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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE 

BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

Inre: 

Patrick Martin, 

Rock Island Farms 

Gouverneur, New York 

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Administrator's Decision 

APL-006-17 

This Decision responds to an appeal (APL-006-17) of a Notice of Proposed Suspension 

of National Organic Program certification issued to Patrick Martin, doing business as Rock 

Island Farms of Gouverneur, New Yotk, by NOFA-NY Certified Organic, LLC. The operation 

has been deemed not in compliance with the Organic J.<oods Production Act of 1990 (Act) 1 and 

. the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic regulations.2 

BACKGROUND 

The Act authorizes the Secretary to accredit agents to certify crop, livestock, wild crop, 

and/or handling operations to the USDA organic regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 205). · Ce1tifying 

agents also initiate compliance actions to enforce progi·am requirements, as described in section . 

205.662, Noncompliance procedure for certified operations. Persons subject to the Act who 

believe they are adversely affected by a noncoinpliance decision of a certifying agent may appeal 

such decision to the USDA Agiicultural Marketing Service (AMS) pursuant to § 205.680 

Adverse Action Appeals Process - General, and§ 205.681, Appeals of the USDA organic 

regulations. 

I 7 U.S.C. 6501-6522 

17 C.F.R. Part 205 

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FINDINGS 01<' FACT 

1. NOFA-NY Certified Organic, LLC is an accredited certifying agent under the USDA 

organic regulations. Patrick Martin is the operator of Rock Island Fatms of Gouverneur, 

New York, which is certified under USDA organic regulations for crops and livestock. 

2. On April 13, 2016, NO FA-NY issued Rock Island Farms a Notice of Noncompliance for 

a failure to submit a 2016 update application and certification fees. 

3. On July 29, 2016, NOFA-NY issued Rock Island Frums a Notice of Proposed Suspension 

for a failure to submit a 2016 update application and certification fees. NOFA-NY 

propose4 a 30-day suspension. 

4. On September 2, 2016, NOFA-NY received Rock Island Fatms' request for Mediation. 

NOFA-NY accepted the request via a letter dated September 6, 2016. 

5. On September 26, 2016, NOFA-NY issued Rock Island Farms a Notice of Unsuccessful 

Mediation after Patrick Martin did not provide the required documentation to NOFA-NY. 

6. On October 10, 2016, NOP received Rock.Island Farms' appeal request, in which Patrick 

Martin stated that he had submitted all documentation to NOFA-NY. 

DISCUSSION 

NO FA-NY proposed a suspension of Rock Island Farms' organic certification for a 

period of 30 days. The effect of suspension would prohibit all sale, labeling or representation of 

its products as organic. The 2016 suspension is the third time in which Rock Island Farms has 

reeeived Notices of Noncompliance and/or Proposed Suspension, between July 2014 and 

September 2016. 

In its July 29, 2016 Notice of Proposed Suspension, NOFA-NY cited Rock Island Farms 

for noncompliance with the following section of the USDA organic regulation: section 205.406 

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(Continuation of certification). NOFA-NY provided a specific example of the noncompliance in 

its notice and stated, "A partial application has been received however no response has been 

received to the requests for additional items to complete the application. Outstanding items 

included: Updated Animal List, 2015 Harvest Records, 2015 Purchased Feed Log for JulyDecember, 2015, Livestock Medication Records for July-December, and 2015 Feed Ration Dry 

Matter Intake Forms for July-December." 

In response, the appellant, stated that, "three of the five requested forms were faxed to the 

. NOFA-NY office by the date requested, but I was unable to fax the remaining forms until after . 

September 21, 2016." He further indicated the remaining forms were submitted to NOFA-NY, 

but not until after September2 l, 2016. Patrick Martin did not provide any supplemental 

· . information to support the claim that all remaining documents were submitted to NOFA-NY. 

Evidence provided by the certi:t1er demonstrates the noncompliance, as it relates 

specifically to annual update applications. This was a previous issue for Rock Island Farms in 

both2014 and2015. On April 3, 2014, NOFA-NY issued Rock Island Farms a Notice of 

Noncompliance for a failure to submit a 2014 update application. Rock Island Farms then 

received a Notification of Proposed Suspension by May 30, 2014, and by July 9, 2014, was 

issued a Notice of Suspension. The .deficiencies stemming from 2014 noncompliance were 

corrected by April 2015 and Rock Island Farms was reinstated by NOP; however, the operation 

again fell out of compliance later into 2015. On June 19, 2015, NOFA-NY issued Rock Island 

Farms a Notice ofNoncompliance for failure to submit a 2015 update application. The 2015 

noncompliance was resolved by July 2015. 

The cumulative effect of the documentation provided by NOFA-NY shows that Rock 

Island Farms failed to submit annual, updated· applications in 2016, 2015, and 2014 as required 

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by the USDA organic regulations for continuation of certification. This led to NOFA-NY issuing 

multiple letters of noncompliance and, in 2014 and 2016, notifications of proposed suspension. 

Jbis recuiring pattern demonstrates a systemic failure of Rock Island Farms' ability to comply 

with the USDA organic regulations. Specifically, section 205.406 requires that certified 

operations must annually submit to the certifying agent, an updated organic system plan and 

other information deemed necessary by the certifying agent to determine compliance. 

CONCLUSION 

The appellant did not provide timely and complete information to continue organic 

certification and resolve the July 29, 2016 Notice of Proposed Suspension issued by NO FA-NY. 

The findings in this case demonstrate that Rock Island Farms has. been notified of the same 

noncompliance in 2014, 2015 and again in 2016. This pattern demonstrates a systemic failure of 

the operation to remain in compliance with the USDA organic regulations, § 205.406 

(Continuation of certification). 

DECISION 

The appeal is denied and NOFA-NY's Notice of Proposed Suspension is upheld. Rock 

Island Fanns is to be suspended. 

Attached to this formal Administrator's Decision denying Rock Island Farms' appeal is a 

Request for Hearing form. Rock Island Farms has thirty (30) days to request an administrative 

hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. 

If Rock Island. Farms waives the hearing, the Agricultural Marketing Service will direct 

NOFA-NY to issue a Notice of Suspension. The suspension will be effective for 30-days from 

the date of the heating waiver. After the 30-day suspension period, the operation may, " ... submit 

a request to the Secretary for reinstatement of its certification. The request must be accompanied 

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by evidence demonstrating correction of each noncompliance and corrective actions taken to 

comply with and remain in compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part." 

Done att;;~gton, D.c.;on this J.-5!!-

day of Ju.\ ,2017. 

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