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2010 AGM
 
 
 

2010 AGM and Advanced Training
Rio Rico, Arizona

Advanced Training plans are shaping up to provide an excellent series of mini-trainings focusing on inspection for specialty standards, plus livestock topics, and food safety.

Information about the AGM

Information about the Training - March 4-6, 2010

Advanced Training Draft Agenda
(please note that updates and revisions will be posted as available)

Advanced Training Application:
PDF MS doc



All trainings are open to both inspectors and non-inspectors. Certificates for each half-day session will be awarded to all those who pay registration fees and participate fully in the session. Preference will be given to IOIA Inspector Members if space is limiting. Plenary sessions each day are offered free to those taking half-day workshops that day and for a nominal fee to others. Pollinator Conservation is free to everyone.  Additional sessions may be added. Please check the draft agenda periodically for updates.

Workshop half-day Sessions:

  • Organic Mushroom Production (Mar. 4 a.m.) – Information about the organic production of the most common types of mushrooms and issues relating to application of the crop standards to mushrooms.  
  • Organic Greenhouse and Sprouts (Mar 4 p.m. – concurrent session) No field trip. Guest speakers are Paul Cross of Charybda in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico (confirmed) and Adrian and Ricardo Crisantes of Cris-P Produce of Nogales (invited).  Charybda produces hothouse tomatoes, annual seedlings, and micro greens in 3000 square ft of greenhouse space, all with collected rainwater. Adrian and Ricardo Crisantes are part of a family-owned organic produce operation with 24 acres under glass and a cutting edge production system. A short segment on sprouts will be included.
  • Canadian Organic Standards (Mar 4 p.m. – concurrent session) will include an overview of the Canadian Organic Regime (COR); labeling requirements; and crop, livestock and processing standards. The session will present key differences between the new Canadian standards, the European standards, and US standards. 
  • Organic Apiculture Inspection (Mar 5 a.m.): Organic apiculture inspection issues, the NOSB recommendation on apiculture, current standards being certified to including European and Canadian, and how the livestock standards are being applied to bees will be discussed. Bee biology and beekeeping equipment will be explained as they relate to the standards. For those without apiculture experience, suggested readings will be provided in advance, and a video available for viewing on the evening of March 4. Harriet Behar and Aaron Brin of Wisconsin are confirmed as team presenters.
  • Organic Aquaculture Production (Mar 5 p.m.): Organic aquaculture recommendations have been approved through the NOSB, US rules are expected soon, and inspectors interested in inspecting aquaculture will find this training essential. Deborah Brister of MN is the confirmed presenter.
  • Calculating Dry Matter Intake for Ruminants: (Mar 6 a.m. – concurrent session) Explanation of the factors inspectors should consider in estimating dry matter intake from feed and pasture in organic ruminant production. This session will help inspectors assess compliance with the new NOP pasture rule, anticipated for release in early 2010. Dan Giacomini is the confirmed presenter.
  • Personal Care Products (Mar 6 a.m. – concurrent session) This session is essential for any inspector of personal care products. It will provide the most current developments in certification and standards development for personal care and organic control points for inspectors. Bob Durst is the confirmed presenter.
  • Food Safety and the Organic Inspector (March 6 p.m.) will explore the implications of food safety regulations and directives on the work of organic inspectors. Bob Durst and John Foster are confirmed as the presentation team.

Shorter Plenary Sessions:

Pollinator Conservation: This session is free to all IOIA members.
Eric Mader, National Pollinator Outreach Coordinator with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation will present this session. The Xerces Society, through a partnership with OFRF and Organic Valley, has developed a Pollinator Conservation Toolkit, which includes guidelines on specific organic farm practices and pesticide threats to pollinators. Included in this training package is a brief overview of native bee biology, information on how to access technical and financial resources for pollinator conservation, and guidelines on how pollinator conservation efforts mesh with organic certification requirements. The Pollinator Conservation Toolkit including organic farm management guidelines will be available for $25 (must order in advance).

Kosher and Organic: Steve Sichel, of Star-K Kosher, www.star-k.org

Canadian-NOP Equivalency Update: Garry Lean, Ontario

Korea’s new Food Industry Promotion Act and its impact on organic processed foods: Raymond Yang, Doalnara Certified Organic Korea, Republic of Korea, will give an update to the final revision to the Labeling Guidelines for Food Products. The effective date for FIPA has been extended one year to January 1, 2011.

NOP Pasture Rule Update: Dan Giacomini

What Happens at the Border? AZ Dept of Ag Inspection Office

NOSB Hot Topics: John Foster

Speaker Bios 

Field trip options for March 8:

Participants will be expected to contribute to cover transport and their own meals.The group will be expected to work with a field trip facilitator to organize adequate transport. We anticipate that there will generally be enough cars available to car-pool. If there is not enough interest for any individual field trip, that trip will be cancelled.

