IOIA Organic
Inspector Trainings
April 16-25, 2008, Iowa City, Iowa

Location for all trainings is the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa in the Iowa City area. Nearest Airport is Cedar Rapids (CID), about 20 mi. NW of Coralville.

Basic Organic Crop, Livestock and Processing Inspection Trainings

OIA and Iowa Organic Association will cosponsor Basic Organic Crop and Processing Inspection Trainings, running concurrently on April 16-20, followed by Basic Livestock Inspection Training running April 21-25, 2008.

Each course includes 4 days of instruction including a field trip to a certified organic operation, plus ½ day for testing. Livestock field trip options will include dairy operations. Poultry operations will be included if possible. IOIA Organic Inspector Training courses are recommended for inspector trainees, certification agency staff, and regulatory agency staff who want to better understand the organic inspection and certification process. Application deadline is February 29.

Qualified participants are mailed an acceptance package about one month before the course and should allow several days to complete pre-course reading and assignments. The IFOAM/IOIA International Organic Inspection Manual and the USDA National Organic Program standards are the basis for the courses. Copies of the Manual and the USDA Rule are included in the registration fee. Certification agencies that are active in the Midwest area are invited to participate in Certifier-Inspector receptions on April 16 and April 20.

Iowa Organic Association is a nonprofit umbrella organization dedicated to advancing opportunities in organic agriculture in the state of IOIA.

For more details and downloadable application forms, contact IOIA or visit www.ioia.net.

Advanced Organic Inspector Training

IOIA and the Non-GMO Project will cosponsor Advanced Organic Inspector Training on April 20-21. The 2-day session will include one full day of training by the Non-GMO Project, for which a separate certificate will be issued. The non-GMO training will be open as a 1-day option to certification agency staff and other individuals, as well as inspectors. This is the first collaborative training by IOIA and the Non-GMO Project. David Gould of the FoodChain Global Advisors will present this session. The Non-GMO Project is developing training for organic inspectors to do non-GMO verifications, most often in conjunction with the organic inspections of the same operation. FoodChain Global Advisors is the technical administrator for the project. This is the first such training. The Non-GMO Project describes itself as a non-profit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the U.S. and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent “non-GMO” choice. For more information about the Non-GMO Project, see www.nongmoproject.org.

Other topics will focus on NOP standards and policy updates over the past year and livestock topics for inspectors. Livestock topics are under development and will include doing feed audits for organic livestock, feed ingredient issues for organic livestock, organic hogs, and animal health (invited veterinarian).

For more information about IOIA or these trainings, visit www.ioia.net, or contact the IOIA office.

Margaret Scoles
Executive Director
Independent Organic Inspectors Association
P.O. Box 6
117 N. Park Ave.
Broadus, MT 59317-0006
Ph/Fax: (406) 436-2031
Email: ioia@rangeweb.net or ioia@ioia.net