_
NUREMBERG, Germany , Feb. 15, 2012-The European Union and the United States announced that beginning June 1, 2012, organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region. This partnership between the two largest organic-producers in the world will establish a strong foundation from which to promote organic agriculture, benefiting the growing organic industry and supporting jobs and businesses on a global scale.

The organics sector in the United States and European Union is valued at more than $50 billion combined, and rising every year.

Formal letters creating this partnership were signed on 15 February 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany, by Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; Kathleen Merrigan, U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary; and Ambassador Isi Siddiqui, U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator. The signing took place at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the largest trade show for organic products in the world.

"This partnership connects organic farmers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a wide range of new market opportunities," said U.S Deputy Agriculture Secretary Merrigan. "It is a win for the American economy and President Obama's jobs strategy. This partnership will open new markets for American farmers and ranchers, create more opportunities for small businesses, and result in good jobs for Americans who package, ship, and market organic products."

"This agreement comes with a double added value. On the one hand, organic farmers and food producers will benefit from easier access, with less bureaucracy and less costs, to both the U.S. and the EU markets, strengthening the competitiveness of this sector. In addition, it improves transparency on organic standards, and enhances consumers' confidence and recognition of our organic food and products," stated the EU Commissioner responsible for agriculture and rural development, Dacian Ciolos. "This partnership marks an important step, taking EU-U.S. agricultural trade relations to a new level of cooperation".

"This is a significant step in strengthening our bilateral trade relations," added Ambassador Isi Siddiqui. "I am confident that this arrangement will facilitate and boost agriculture trade between the European Union and the United States - and lead to more jobs in this important sector for both America and Europe ."

Previously, growers and companies wanting to trade products on both sides of the Atlantic had to obtain separate certifications to two standards, which meant a double set of fees, inspections, and paperwork. This partnership eliminates significant barriers, especially for small and medium-sized organic producers. All products meeting the terms of the partnership can be traded and labeled as certified organic produce, meat, cereal, or wine.

Leading up to today's historic announcement, both parties conducted thorough on-site audits to ensure that their programs' regulations, quality control measures, certification requirements, and labeling practices were compatible.

Although there are small differences between the U.S. and European Union organic standards, both parties individually determined that their programs were equivalent except for the prohibition on the use of antibiotics. The USDA organic regulations prohibit the use of antibiotics except to control invasive bacterial infections (fire blight) in organic apple and pear orchards. The European Union organic regulations allow antibiotics only to treat infected animals. For all products traded under this partnership, certifying agents must verify that antibiotics were not used for any reason.

In addition, all products traded under the partnership must be shipped with an organic export certificate. This document will show the production location, identify the organization that certified the organic product, verify that prohibited substances and methods weren't used, certify that the terms of the partnership were met, and allow traded products to be tracked.

Both parties are committed to ensuring that all traded organic products meet the terms of the partnership, retaining their organic integrity from farm to market. The European Commission's Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Organic Program—which oversees all U.S. organic products—will both take on key oversight roles.

The United States and the European Union will continue to have regular discussions and will review each other's programs periodically to verify that the terms of the partnership are being met. The EU and U.S. will also begin to work on a series of cooperation initiatives to promote organic production and tackle important topics such as animal welfare and other issues. Both programs will share technical information and best practices on an ongoing basis to further enhance the integrity of organic crops and livestock production systems.

Currently, this agreement only covers products exported from and certified in the United States or the European Union. For additional details on this agreement, please visit

http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOPTradeEuropeanUnion or http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/home_en,

If you are interested in growing more of your own food or scaling up production to market garden scale, the upcoming Local Foods College is designed for you. The series, which begins on January 24, 2012, will offer an overview of the basics, from planning to soils, fruit and vegetable production and business planning. The series, available via interactive television (ITV) at several locations across northwestern Minnesota, continues on Tuesday evenings through mid-March. Registration is $10 per session or $50 for the entire series.

Session topics will include: Whole farm planning, nutrient cycles and interactions; soils and composting; vegetable production and planning a market garden; starting and managing an apple orchard; small fruit production; backyard poultry; and farm business management. For more detailed information or questions, visit www.rsdp.umn.edu/Northwest  or call 888-241-0781.

The Local Foods College is one aspect of a movement to strengthen local and regional food systems. It encompasses healthy foods for healthy people, stronger demand for healthy local foods, available accessible and affordable healthy local foods, and marketing and policy support for farmers and food producers. To learn more, visit www.localfoods.umn.edu.

The Organic Agriculture and Research Initiative (OREI) grant opportunity is coming up, and a group of researchers at the University of Hawai'i are thinking of putting together a proposal to address pest issues in cucurbits (cucumbers, squashes, melons, and gourds).

In order to address the current needs of our stakeholders we would like to get your input by answering the following questions:

1. Which cucurbit crop do you think we should focus on? Why?
2. Which cucurbit pests are a challenge for you?
3. What organic options do you feel are lacking for dealing with these pests?
4. Do these pests impact your ability to retain your “organic” status?

** Important: Send the survey responses to Dr. Leyla Kaufman: leyla@hawaii.edu

Thanks,

Leyla V. Kaufman, PhD.
Junior Researcher/ Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences University of Hawaii at Manoa 3050 Maile Way Room 310 Honolulu Hawaii 96822

Email: leyla@hawaii.edu
Phone: 808-956-2450

Canadian organic producers will have increased opportunities to export their products and families shopping for organic food in their local grocery stores will have more choices following an arrangement reached between Canada and the European Union (EU).

The Canada—European Union Organic Equivalency Arrangement is the outcome of an extensive analysis of the Canadian and EU organic production and certification systems. The arrangement will allow the import and export of certified organic products between Canada and the EU without the need for additional certification.

For the full text of the agreement see the Winter 2011 issue of Sustainable Times.

John Hollinger 
MAFRI Organic Agriculture Specialist

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-vectored disease which can be serious and sometimes fatal. Humans can become infected with the virus if they are bitten by mosquitoes that have previously bitten an infected bird.  Most mosquito species do not pose a significant risk of transmitting WNV. The main vector of the virus in Manitoba is the adult Culex tarsalis mosquito, which takes blood from either birds or mammals.  Fortunately, C. tarsalis mosquitoes occur in much smaller numbers than many of the other commonly occurring nuisance mosquito species found in Manitoba. Adult mosquito traps around the province have been indicating low numbers of C. tarsalis up to mid-July. 

In most cases, people who are bitten by an infected mosquito do not become ill. Of those who do become ill, most will experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches. In Manitoba, the risk of people contracting WNV is low (less than one in 10,000). 

Manitoba Health is responsible for coordinating the activities of the WNV program in Manitoba, the goal of which is to assess risk and take appropriate measures to limit the negative impact to human health. They are also aware of the impact that control programs may have on the organic and beekeeping industries.

Larviciding is generally considered the first option in mosquito control intervention.  A Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) product is normally used for larviciding in the early part of the season. Adulticiding is the second option in mosquito control, where a synthetic insecticide is used to control the adult stage of the mosquito. This is an issue of concern for organic producers.

Municipalities normally have the choice of whether to undertake mosquito control measures or not. Many will comply with buffer zones around organic properties if notified well in advance of spraying for nuisance mosquitoes, including the City of Winnipeg. However, if public health is threatened, a Health Order can be issued by the province for control measures in certain areas targeted at C. tarsalis. In this case, buffer zones will not be considered. At the present time, Manitoba Health has stated that only ground applications (usually from roads) will be used in 2011 and that aerial applications are not planned. The fogging applicator disperses a treatment for about 90 metres. 

Be aware, be informed!
All organic producers are urged to be aware of any adulticiding activities in their areas. Keep in close contact with your municipal office. Some RM offices maintain a contact list of organic and bee producers. Adulticiding depends on trap counts and is often done on very short notice. Generally, control measures will occur within town limits of larger communities (population of 1000 or higher) and up to about 3 km beyond, but if the mosquito numbers warrant, virtually any community may be applied with adulticide. 

Remember that a minimum buffer of 25 feet (8 metres) is required between an organic field and an area treated with a synthetic pesticide. Any production from that area is considered conventional for a full three years. Hopefully the mosquito spraying won’t affect anyone in this manner, but organic producers must be aware of the consequences if it does happen. Manitoba Health is concerned with the risks of WNV to human health, so they are prepared to do whatever is best for “the common good”, but in the past they have made efforts to reduce the potential impact that control measures would have on organic and bee operations.

Contacts:

• For more information about Manitoba’s WNV program, visit the Manitoba Health website at   http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/wnv/   or phone 204-788-6795.
  
• Health Links at 204-788-8200 or toll-free 1-888-315-9257 also has good WNV information.
  
• City of Winnipeg BUGLINE at 311 (Wpg. area) or toll-free 1-877-311-4974  http://winnipeg.ca/cms/bugline/    

Contact the Bugline if you have any part of your operation in the City of Winnipeg limits and up to 12 km beyond. Buffers for organic operations may be considered when the control of nuisance mosquitoes is involved.

The 2012 North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-
SARE) Research and Education Grant Program Call for Preproposals is now available online at http://sare.org/ncrsare

NCR-SARE’s Research and Education program supports innovators with competitive Research and Education grants. Individual grants range from $10,000 to $200,000. NCR-SARE expects to fund about 8-12 projects in the twelve-state North Central Region.

The deadline for Research and Education Program preproposals is 4:30pm CDT June 9, 2011.

Since 1988, NCR-SARE has awarded more than $40 million worth of competitive grants to farmers and ranchers, researchers, educators, public and private institutions, nonprofit groups, and others exploring sustainable agriculture in 12 states. NCR-SARE’s Administrative Council represents various agricultural sectors, states and organizations. It sets program priorities and makes granting decisions for the region. A collection of farm and non-farm residents, the Administrative Council includes a diverse mix of agricultural stakeholders in our 12 states. Council members come from regional farms and ranches, university extension and research programs, and nonprofits. In addition, the Administrative Council includes regional representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, state agencies, and agribusinesses.

For more information contact:
North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
(NCR-SARE)
612-626-3113
www.sare.org/ncrsare
ncrsare@unm.edu

(Medina, ND - April 25, 2011) The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) recently accepted the certification program Farm Verified Organic (FVO) into the internationally recognized IFOAM Family of Standards. IFOAM is the worldwide umbrella organization for the organic movement, uniting more than 750 member organizations in 116 countries.

“International Certification Services, Inc is currently the only North American IFOAM accredited certifier,” says Christina Dockter, Senior Executive Partner. “The acceptance of our Farm Verified Organic certification into the IFOAM Family of Standards provides our clients with an even easier and more cost effective solution to navigating global markets, while guaranteeing true organic compliance through an internationally endorsed set of standards.”

With entrance into the Family of Standards, FVO joins an elite group of 45 organic standards and regulations around the world that have been verified as meeting the Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards, agreed upon by the IFOAM membership and endorsed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD). Clients can contact International Certification Services, Inc. (ICS, Inc.) for information on using the new IFOAM Family of Standards Logo.

The IFOAM Family of Standards is a tool that enables multi-lateral equivalence for organic standards and regulations, providing “regulated but streamlined” market access for organic products. In dealing with import approvals, IFOAM, FAO, and UNCTAD have recommended that governments adopt an equivalence approach, using methods as efficient as possible to approve a large number of national organic regulations as equivalent to theirs.

In the spring newsletter, ICS indicated we would allow the use of OMRI and WSDA inputs for the NOP program. As we approach the growing season and are receiving input requests, we are finding some inputs submitted have an OMRI or WSDA approval logo on the label however they are actually NOT OMRI or WSDA approved. 

When considering an OMRI or WSDA approved input, you can visit OMRI or WSDA’s websites to verify the input planned for purchase is actually approved. Ensure the name on the label matches exactly the name on the certificate or website. When specific restrictions are identified on OMRI or WSDA input reviews, these restrictions must be followed. If unsure of the approval status, send the label directly to ICS to review.

The websites are:
OMRI: www.omri.org
WSDA: www.agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/Organic/MaterialsLists.aspx

If the information on the label is not the same as on the website or certificate, the label must be submitted to ICS for verification before use.

Also ensure a copy of the label is included in the production plan. The input MUST be reviewed and approved prior to use. Please keep in mind using an input which is not approved or not being used for the approved method, can jeopardize your certification status.

Reminder: If you are requesting FVO/IFOAM, EU, COR or JAS all labels MUST be submitted for review and approval prior to use.

Please contact your Customer Care Specialist if you have any questions.