The 2020 Annual General Membership Meeting (AGMM) voted in favor of changes to the OCIA standards.
* The membership voted to revise the definition of “conversion” and “transition.” Conversion is defined as “A written program of organic crop improvement designed to bring 100% of the farm acres into organic management or transition within at least 5 years following the first certification of any portion of that farm.” Transition is defined as “the time between the start of organic management and when the crop or livestock production system or site is eligible for organic certification.”
* The buffer standards have been updated, so the conversion from meters to feet is more accurate. 8 meters is noted as equal to 26 feet 3 inches.
* An outdated reference to “certification committee” was deleted from 2.1.1 and replaced with “OCIA” since conversion plans would be provided directly to OCIA.
The final version of the standards are available online here and track changes version is available here. Please note that implementation of the amended standards shall be enforceable 60 days after publication by OCIA International.