PORKER
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New USDA Rules to Require Proof of Pasture Time for Organic Livestock Production
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Bradenton, FL, United States, 02/12/2010 - Family farmers across the United States, who produce organic milk, are celebrating the release of strict new USDA regulations that establish distinct benchmarks requiring the grazing and pasturing of dairy cows and other livestock.
Family farmers across the United States, who produce organic milk, are celebrating the release of strict new USDA regulations that establish distinct benchmarks requiring the grazing and pasturing of dairy cows and other livestock. "We are delighted by the new rules," said Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute. "The organic community has been calling for strong regulations and its enforcement for much of the past decade. Cheap organic milk flowing from the illegitimate factory farms has created a surplus that is crushing ethical family farm producers."
The ScoringAg.com database has the records that prove pasture time for the USDA NOP rules .ScoringAg is used successfully by many different industries for complete recordkeeping, documentation and traceback. ScoringAg is the only complete whole-chain traceback system covering all agriculture commodities, ingredients and food products raw and processed, repacked or commingled. Certification and audits can be directly scanned into the database to prove a practice and verification can be entered with even pictures and video.
The record as documentation moves with the product in the webbased system no matter where it comes from or goes to. ScoringAg's Data Management System (DMS) enables access for multiple users anytime, anywhere.There is no need to reinvent the wheel new. Other traceability systems just don't have date and time stamped recordkeeping or documentation that is 21 CFR Part 11 of the US code. Now even a gallon of milk can be tracked to the pastures where the dairy cattle grazed.
"We are delighted by the new rules," said Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute. "The organic community has been calling for strong regulations and its enforcement for much of the past decade. Cheap organic milk flowing from the illegitimate factory farms has created a surplus that is crushing ethical family farm producers."
The biggest scandal in the history of the organic industry centered around one such USDA investigation with the regulators finding "willful" violations of 14 organic regulations on factory farms operated by Aurora Dairy, a $100+ million company based in Colorado (Aurora produces private-label, store brand milk for Wal-Mart, Costco and other large grocery chains).
The USDA has announced that they will begin this month hosting a series of workshops around the country with the nation's 50+ organic certification agencies and other industry stakeholders. The sessions are intended to clearly define the meaning and intent of the new rule so that certifiers, who conduct annual farm inspections and review organic system management plans, will understand what the regulations require from farmers and only approve management practices that strictly conform to it.
Specifically, the new rules require that dairy cows and other ruminants be out on pasture for the entire growing season, but for not less than 120 days. It also requires that the animals receive at least 30% of their feed, or dry matter intake (DMI), from pasturing. In addition, organic livestock will be required to have access to the outdoors year-round with the exception of temporary confinement due to mitigating and documentable environmental or health considerations.
ScoringAg.com and its traceback and traceup system for agriculture products, featuring Site-Specific Recordkeeping™ and PIDC location code. Located in Bradenton, Florida USA , the company specializes in providing solutions with mobile data, via wireless PDAs, laptops, and Semacode-programmed Nokia, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson cell phones. Whether using RFID or barcodes for traceup and traceback of livestock, recordkeeping from birth through the packing plants and on to the consumer; or tracking transport containers or perishable meats and other food consumer goods, ScoringAg.com makes managing data easier -- and does it in an extremely cost effective manner from "Field-to-Fork."
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Bradenton, FL, United States, 02/12/2010 - Family farmers across the United States, who produce organic milk, are celebrating the release of strict new USDA regulations that establish distinct benchmarks requiring the grazing and pasturing of dairy cows and other livestock.
Family farmers across the United States, who produce organic milk, are celebrating the release of strict new USDA regulations that establish distinct benchmarks requiring the grazing and pasturing of dairy cows and other livestock. "We are delighted by the new rules," said Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute. "The organic community has been calling for strong regulations and its enforcement for much of the past decade. Cheap organic milk flowing from the illegitimate factory farms has created a surplus that is crushing ethical family farm producers."
The ScoringAg.com database has the records that prove pasture time for the USDA NOP rules .ScoringAg is used successfully by many different industries for complete recordkeeping, documentation and traceback. ScoringAg is the only complete whole-chain traceback system covering all agriculture commodities, ingredients and food products raw and processed, repacked or commingled. Certification and audits can be directly scanned into the database to prove a practice and verification can be entered with even pictures and video.
The record as documentation moves with the product in the webbased system no matter where it comes from or goes to. ScoringAg's Data Management System (DMS) enables access for multiple users anytime, anywhere.There is no need to reinvent the wheel new. Other traceability systems just don't have date and time stamped recordkeeping or documentation that is 21 CFR Part 11 of the US code. Now even a gallon of milk can be tracked to the pastures where the dairy cattle grazed.
"We are delighted by the new rules," said Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute. "The organic community has been calling for strong regulations and its enforcement for much of the past decade. Cheap organic milk flowing from the illegitimate factory farms has created a surplus that is crushing ethical family farm producers."
The biggest scandal in the history of the organic industry centered around one such USDA investigation with the regulators finding "willful" violations of 14 organic regulations on factory farms operated by Aurora Dairy, a $100+ million company based in Colorado (Aurora produces private-label, store brand milk for Wal-Mart, Costco and other large grocery chains).
The USDA has announced that they will begin this month hosting a series of workshops around the country with the nation's 50+ organic certification agencies and other industry stakeholders. The sessions are intended to clearly define the meaning and intent of the new rule so that certifiers, who conduct annual farm inspections and review organic system management plans, will understand what the regulations require from farmers and only approve management practices that strictly conform to it.
Specifically, the new rules require that dairy cows and other ruminants be out on pasture for the entire growing season, but for not less than 120 days. It also requires that the animals receive at least 30% of their feed, or dry matter intake (DMI), from pasturing. In addition, organic livestock will be required to have access to the outdoors year-round with the exception of temporary confinement due to mitigating and documentable environmental or health considerations.
ScoringAg.com and its traceback and traceup system for agriculture products, featuring Site-Specific Recordkeeping™ and PIDC location code. Located in Bradenton, Florida USA , the company specializes in providing solutions with mobile data, via wireless PDAs, laptops, and Semacode-programmed Nokia, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson cell phones. Whether using RFID or barcodes for traceup and traceback of livestock, recordkeeping from birth through the packing plants and on to the consumer; or tracking transport containers or perishable meats and other food consumer goods, ScoringAg.com makes managing data easier -- and does it in an extremely cost effective manner from "Field-to-Fork."
