The latest in conferences, speaking engagements, newsletters, and updates from W&A.
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.
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!
An organic industry pioneer for nearly 40 years, consultancy Wolf & Associates today announced an evolution in its leadership to support the agency’s growth and newly expanded services. Senior Associate John Foster now serves as Chief Operations Officer and Senior Associate Sue Wagner serves as Vice President of Administration to continue to advance the team and leverage the consultancy’s talent pool of associates with deep experience in the organic industry. Agency Founder Bill Wolf continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer and President.
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!
To keep pace with the organic industry’s near record 12.8% growth and its clients’ increased needs, specialty consultancy Wolf & Associates, Inc. announced today it has doubled its network of Organic Specialists to more than 25 subject matter experts across the globe. This significant expansion enables Wolf & Associates to increase capacity for existing services and add new consulting services to its capabilities to support enterprises committed to organic and other climate impact mitigation practices.
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.
Check it out!
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…
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