Oct 15, 2024
Certifiers among those affected by new California organic rules
New federal rules meant to prevent organic fraud have been praised by organic farmers for helping to protect the integrity of the national organic label. But the rules have also brought unintended consequences as smaller operations struggle to keep up with the new requirements.
Those struggling include government agencies that inspect and certify farms to ensure they comply with standards of the National Organic Program.
Marin Organic Certified Agriculture, or MOCA, which is run by the Marin County Department of Agriculture, has notified its clients that it will no longer provide organic certification services for livestock handling and processing.
Marin County will continue to provide organic certification services for crops. But the region’s organic dairy farmers, ranchers, creameries and livestock handlers will need to switch to any number of private certifiers.
The county’s agricultural commissioner, Joe Deviney, said the department has “tried to limp along” during the rollout of the federal Origin of Livestock rule in 2022 and the Strengthening of Organic Enforcement rule earlier this year.
He noted having lost eight staff members, including four experienced people, in recent years. The lack of staffing forced the department to use independent contractors, who performed almost half of MOCA’s organic inspections last year. Relying on contractors is not a solution, Deviney said, adding the pool of qualified inspectors remains small, and training to become one is rigorous, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture requiring 2,000 hours of experience prior to performing a solo inspection.
MOCA’s high workload has impacted the department’s other mandated programs, Deviney said, including work related to pesticide regulations, farmers markets and enforcement of weights and measures.
Marin County is not alone. Deviney said other government and smaller certifiers also have ended their certification programs due to the new organic requirements, which were meant to “stop cheaters.” But the increased regulations have also been “overburdening…to the detriment of the industry,” he said. He noted states such as New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New Mexico have in recent years also surrendered their USDA accreditation as organic certifiers for similar reasons.
Farmers also have felt the brunt of the new rule, said Lia Sieler, executive director of Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance in Chico. Even though farmers and organic trade groups had encouraged USDA to strengthen organic enforcement, she said, they did not initially understand “the vast amount of paperwork that would go along with it”—until now.
“It seems as if it’s going above and beyond,” she said of the new rule. “Our farmers are looking at it and they’re overwhelmed—and rightfully so. It’s a lot to handle.”
Sieler said she’s particularly worried about older-generation farmers having to navigate the “astronomical amount of recordkeeping and paperwork that’s involved now” on top of needing to find a new certifier. “They’re looking at it and saying, ‘Is it even worth me keeping my farm going?’”
USDA, through a spokesperson, said “the organic community, including certifiers, broadly supported” the new rules, with “more than 40,000 overwhelmingly positive public comments” for the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards proposed rule.
“As the organic industry has grown, its complexity has increased, and the need for additional protections has emerged,” the department said in an email. “We are monitoring certifier implementation of these rules to ensure they are being implemented in a way that increases needed consistency between certifiers while minimizing impacts on small farms wherever possible.”
April Vasquez, chief certification officer and chief operating officer of CCOF, said the nonprofit “can absolutely support all the livestock operations that MOCA needs to let go.”
Because the new rules require importers of organic goods to become certified, CCOF said it has seen “record numbers of new handlers, processors and importers applying for certification,” with the process for new applicants taking six months or more. “I do not see this impacting our livestock applicants,” Vasquez said.