  1. Produce Warehouses in Nogales, AZ, facilitated by the AZ Dept of Ag Inspection Office.  (confirmed)
  2. Green Valley Pecan Growers organic pecan operation, located between Rio Rico and Tucson. Farm tour will include nursery and trees. Plant tour will be arranged if possible, if group size is small. For more info, see www.greenvalleypecan.com (confirmed)
  3. Hydroponic greenhouses at Controlled Environment Agriculture Center, U of AZ, Tucson. Facilities include a teaching greenhouse, strawberry projects, and a demonstration greenhouse of simple technologies that can be applied readily to small-scale systems. Crops will include tomatoes and peppers. For more info, see http://ag.arizona.edu/CEAC/  (confirmed)
  4. Wildcrafting - Arizona Cactus Ranch, Green Valley makes healthful prickly pear products (jams, nectars, fruit spread, hangover terminator). Prickly pear fruits are harvested on the ranch and processed in Tucson. For more info, see www.arizonacactusranch.com   (confirmed)

2010 IOIA Annual General Meeting

AGM festivities
11:15-12:45 Tucson’s best high school mariachi band will kick off the AGM festivities. Following the AGM, members will enjoy local guitar music in the Esplendor Saloon and an astronomy talk by Bob Gent, astronomer. Weather permitting Bob will include
an evening telescope opportunity.

    AGM Agenda   March 7, 12p.m.

    AGM Keynote Speaker:     Ken Commins, IOAS  “Detecting and Preventing Fraud”

    AGM Sample Ballot
    Please Note: Numbered Ballots have been mailed to all Inspector Members. If you do not receive your ballot, please email IOIA directly to request an official ballot.

    AGM Board Bios

    Annual Report 2009

    Venue: Esplendor Resort is located in the Sonoran desert about 40 minutes south of Tucson International Airport and 20 minutes north of the port of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. For more details about the facility, visit www.esplendor-resort.com.  This is a comfortable, authentic southwestern venue in a scenic and rural setting with a mountain backdrop. Esplendor overlooks the Santa Cruz River valley and bills itself as “Uncomplicated, Unpretentious, Unforgettable”.  Deluxe Double and Deluxe King rooms each feature private patios or balconies overlooking the panoramic views of the mountains, valleys and Arizona sunsets. Each room also has WiFi, in-room coffee & tea, full bath, hair dryer, Iron & ironing board, work desk, and refrigerator. Pets are allowed. Smoking rooms are available upon request.

    Private rooms should be reserved by calling (ph: 520.281.1901 or toll-free in US 800.288.4746) and asking for a reservation in the IOIA Room Block prior to February 22. To ensure a room, you are encouraged to call earlier. For shared lodging, please note that preference on the IOIA registration form. IOIA will prepare the rooming list for shared lodging. Cost of rooms is $105 for single or double occupancy, plus 6.6% lodging tax. Shared rooms through IOIA cost $60 per person. Check-in is 3:00 p.m.

    Weather can never be guaranteed, but it should be sunny. Typical weather in the Tucson area is sunny 25 days or more in the month of March. Average daytime high is 72°F (22°C). Nighttime lows can be chilly (37°F or 3°C on the average).  AGM meeting space includes indoor and outdoor space near the outdoor heated pool. Hardier members should bring their swimsuits. The resort is known for an excellent restaurant. Lunches will be provided as part of the training. One meal will be provided to all members on March 7, AGM day, for all inspector members. A variety of other dining options and a grocery are within walking distance. Three state campsites nearby are another low-priced option for members.

    Transportation:     Nearest airport is Tucson International Airport (TUS). Competitive airfares to Tucson are available through Southwest Airlines, but all other major airlines also fly into Tucson. Some will find it more economical to fly into the larger airport in Phoenix and take the air shuttle to Tucson. Rio Rico is readily accessible by rental cars from the airport with virtually no city driving required. The Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau provided IOIA with a booking incentive payment. This fund will allow IOIA to provide shuttle service from the Tucson Airport for inspector members. Bob Scoles, Montana rancher and husband of the ED, has offered to drive the shuttle. Shuttles will be available twice on March 3, and 3X daily thereafter as needed. Please provide airline, flight arrival time, flight #, and number of persons to teri@ioia.net at IOIA no later than March 1 to ensure shuttle pickup. Bob will be the tall man with silver hair and a cowboy hat with an IOIA sign. Be prepared for a wait of up to 2 hours as every effort will be made to be carbon-conservative by grouping arrivals. Allow at least 45 minutes each way in transit from Esplendor to the airport.

    The area, what to see and do:
    The area is famous for birding habitat, historic missions, and the nearby Tubac art colony. Bring family, spouses, friends! They will find lots to do. Visit www.visittucson.org to see more about the area.  A sampling of Area Attractions:

  1. Near Rio Rico: Tubac art colony, port of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico (passport required to cross the border)In Tucson: Desert Botanical GardensNear Tucson: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (world-class living museum of desert animals in fairly natural habitat); Saguaro National Monument; Petroglyphs State Park;  Old Tucson (movie studio); Mission San Xavier del Bac; Within an hour: Kitt Peak National Observatory
  2. More than hour: Boyce Thompson Arboretum; Tombstone;  Kartchner Caverns State Park; Biosphere II


Thank you to our AGM Organizing Committee in Arizona (Terrie Gent, Inge Vogelmann, Abed Anouti).

See You There!