Organic Crop Improvement Association

For the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis, see DHS Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis (OCIA).
O.C.I.A logo.

The Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) is a member-owned, non-profit organization, which provides research, education and certification services to organic growers, processors and handlers around the world. OCIA certifies and verifies farm, livestock, processor/handlers, broker-traders, Community Grower Groups (CGGs), and Private Labels to various programs.[1]

Bilingual organic certification seal.

With its headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska, OCIA has regional and chapter offices in Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Japan, Guatemala, Peru and the U.S. OCIA was founded in 1985 (incorporated in Pennsylvania 1988) near Sherbrooke, Quebec, by a group of farmers, modeled on the "crop improvement associations" that came out of the Dust Bowl era. These associations started as informal meetings where farmers could discuss and ask advice about their land. In the 1970s as the organic movement developed, "organic" crop improvement associations were formed. OCIA mandated that farmers would hold farmers to one of the first international organic standards in 1985.[2]

An international organization, OCIA continues to have a local approach with the organization largely being made up of local "chapters." The organization had members primarily in Canada and the U.S. until a group of Peruvian farmers joined the organization in 1988. Expansion throughout Latin America continued, and now OCIA has members across the world.[3]

  1. ^ "Global Market Access". Retrieved 16 November 2016. OCIA certifies operations to the OCIA International Certification Standard, USDA National Organic Program (NOP), Canada Organic Regime (COR), European Union Equivalent Standards (EU), Japanese Organic Agricultural Standards (JAS) and Quebec Organic Reference Standards (Quebec). OCIA verifies to JAS, the US-Canada Organic Equivalence Arrangement, Bio Suisse, Swiss Ordinance of Organic Farming, UTZ Certified, Smithsonian Bird Friendly and Shade-Grown Coffee (part of the OCIA International Certification Standard.)
  2. ^ "OCIA Family Farmer Spotlight: Bart Hall". 22 September 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  3. ^ "About OCIA". Retrieved 16 November 2016.