News & Events

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.
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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!

In our Featured Topic this month, we talk with Katherine DiMatteo about Climate Change Mitigation and what actions your business can take to help. We also take a look at Younger Shoppers and their attitudes towards Organic and Sustainable Products.

This and more news about organic industry and regulatory issues – both US and international.

Read this month’s Hot Topic Q & A with John Foster about recent Regenerative Agriculture Discussions. We’ve also pulled together information about new rules on the Origin of Livestock, changes to the National List, and lots of other organic industry news.
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We can at last welcome the newest appointees to the National Organic Standards Board. Congratulations and thank you for volunteering the time and expertise over the next five years. We look forward to hearing your perspectives on growing organic with integrity.

This issue brings a new section—Hot Topics! The first expert featured in the Hot Topics section is the newest member of the Wolf & Associates management team, John Foster.

Happy New Year! The darkest days of winter have passed, and we’re looking forward to spring and new beginnings, even if the year has had a bumpy beginning for the organic community.

With the new National Organic Standards Board members set to start their terms January 24 when retiring members’ terms end, we had hoped to be able to congratulate them and welcome them to the Board. The USDA’s appointments, however, have not yet been released. The last time we had a big gap in appointments was when…

With supply and capacity constraints, shifting market demand, and ongoing pandemic uncertainty, the last two years have certainly tested the organic community. For the most part, we have risen to the challenges.

Our Senior Associate John Foster recently attended the Organic Grower Summit, a two-day conference and tradeshow sponsored by the Organic Produce Network and Western Growers…

With the National Organic Standards Board meeting coming right up, we’d like to share some of our key concerns and suggested action steps for the Board.
First, the National List is a toolbox for helping organic production, not a soapbox for individual opinions or misleading information. Let’s encourage more people to go organic, and offer a practical toolbox appropriately limited according to the criteria the community has established. Follow the criteria, and keep increasing or improving the tools available for organic agriculture and production.
Second…

This week is bittersweet because Sandy Mays, our Organic Compliance Services manager, is retiring, plus the disappointing news that the NOSB meeting just shifted from in-person to on-line.
In the meantime, we’ve compiled some industry news for you.