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USDA National Organic Program (NOP) Regulations
USDA Laws & Regulations: Organic Certification
International Organic Inspectors Association
HOFA partnering with US 2010 Census
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (NSAIS/ATTRA)
Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)
eXtension
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
Organic Trade Association (OTA)
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Site Inspection Site Inspection

USDA National Organic Program (NOP) Regulations

The National Organic Program (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products. The NOP also accredits the certifying agents (foreign and domestic) who inspect organic production and handling operations to certify that they meet USDA standards. 
         
NOP Homepage          NOP electronic version

USDA Laws & Regulations: Organic Certification

Information about Organic Certification, the National Organic Program (NOP), Cost-Share, Labeling, Production & Marketing, and Import/Export issues, all in one place.

International Organic Inspectors Association

IOIA provides organic inspector training and networking services world-wide. They have inspector or apprentice inspector members from 16 countries who conduct inspections for a wide variety of  private and government organic certification bodies worldwide. 

The International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) is a non-profit, professional association of organic farm, livestock, and process inspectors dedicated to verification of organic production practices. 

The mission of IOIA is to address issues and concerns relevant to organic inspectors, to provide quality inspector training and to promote integrity and consistency in the organic certification process.

IOIA's international standards resources page.


HOFA partnering with US 2010 Census

EVERYONE COUNTS ON THE CENSUS        Be counted!Be counted!

The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years.
The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and our participation is required by law.

The next census is in 2010.  It takes less than 10 minutes to complete, there are only 10 questions.

Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.

Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year. Our accurate participation helps Hawaii and the people who live here.  

Welcome the census! Visit www.Census2010.gov for more information.

10-10-10    Ten Questions, Ten Minutes, in 2010
 

National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (NSAIS/ATTRA)

NSAIS offers the latest in sustainable agriculture and organic farming news, events and funding opportunities; plus, in-depth publications on production practices, alternative crop and livestock enterprises, innovative marketing, organic certification, and highlights of local, regional, USDA and other federal sustainable ag activities. National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. It provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States. (ATTRA was formerly known as the "Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas" project.)


Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)

OFRF’s integrated strategy of grantmaking, policy, education and networking initiatives supports organic farmers’ immediate information needs while moving the public and policymakers toward greater investment in organic farming systems.


eXtension

eXtension is a space where university content providers can gather and produce new educational and information resources on wide-ranging topics. Because it's available to students, researchers, clinicians, professors, as well as the general public, at any time from any Internet connection, eXtension helps solve real-life problems in real time.

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)

SARE is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that functions through competitive grants conducted cooperatively by farmers, ranchers, researchers and ag professionals to advance farm and ranch systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities.
Western SARE          National SARE

Organic Trade Association (OTA)

OTA is a membership-based business association that focuses on the organic business community in North America.  OTA's mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy.