National Organic Program
Training Updates
Organic Integrity Learning Center Updates
New training lessons are now available in the Organic Integrity Learning Center:
- Course NOP-070- Advanced Inspections: Investigations
Lesson 4: Evidence: What Is It and How Much Do I Need?
Learn about how evidence supports organic enforcement activities!
- Course NOP-050- Certification Administration Essentials
Lesson 6: Administrative Capacity and Certifier Transitions
Learn about administrative capacity and the steps taken when a certifier limits certification activities or exits the organic market.
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Course NOP-998- NOP Presentations
Watch and listen to recordings of recent NOP presentations, including the NOP Overview at the January 2020 certifier's training day and "Safeguarding Organic," presented at EcoFarm.
Have an Account? Access the Learning Center at http://usda.blackboard.com/.
Need a Free Account? Read “Getting Started” and sign up at:
www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/training.
For questions about the Learning Center, contact USDA-NOP@apvit.com.
Live Training: Where We Have Been....
NOP staff spent a lot of time on the road from January through early March 2020, connecting with organic farmers and certifiers. Here's a recap!
This year, nearly all of our accredited certifiers were represented in face-to-face training in San Antonio, Texas (U.S.) in January or in Nurnberg, Germany in February. Here, international certifiers and NOP staff say hello at the start of training in Germany.
In February, NOP Livestock Specialist Emily Prisco spoke at the High Plains Organic Conference in Wyoming. The talk focused on the organic regulatory control system and the important role certifiers play in ensuring fair and consistent certification. |
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Also in February, the NOP and USDA's Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and Risk Management Agency all came together to support organic farmers at MOSES in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The conference included an NOP workshop called "To Catch a Thief," focusing on feedback from farmers and certifiers on ways we can all detect and combat organic fraud.
During the first week of March, NOP conducted a two-day face-to-face dairy training session in California with 28 people from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California county agriculture departments, accredited certifiers, and USDA staff from the Agricultural Marketing Service who assist NOP with enforcement. The training included interactive classroom and on-farm training, including a simulated unannounced inspection.
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