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USDA Publishes Origin of Livestock Final Rule for Organic Dairy

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On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published the highly anticipated Origin of Livestock (OOL) final rule for organic dairy in the Federal Register. This change to the USDA organic regulations is intended to promote a fairer and more competitive market for organic diary producers by ensuring that certified USDA organic dairy products are produced to a consistent standard.

USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) will oversee the new rule, which in general:

  • Allows a dairy livestock operation transitioning to organic, or starting a new organic farm, to transition non-organic animals one time.
  • Prohibits organic dairies from sourcing any transitioned animals. Once a dairy is certified organic, animals must be managed as organic from the last third of gestation. Variances may be requested by small businesses for specific scenarios.

This final rule is effective June 6, 2022. Certified organic operations must comply with all provisions of this final rule by April 5, 2023.

See the infographic, below, for a summary of the Origin of Livestock final rule. To view the text of the rule, visit: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/04/05/2022-06957/national-organic-program-origin-of-livestock.

OOL Final Rule Infographic

Informational Webinar

On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, from 1:00pm-1:30pm Eastern, NOP will hold an informational webinar to provide an overview of the changes this rule makes to the USDA organic regulations and how they may impact organic farms and businesses.

Webinar details:

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MCIA is a USDA NOP-accredited Accredited Certifying Agent that provides organic certification services to operations in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. For more information about MCIA Organic Services, please visit: https://www.mncia.org/services-programs/organic-services.