The University of Minnesota’s Organic Ecology Program and the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service’s Organic Watershed Project will present an Organic Winter School Organic Livestock Feed at the St. Charles Community Center located at 830 Whitewater Avenue South in St. Charles, Minnesota on Monday, April 7, 2008.

The event is free and open to the public – there is a $10 fee for lunch and snacks. Pre-registration is preferred but not required to attend. For more information or to register, contact Harriet Behar at 608-872-2164 or harriet@mosesorganic.org or contact the MOSES office at 715-772-3153 or info@mosesorganic.org.

On March 5, 2008, the USDA National Organic Program issued a new policy, allowing certification agencies to recognize input reviews conducted by other certifying agents and competent third-party reviewers.

For branded (formulated) products, accredited certifiers have three options for determining compliance:

1) ACAs can verify the material complies by performing the due diligence themselves (e.g., contacting the manufacturer to obtain disclosure of the contents of the product);
2) ACAs may consult with another ACA who has performed the due diligence and accept that ACA’s determination on material compliance with the NOP regulations;
or
3) ACAs may consult with a reputable third party source, (e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)), that performs the due diligence on material review and accept the resulting determination from that source on compliance with the NOP regulations.