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REMINDER - OCIA Headquarters has moved to their new location- the new address is 1340 N Cotner Blvd., Lincoln, NE 6850. The telephone and Fax numbers remain the same.
Telephone: 402-477-2323 (Follow the prompts), Fax: 402-477-4325
The 2010 OCIA MN #1 Annual meeting was held on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Radisson Hotel in St. Cloud. The meeting began at 5:30 pm with a supper being served at 5:45 pm. We had approximately 40 in attendance this year. The meeting was held in conjunction with the Minnesota Organic Conference.
Thank you to our Corporate Members for 2009:
Buckwheat Growers Association, 206 Aldrich Ave SE, Wadena, MN 56482
Telephone Number: 218-631-9212
Ceres Organic Harvest, Inc., 1295 Bandana Blvd, Suite 240, St. Paul, MN 55108
Telephone Number: 651-366-6900
Crop Revenue Management, 601 Soo Lane, Suite 102, Buffalo, MN 55313
Telephone Number: 866-304-2767
Foundation Organic Seeds LLC, 634 13th Ave N, Onalaska, WI 54650
Telephone Number: 800-495-6647
J & J Corporation, 3260 40th Ave SE, Suite D, Fargo, ND 58104
Telephone Number: 701-235-0645
Mid-States Supply, PO Box 70, Sartell, MN 56377
Telephone Number: 877-464-3782
OFARM, PO Box 362, Wadena, MN 567482
Northland Organic Foods Corporation, 495 Portland Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102
Telephone Number: 651-556-4113
Richland Organics, 100 North 10th Street, Breckenridge, MN 56520
Telephone Number: 218-643-1797
SK Food International, 4749 Amber Valley Parkway, Fargo, ND 58104
Telephone Number: 701-356-4106
SunOpta, 4111 30th Ave S, Moorhead, MN 56560
Telephone Number: 218-287-5510
Super Gro of Iowa, Inc., 917 Quinn Street, Aplington, IA 50604-0126
Telephone Number: 319-347-6611
Welter Seed and Honey Company, 17724 Highway 136, Onslow, IA 52321
Telephone Number: 563-485-2762
Stonebridge, Ltd, 3411 Midway Drive, Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Telephone Number: 319-277-4277
ORGANIC HAY FOR SALE: Premiu “yum” Alfalfa and Alfalfa - Brome Hay - 3x3x8” Bales. OCIA Certified. Call 218-253-2861
2010 Election Results: Congratulations to Robert Henneman, Joseph Guiney, Pat Todahl and Larry Luick on their 2010 Board of Director election. Also - thank you to Vance Wiseth for his years of serving on the OCIA MN #1 Board.
Mentor, MN Farmers Market: Opening in May 2009 & will be held every Saturday from 8 am - noon. The Market will be held at the Mentor School which is located near the Mentor City park. If interested in volunteering and/or being a vendor - please contact Amber Kazmierczak @ 218-637-2348. The Vision is “To provide a high-quality community based market to facilitate a common place for local farmers and consumers to meet.”
Attention NOP Certified associates: Per a recent clarification provided to OCIA International by the National Organic Program (NOP), all NOP certified associates must use organic seed for cover crops and plow downs per 205.204 of the NOP Final Rule. Please see 205.204 (a) (1) of the NOP Final Rule for the “Seeds and Planting Stock Standard” for further information. If cover crop or plow down seed is purchased after the date of this notification and is not compliant with 205.204 of the NOP Final Rule, a Notice of Noncompliance will be issued for the NOP program. (This notice is dated September 28, 2006)
Download JAS Standards from OCIA Web Site
Any one wanting JAS certification from OCIA can download the JAS organic standards from the OCIA web site by clicking on the link "Forms & Document" on the homepage. Type the keyword "Standards" to get the documents.
OCIA Forms and Documents
Please note EU verification for 2010 must have prior approval from the Chapters before planting Non-Organic, untreated Non-GMO seed. Written authorization must be obtained from the Chapter Administrator prior to planting non-organic seed. EU will not accept any fields for verification if this written authorization is not on file and available at the time of the inspection.
IInspector’s hired for 2010: Jeremy Dobson, Josephine Dobson, Dennis Jipson, Dee Jipson, Stephanie Tessitore, Jim Possin, George Martin, Sharon Colbenson .
NEW MEMBERS - please fill out the 2010 membership form and mail in with your $70.00 fee. A complete packet will be mailed to you once this is received.
FOR SALE: Organic Alfalfa (OCIA Certified) - 800 tons, medium squares bales, 130-180 RFV. Moorhead, Minnesota (12 Miles North of Hwy 10) Call Lee @ 218-790-0236 or e-mail Lthomas622@juno.com - Truckers in the neighborhood.
