
By Organic Certification Team Leads
The Organic Services department has made significant structural changes to provide timelier service to our clients. To clients who may be waiting to hear from us: We have not forgotten you! To address our timeliness, we are not accepting any new clients at this time, and we have reduced our service area. Please reach out to us if you need your certificate. We apologize for our tardiness and pledge to improve our customer service in 2025.
Handler renewals—MCIA will be working toward changing all handler renewal dates to winter each year, so that we can inspect in the calendar year. This is a work in progress and may not roll out immediately. In general, this change should not affect the timing of your inspection, but for some handlers it will mean that you will be applying shortly after the last application.
For any handlers who are exporting or importing, please be aware that MCIA now requires you to complete an International Trade Addendum.
The new Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) rule goes into effect January 2, 2025. A few of the new requirements include temporary confinement allowances including confinement for under 32° F or above 90° F, specific space and stocking density requirements for indoor and outdoor poultry spaces, weekly ammonia testing for poultry, and specific perch and exit door requirements. Review NOS §205.241 for the new rules.
In other news, in September MCIA hosted a delegation from Taiwan, accompanied by USDA National Organic Program (NOP) representatives, who were conducting a peer review of the NOP. The group shadowed Lauren Martin on an organic inspection at Keith Speltz’s farm. In addition to the inspection, Keith Speltz invited the group to his farm’s sesquicentennial celebration. Many thanks to Keith Speltz for his generosity and congratulations to him on his farm’s 150-year anniversary!
Subsequently, the officials from Taiwan informed the NOP that they had a very favorable impression of the accredited certifiers and the organic inspections they observed while in the U.S. In October, the NOP recognized MCIA with a Certificate of Appreciation for “exemplary professionalism, excellence, and generosity” throughout the planning and execution of the peer review.