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Organic Certification: The National Organic Program
In order to sell products as organic, farmers, ranchers or processor must first become certified by a National Organic Program accredited certifying agency.
In 2002 the NOP was established through the United States Department of Agriculture to provide legal and consistent regulations and certification procedures which apply to production and processing of all produce sold as organic in the U. S.
- Certification is a yearly cost and a farmer should evaluate whether he or she has enough organic product to sell in order to justify the cost.
- Farmers whose gross agricultural income from organic sales total $5,000 or less annually are exempt from certification under NOP 205.101 Exemptions and exclusions.
National Organic Program
Program Manager, USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP
Room 4008-South Bldg.
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington , DC 20250-0020
(202) 720-3252
More Guides and Help with Certification
- Guidebook for Organic Certification, Answers to Common Certification Questions (order or download here) Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES)
- The New Farm Guide to US Organic Certifiers
Additional Certification Programs - IFOAM-International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
IFOAM's mission is leading, uniting and assisting the organic movement in its full diversity. Their goal "is the worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially and economically sound systems that are based on the principles of Organic Agriculture."
Selecting a Certifier
Note: Disclaimer
Reference to commercial products or trade names in these publications is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by University of Nebraska-Lincoln is implied.
Publication Science-based Organic Farming Guide 2008, Toward Local and Secure Food Systems - from UNL Extension and Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI) Full guide: *PDF 786 KB; 106 color pages; Offers table of contents, individual chapters and links to related resources.
NEW- Sensitive Crop Locater Web site
This site is intended to identify locations within the state that grow sensitive crops such as grapes and organic. After the sites are identified, a pesticide applicator can locate those sites near them and take appropriate action to avoid injuring the crop with herbicide drift,
*PDF document requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.