Wolf & Associates

In this edition, we meet a new NOSB member – Dr. Franklin Quarcoo – whose research and extension activities focus on pest management in organic vegetable production systems.

We also discuss a plethora of other topics such as the Farm Bill, the Plant Biostimulant Act, Comment opportunities, funding opportunities for organic and sustainable producers in Canada, and other news item – both domestic and international.

Read on!

The new regulations for Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) will require additional efforts from businesses to track their supply chains and help mitigate the potential for fraud. In anticipation of these requirements, the Organic Trade Association established its Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions Program, and names Wolf & Associates as a Trusted Advisor to the program. Our Associate Tracy Favre shared some insight on how companies can get started with what might seem a daunting task.

Read on for this and more news.

The ‘Strengthening Organic Enforcement ‘(SOE) regulations make significant changes to the US organic regulations to mitigate fraud in organic supply chains and mandate organic certification for a whole class of organic handlers, brokers, and traders. Full compliance will be required by March 2024.

For over two years, Wolf & Associates has been tracking these regulations intended to enhance the integrity of organic systems and improve the traceability of global organic supply chains. We participated in a webinar yesterday with the USDA and NOP, and will be doing a deep dive in the coming days and weeks to review how the final rule will impact our clients and the organic community.

The final rules for the highly anticipated Strengthening Organic Enforcement regulations are expected within the coming weeks, and represent the most significant changes to the organic regulations in the past 20 years. Designed to protect organic integrity through the entire supply chain, the regulations will strengthen control systems, improve organic import oversight, clarify organic certification standards and enhance supply chain traceability. Wolf & Associates’ Chief Operating Officer John Foster brought together five panelists at the recent Organic Grower Summit to talk about those changes and what they mean for the organic sector.

In this issue, we talk about Thankfulness, give you news about a plethora of comment opportunities, grant programs and other funding opportunities, and organic trends.
Check it out!

In our Featured Topic this month, we talk with Kathleen Merrigan, a professor in the School of Sustainability and executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University, about Priorities for the Organic Sector. Kathleen also served as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture from 2009 to 2013 ans is known for authoring the law establishing national standards for organic food and the federal definition of sustainable agriculture.

This issue also contains important news about upcoming regulatory changes, survey results, upcoming events and more!

This month, we offer a Q&A with W&A Associate Mark Keating about the USDA Origin of Livestock Rule and what it will address. We also have some big news about revisions to the 2022 National Organic Standards Board Charter that re-designates seats from “Representatives” to “Special Government Employees.”
These items and so much more!