FOR SALE: Organic & Conventional Hay - 4’ x 5’ Round Bales - Mixed Grass. Contact Bruce Grossman @ 218-294-1776
PLEASE NOTE! Effective June 9, 2007, all non-organically produced agriculture products used as ingredients in products labeled as “organic” must be listed on 7 CFR 205.606.
The National Organic Program Final Rule has been changed as a result of the Harvey v. Johanns lawsuit. As of June 9, 2007, the only non-organic agricultural products that will be allowed for use as ingredients in products labeled as “organic” are those that are listed in section 205.606 of the NOP standards. Currently, these allowed ingredients are:
1. Cornstarch (native);
2. Gums—water extracted only (arabic, guar, locust bean, carob bean);
3. Kelp—for use only as a thickener and dietary supplement;
4. Lecithin—unbleached; and
5. Pectin (high-methoxy).
These products must be used in accordance with any restrictions and only when the product is not commercially available in organic form.
A proposal has been made by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to add several substances to the National List, Section 205.606: Non-organically Produced Agricultural Products Allowed as Ingredients in or on Processed Products Labeled as ‘‘Organic.” Details on this proposal, including the proposed additional substances may be found here: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Newsroom/FedReg05_15_07NLProcessing.pdf.
Keep in mind that these substances are not allowed in non-organic form until the proposal is adopted by the NOP. OCIA will keep you informed of any changes if and when they occur.
So, remember to check your current product formulations. After June 8, 2007, the use of any non-organic agricultural products—other than those listed in NOP 205.606—as ingredients in “organic” products will result in a noncompliance.
This change in the rule only applies to products produced on or after June 9, 2007. Products already in the stream of commerce will not be affected by this change. Products are considered to be in the “stream of commerce” once they are processed and packaged and/or labeled. The NOP has also been clear in directing certification agencies that product labels MUST accurately identify organic ingredients as “organic.” There is no grace period to allow for inaccurate labeling in order to use product labels in inventory.
Non-organically produced agriculture products may be used as ingredients in products labeled as “made with organic…” but labels must be changed to reflect the lower certification category.
From the OCIA Training Department: Some chapters have requested clarification about what makes a complete certification file. In response, OCIA decided to send you a simplified checklist to verify completeness, which you will find on the next page. This list is intended for training purposes only, and its use is not required. As a complement to this list, you will find below a table of the program-specific questions that need to be fully completed if requesting one of these programs. Additionally, it is explained here how input information provided by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) can be used by our members.
OMRI: Sometimes a member needs to use an input not listed in the OSP, hence not pre-approved by OCIA. As the USDA now recognizes OMRI as authoritative, and OCIA very recently signed a service agreement with this organization, members can now consider OMRI listed inputs as approved for use for the NOP program.
However, the use of a product not in the OSP still requires updating the Plan. Please note that although many NOP allowed inputs are also allowed by other programs (for example, OCIA/IFOAM, or JAS), this is not always the case. Therefore, to prevent any avoidable inconveniences, please clarify to our members that they must list in the OSP all inputs used or intended for use, specify where and how it will be used, and let them know that they may still need to submit complete documentation for the input if certified to other program besides NOP. We hope this information helps you provide guidance to our members saving significant certification time. If you need further clarification regarding these topics or anything else, please contact your certification coordinator at OCIA.
New Article to Help Organic Farmers Improve Disaster Readiness and Recovery
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Natural disasters pose a significant threat to all farmers, but organic farmers
affected by natural disaster have particular concerns. To address these concerns, Farmers’
Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) has written a new article, Disaster Readiness and Recovery:
Legal Considerations for Organic Farmers.
The new article focuses on aspects of federal disaster assistance that are of particular relevance for organic farmers. The first part of the article discusses steps that organic farmers may take to reduce the impact of natural disasters that may occur in the future. The second part of the article discusses federal programs that provide assistance to farmers in order to recover from natural disaster. The article concludes with information about how natural disaster and disaster recovery may affect farmers’ organic certification.
For over ten years, FLAG, has regularly published a Farmers’ Guide to Disaster Assistance. The book uses clear language and detailed citations to applicable laws, regulations, and policies to help farmers and their advisors understand and obtain federal disaster assistance. It can be downloaded for free from FLAG’s Web site at www.flaginc.org. The new article is a companion piece to the book. “Organic farmers have unique concerns, from maintaining their organic certification to facing higher costs for crop insurance,” notes FLAG attorney Jill Krueger. “This article tries to meet the need for legal information related to disaster readiness and recovery for organic farmers.”
Farmers may download a free copy of the article by visiting FLAG’s website, www.flaginc.org
FLAG is a nonprofit law center in St. Paul, Minnesota, dedicated to providing legal services to family farmers and their rural communities in order to help keep family farmers on the land.
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