By Michelle Menken, Organic Services Manager
Organic Corner
This has been a really busy start to the year for us. We have hired three new people—one in April, one in May, and one who started June 1: two certification specialists/inspectors and one administrative specialist. This means we are spending a lot of time training people. Plus, everyone here has been training because of the three big rule changes to the Organic Standards.
The first rule change was the Origin of Livestock (OOL). It says a dairy operation can only transition a dairy one time and transitioned dairy animals can only be used for milk production on that farm. They cannot be sold as organic. If you have transitioned animals on your farm, we have marked them as “TRANSITIONED” on your Livestock List. If you had an organic dairy in the past and want to start a new organic dairy, you must now buy organic animals to build the new herd.
The second rule change is the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standard (OLPS), which sets standards for livestock housing, outdoor access, and stocking density rates indoors and out. It is primarily for poultry and hogs. It lists maximum numbers of birds per square foot for pullets, layers, broilers, and other poultry. OLPS requires that ammonia levels are kept below 20 ppm in poultry barns. So, poultry operations and inspectors should be doing testing in barns this year.
The third rule change is Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE). Every operation is now required to have a Fraud Prevention Plan (FPP) as part of their organic system plan. We created an FPP form and information sheet that went out with renewal packets to all organic producers. If you did not get the FPP form, please contact the office. SOE requires us to spend more time reviewing supply chains (which is looking at the records that show who you buy from and who you sell to). For livestock operations this means we will be looking at all your purchased feed records this year at inspection. For handlers, we will be looking to see if you have clear records of all your suppliers and traceable records of purchases and sales. Preventing fraud is everyone’s responsibility. Make sure you are getting and giving good receipts: receipts should identify products bought and sold as “organic,” use a lot number, list the quantities, include the date of the sale, and include the buyer’s and seller’s names. We have a Bill of Lading/Clean Truck form you can use. Ask us for copies if you need them. For livestock sales, be sure you identify individual animals (ear-tag number or a name that matches what is on your Livestock List) and say if they are eligible for organic slaughter or not.
All crop and livestock applications should now be in. Starting June 1, we will be charging late fees. If you did not get an application, call us now. The mail has been bad this year. Several people have called us who said they did not get their applications. Files are going out to inspectors now, so the inspection season is starting.
The NOP will audit MCIA’s organic program this year in July. This inspection happens for us every two and a half years and takes a week. The auditors will follow two of our inspectors on inspections—one handler and one crop farm this year. Then they select files here at our office to be sure we have been keeping complete records.
