By Michelle Menken, Organic Services Manager
As fall approaches, we are wrapping up the last crop and livestock inspections. There are about thirty files left to send out to inspectors, and we hope to get those out in the next two weeks. Handler files will be going out to inspectors soon so they can start scheduling fall handler inspections.
We have also been busy working through final reviews and certificates—over one hundred issued so far. If you have received a bill for the inspection, please pay that as soon as possible. We do start final reviews on those who have paid first.
Let us know if you need a certificate or Letter of Good Standing to make a sale. Remember, if you have a 2021 certificate, it is still valid, and you can make sales using that certificate until you get the 2022 certificate. Certificates are valid until they are surrendered, suspended, or revoked. If you or your buyer have questions about this, contact the office.
Our new staff members, Maddie Barkholtz and Shauna Ilse, have been busy training and we have had them out on some inspections and to an Organic Expo, where we met many MCIA clients. We still have to collect more samples and complete more unannounced inspections, so I plan to get Maddie and Shauna out to more farms and businesses this fall.