Hi sal,
Sunday, April 23, 2000, 7:40:11 AM, you wrote the following, with
the Subject Header:
"What a rip off! We are mad and are not going to take it anymore.
Just say NO!"
I truly hope you and many others are able to organize cohesively and
take the decisive, well grounded legal actions necessary (protests
will not be enough), to prevent this additional wedge from being
driven between growers of wholesome food and the consumers who want
and deserve it.
I have said it before and I'll say it again:
OFPA as currently written obligates an organic certification process
that, in a way that's totally independent from the consistent,
national definition of organic it was supposed to produce ("organic"
simply becomes whatever OFPA/NOP says it is, and OFPA/NOP says it's
whatever's certified) - it's a recursive law), that is ONEROUS to
both the organic farmer and the buying public. It may be good for
middle men who want to further corner the market (it will add to the
degree of control they already have) and those who want to maintain
the relatively inaccessible status of organic products in relation
to the public.
OFPA itself must be rewritten in order to correct the grave series
of injustices now poised over US organic farmers and the US
marketplace. If the Organic Rule takes effect before then, it will
set back the pure food movement back many years and will benefit
primarily the conventional food industry.
Douglas
No soy una monedita de oro, para caerle bien a todos
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
s> http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/ let them know what u think.
s> check out an organic farmers homepage
s> http://www.rain.org/~sals/.my.html
s> sals@rain.,org
s> Forced Fees and forced paper work and forced searches and forced
s> regestration(like a sex offender) year after year just because u
s> want to grow and sell organic food.
s> § 205.640 Fees and other charges for accreditation.
s> Fees and other charges equal as nearly as may be to the cost of
s> the accreditation services rendered under the regulations,
s> including initial accreditation, review of annual reports, and
s> renewal of accreditation, shall be assessed and collected from
s> applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying
s> agents submitting annual reports or seeking renewal of
s> accreditation in accordance with the following provisions.
s> (a) Fees-for-Service.
s> (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
s> fees-for-service shall be based on the time required to render
s> the service provided calculated to the nearest 15-minute period,
s> including the review of applications and accompanying documents
s> and information, evaluator travel, the conduct of on-site
s> evaluations, review of annual reports and updated documents and
s> information, and the time required to prepare reports and any
s> other documents in connection with the performance of service.
s> The hourly rate shall be the same as that charged by the
s> Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), through its Quality Systems
s> Certification Program, to certification bodies requesting
s> conformity assessment to the International Organization for
s> Standardization "General Requirements for Bodies Operating
s> Product Certification Systems" (ISO Guide 65).
s> (2) Applicants for initial accreditation and accredited
s> certifying agents submitting annual reports or seeking renewal of
s> accreditation during the first 18 months following the effective
s> date of subpart F of this part shall receive service without
s> incurring an hourly charge for service.
s> (3) Applicants for initial accreditation and renewal of
s> accreditation must pay at the time of application, effective 18
s> months following the effective date of Subpart F of this part, a
s> nonrefundable fee of $500.00 which shall be applied to the
s> applicant's fees-for-service account.
s> (b) Travel charges. When service is requested at a place so
s> distant from the evaluator's headquarters that a total of
s> one-half hour or more is required for the evaluator(s) to travel
s> to such place and back to the headquarters or at a place of prior
s> assignment on circuitous routing requiring a total of one-half
s> hour or more to travel to the next place of assignment on the
s> circuitous routing, the charge for such service shall include a
s> mileage charge administratively determined by the Department and
s> travel tolls, if applicable, or such travel prorated among all
s> the applicants and certifying agents furnished the service
s> involved on an equitable basis or, where the travel is made by
s> public transportation (including hired vehicles), a fee equal to
s> the actual cost thereof. Travel charges shall become effective
s> for all applicants for initial accreditation and accredited
s> certifying agents on the effective date of subpart F of this
s> part. The applicant or certifying agent will not be charged a new
s> mileage rate without notification before the service is rendered.
s> (c) Per diem charges. When service is requested at a place away
s> from the evaluator's headquarters, the fee for such service shall
s> include a per diem charge if the employee(s) performing the
s> service is paid per diem in accordance with existing travel
s> regulations. Per diem charges to applicants and certifying agents
s> will cover the same period of time for which the evaluator(s)
s> receives per diem reimbursement. The per diem rate will be
s> administratively determined by the Department. Per diem charges
s> shall become effective, for all applicants for initial
s> accreditation and accredited certifying agents on the effective
s> date of subpart F of this part. The applicant or certifying agent
s> will not be charged a new per diem rate without notification
s> before the service is rendered.
s> (d) Other costs. When costs, other than costs specified in
s> paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section are associated with
s> providing the services, the applicant or certifying agent will be
s> charged for these costs. Such costs include, but are not limited
s> to, equipment rental, photocopying, delivery, facsimile,
s> telephone, or translation charges incurred in association with
s> accreditation services. The amount of the costs charged will be
s> determined administratively by the Department. Such costs shall
s> become effective for all applicants for initial accreditation and
s> accredited certifying agents on the effective date of subpart F
s> of this part.
s> § 205.641 Payment of fees and other charges.
s> (a) Applicants for initial accreditation and renewal of
s> accreditation must remit the nonrefundable fee, pursuant to §
s> 205.640(a)(3), along with their application. Remittance must be
s> made payable to the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, and
s> mailed to: Program Manager, USDA-AMS-TMP-NOP, Room 2945-South
s> Building, PO Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456 or such other
s> address as required by the Program Manager.
s> (b) Payments for fees and other charges not covered under
s> paragraph (a) of this section must be:
s> (1) Received by the due date shown on the bill for collection;
s> (2) Made payable to the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA; and
s> (3) Mailed to the address provided on the bill for collection.
s> (c) The Administrator shall assess interest, penalties, and
s> administrative costs on debts not paid by the due date shown on a
s> bill for collection and collect delinquent debts or refer such
s> debts to the Department of Justice for litigation.
s> § 205.642 Fees and other charges for certification.
s> Fees charged by a certifying agent must be reasonable, and a
s> certifying agent shall charge applicants for certification and
s> certified production and handling operations only those fees and
s> charges that it has filed with the Administrator. The certifying
s> agent shall provide each applicant with an estimate of the total
s> cost of certification and an estimate of the annual cost of
s> updating the certification. The certifying agent may require
s> applicants for certification to pay at the time of application a
s> nonrefundable fee of no more than $250.00, which shall be applied
s> to the applicant's fees-for-service account. The certifying agent
s> shall provide all persons inquiring about the application process
s> with a copy of its fee schedule.
s> §§ 205.643--205.649 [Reserved]
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