, that are organically produced, with specific exceptions (read full comments for these).
- CCOF opposed the “Sacrificial Pasture” requirement.
- Because of vast differences in climactic conditions across livestock production areas, grazing season is NOT synonymous with growing season. CCOF’s comments recommended substituting “grazing season” for “growing season,” to accommodate these local and regional differences.
- Remove apiary and aquatic standards from the proposed rule and handle them in a separate rulemaking process.
- Clarify “origin of livestock” so that once an entire, distinct herd has been converted to organic production, all dairy animals shall be under organic management from the last 1/3 of gestation.
- CCOF asked for many changes to the “living conditions” proposed rule.
It is important to note that this proposed rule and any likely final rule will undoubtedly increase the rigor, time, and cost required to achieve organic certification. While this may be unavoidable, CCOF believes that this rigor should result in standards that support the larger goals of the organic community. Therefore, we attempted to provide complete and thorough comments that suggest specific changes that will help CCOF ensure that the spirit and goals of organic standards are met.
Read CCOF’s comments to the National Organic Program -- Access to Pasture (Livestock); Proposed Rule. For more information about CCOF’s activities related to access to pasture and grazing practices, read about our Unannounced Livestock Compliance Initiative and Summer 2008 livestock updates.
Back to top
California State Organic Program Issues
CCOF members in California must register with the State Organic Program (SOP), a program that has been fraught with challenges and problems for a long time. One of CCOF's high priorities is to work with the program and CDFA Inspection and Compliance Division to improve the way SOP does business.
In mid-September 2008, CCOF Executive Director Peggy Miars, CCOF Grower/Livestock Certification Supervisor Robin Allan, and CCOF Policy Director Claudia Reid participated in a conference call meeting with Rick Jensen, CDFA Branch Chief for Inspection and Compliance, and Nate Dechoretz, CDFA Director for Inspection Services, regarding a letter CCOF sent to the National Organic Program (NOP) with complaints about, and suggestions for improvement of, the California State Organic Program (SOP). CDFA staff thanked CCOF for its letter to the NOP which cited five areas of concern. This letter has helped enlighten CDFA’s Inspection and Compliance Division about the problems, stimulated discussion about potential changes, raised some legitimate concerns and provided CDFA with the opportunity to design and implement a team approach to solving the problems associated with the SOP.
The five areas of concern expressed in CCOF’s letter are:
1. Inability of SOP to implement new program when they have failed to successfuly implement existing program;
2. Inability of SOP to perform to professional standard;
3. SOP inspection plan exceeds NOP regulations;
4. Insinuation that NOP accrediation procedure is inadequate;
5. Inadequate training of proxy staff.
CDFA’s response includes several actions. Within a week of receiving a copy of our letter, and at the encouragement of the NOP, they halted the spot inspection program and will reexamine the existing inspection program in the context of a thorough planning process.
CDFA will work to improve communication with registered organic operations from which it collects substantial fees, so that the industry’s poor perception of how that money is used will improve.
In the short term, CDFA is working with its legal counsel to improve the SOP appeals process so that appeals are acknowledged within three days and are logged and tracked electronically, and so that the appeals process follows due process of law and is transparent.
In the longer term, CDFA will invite stakeholders, including CCOF, to work with them on a plan to:
-
Improve processes and systems that will serve the organic industry better and provide consumers with the confidence they need that the organic food they buy, whether in a retail grocery store or at the farmers’ market, is truly certified organic.
-
Explore how the organic industry is doing in California, as well as how the SOP can work better with the NOP, certifiers, the industry and consumers.
CCOF is pleased to have participated in this conference call with CDFA staff, and we look forward to working with them and others to improve the SOP. Should you have questions or suggestions, please contact Claudia Reid, CCOF policy director.
Back to top
CCOF On Technical Planning Committee
Nate Dechoretz, the Director of Inspection Services for California Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees the California State Organic Program (SOP) announced in late September 2008 that the Department is forming a Technical Planning Committee which will help inform the SOP's effort to evaluate its business processes. This committee, comprised of organic industry stakeholders, will help evaluate and provide recommendations regarding the various components of the SOP. Because of CCOF's letter to the National Organic Program (NOP) about continued frustrations with the State Organic Program (SOP), CCOF has been asked to serve on this committee, which is charged with completing its task by March, 2009. We will keep you informed about the progress of this matter. If you have questions or input, please contact Claudia Reid, CCOF Policy Director.
Back to top
Please call us if you have any questions at (831) 423-2263, or
email us at ccof@ccof.org.
|
