The latest in conferences, speaking engagements, newsletters, and updates from W&A.
Japan is using organic farms to further climate goals; the European Union drops their pesticide reduction plan, and everyone in Denmark buys organic. This issue is stuffed with international news, plus information on grants of interest to the organic community and our COO’s take on recent industry events.
The new year brings the deadline for the Strengthening Organic Enforcement regulations—get our take on how it’s going. Organic vegetable exports are down, but there are bright spots in the USDA’s “Vegetable and Pulses Outlook: December 2023.” Concerned about how much time organic paperwork requirements take? Chime in by January 22 on ways to reduce the paperwork burden. Plus, news from Europe, award recipients, and a shift in upper management at OTA.
Bill Wolf remembers our friend and colleague Roger Blobaum this month. There’s also plenty of news from around the world, including new organic pet food rules in the European Union and a campaign in the United Kingdom to make organic products available and affordable for everyone.
The October newsletter from Wolf & Associates includes research recaps—with one study highlighting the super powers of earthworms. We also take a look at one way to boost markets for organic agricultural products by requiring more items on the national list to be subject to the commercial availability clause. National Organic Program updates, community news, happenings from Washington and India round out the issue.
Adopting this software tool is timely, given that both the US and EU are implementing stricter organic regulations to prevent fraud and assure supply chains can be trusted. Check Organic provides state of the art, cloud-based fraud detection and ingredient traceability and can help US organic brands comply with the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) regulatory changes that come into full force in March of 2024.
Our Associate Joe Dickson shares his thoughts on building consumer trust in an era of skepticism. Get up to speed on the Fall 2023 National Organic Standards Board agenda, and learn about the impact soil health can have on a farm’s bottom line.
This is an overview of 2023 Farm Bill developments and initiatives concerned with organic production and regulation. Suggested action items are provided at the end of the article.
In an interview with Margaret Scoles, you’ll get an insider’s view on developing a pool of well-qualified organic inspectors to meet the needs generated by the Strengthening Organic Enforcement regulations. Europe’s organic imports have changed in the past year. You’ll find opportunities to learn, too.
Enforcement of the NOP’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) will be upon us in March 2024—now is the time to dive in. Learn about priority areas for compliance that we’re focusing on. This month, soil health is in the news, along with an EU proposal to stop greenwashing. Find out about how organic markets and consumers’ environmental priorities are shifting.
About every five years, Congress renews the Farm Bill. This omnibus, multi-year law covers a many agriculture and food programs, including commodity support, nutrition assistance, conservation programs, and agricultural research. The organic sector has benefited from this bill, and our Associate Mark Lipson provides an overview of what’s happening with this key legislation.
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!
On Jan. 19, USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) published its regulatory reforms called Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE), the most rigorous and expansive changes in 21 years. While the 282-page rule is now widely available to read and digest, we at Wolf & Associates are committed to educating and providing both context and recommended action steps so you can prioritize the work ahead and be fully compliant with SOE regulations before the set deadline of March 2024.
W&A hosted a 1-hour briefing session on this topic. Check out the recording here.
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.
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