Tessa Parks. Photo courtesy of Environmental Initiative.
Congratulations to Tessa Parks, recipient of this year’s Environmental Initiative Emerging Leader award! The award “recognizes an individual under the age of 30 working in cutting-edge ways to build partnerships and innovative solutions to address environmental health or environmental justice challenges.”
Tessa and her husband own and operate W.T. Farms, which is located in southern Minnesota. They raise Holstein steers and run a custom haying service. Tessa is also active in the Minnesota Farmers Union, recently becoming president of the Rice County Farmers Union chapter.
Of course, here at MCIA, we know Tessa best for her work as an organic certification specialist/inspector in the Organic Services department.
Minnesota Crop Improvement Association is pleased to announce three recent additions to our staff.
Sarah Lindblom joined the Organic Services department in June in the role of organic certification specialist/inspector. Sarah holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a double major in management and human resources and international business. Sarah has been a farm owner since 2015, and for nearly ten years had a 40-member CSA. She regularly implements innovative soil health practices, including cover cropping, no-till, crop diversification, and perennial planting over a one-acre production area. She is also the board chair of the Crow River Chapter of the Sustainable Farming Association (SFA). In that role, Sarah advises farmers on how to improve soil health and sustainability practices, speaks at SFA events, and creates farmer-facing informational materials. Sarah’s prior work experience includes teaching middle school math.
Also in June, the Organic Services department welcomed an additional organic certification specialist/inspector, Tessa Parks. Tessa and her spouse have a small cattle and hay operation in southeast Minnesota where they raise steers from calf to butcher for direct market retail. They rent just over 25 acres of certified organic pasture and hay ground, which has given Tessa first-hand experience with organic regulations and the inspection process. Tessa holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College. Her prior work experience includes employment as a chemist at Aurora Pharmaceutical. Tessa serves as a board member of the Just Food Co-op in Northfield and is the current Rice County Vice President of the Minnesota Farmers’ Union.
Kate Sinnott joined the staff of the MCIA Seed Laboratory in August in the role of seed technologist. Kate’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Macalester College, undergraduate coursework in biology at the University of Northern Iowa, and an M.S. in ecology from Utah State University. Her master’s research was on increasing capacity for the restoration of submerged and floating aquatic plants in the Intermountain West. Kate worked as a research assistant at Utah State University and the Tallgrass Prairie Center in Iowa, where she gained experience in seed-based ecosystem restoration. She has also performed seed germination and tetrazolium tests. Kate has a special passion for native seed species. She has propagated over 30 native prairie species from seed and cuttings. At the Tallgrass Prairie Center, she assisted in maintaining dozens of native prairie plants in grow-out plots.
I think that 2022 is a year we are all glad is over. Except that it is not over. We still have about 50 reviews to complete and need to issue the last certificates. At the same time, we are moving forward with 2023 so we do not get behind this year. Files are starting to go out and inspectors have started doing farm and livestock inspections.
I am very happy to report that we have hired two new staff members who started June 15. Sarah Lindblom has about 10 years of experience as a vegetable farm operator and has worked with the Sustainable Farm Association for several years. Tessa Parks comes from a family with a long agricultural tradition, has a chemistry degree, and currently runs a small beef operation. We will introduce both of them more fully in the next issue of the Minnesota Seed Grower. We are also working with several new inspectors this year. So, you may be seeing new faces at your inspection.
The NOP’s Origin of Livestock rule is now in full implementation. We have been updating Livestock Lists to identify any dairy animals that were “transitioned.” Any transitioned animal (dairy cow or goat) can only be used to produce organic milk on your own farm. These animals cannot be sold as organic milk or meat animals to another operation.
The NOP published the new Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule January 18, 2023. The regulations have been updated to include the changes. If you access the regulations online, the eCFR will include the changes. MCIA will be working on printing copies to mail out later in the year.
More parties in the organic supply chain will have to be certified, including more brokers who buy and sell raw commodities. Import Certificates will be required for all organic imports. There will be more requirements for audits of sales or purchases of ingredients for handlers at inspections. There are also more requirements for certifier and inspector training. To read the full rule go to: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/19/2023-00702/national-organic-program-nop-strengthening-organic-enforcement. We will probably be updating many of our forms to comply with the SOE requirements.
All renewal applications are now due for crop and livestock operations. If you are not going to re-apply, please contact us to surrender your certification or you may be suspended.
2025 MCIA Annual Meeting • January 29, 2025 • St. Cloud, Minnesota
