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AnnouncementJune 29, 2016


The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) is pleased to share a new set of Sound and Sensible resources. We would also like to encourage participation in the Organic Certifier Survey conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and to highlight market trends for organic specialty crops.
New Sound and Sensible Resources Available
AMS is making organic certification more accessible, attainable, and affordable for all operations through its Sound and Sensible Certification initiative. As part of this initiative, the AMS National Organic Program partnered with several members of the organic community to develop resource guides, videos, and other tools that help farmers and businesses better understand the organic option.

Today, we published a series of new resource documents. Together, these documents provide a framework that an organic certifier could use to design and build a uniform and easy-to-use organic certification system.
NASS Continues Certifier Survey
The AMS National Organic Program continues to encourage certifiers to participate in the ongoing Organic Certifier Survey, conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). This initiative is collecting data from organic certifiers about organic production for calendar years 2014 and 2015.

AMS anticipates that the Organic Integrity Database (INTEGRITY) will ultimately become the tool by which certifiers can report these data, streamlining data collection and reporting. INTEGRITY was built to include all the data fields covered by the NASS survey to facilitate this future transition, so if you have your data in a form that works for INTEGRITY, it can support NASS needs too!        
NASS Overview: Organic Certifier Survey
AMS Highlights Market Trends in Organic Specialty Crops
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Specialty Crops Market News recently published the National Specialty Crops Organic Summary. Published daily, this report provides organic price information at terminal markets, shipping points, and retail advertised prices throughout the U.S.  The report highlights prices for 133 organic fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other specialty crops as well as movement data including domestic shipment volumes and import information.
 
View more on market trends for organic specialty crops: National Specialty Crops Organic Summary.
About the Agricultural Marketing Service
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) facilitates the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products. Through its National Organic Program, AMS facilitates trade and ensures the integrity of organic agricultural products by consistently implementing organic standards and enforcing compliance with the regulations throughout the world.
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About the USDA Organic Insider

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