NOP Compliance 

and Enforcement

USDA National Organic Standard Board Meeting

October 28, 2020

Betsy Rakola, Director of Compliance and Enforcement
What does NOP compliance and enforcement do?

The NOP Compliance and Enforcement (C&E) Division:

• Partners with other Federal enforcement agencies

• Surveils high-risk sectors

• Investigates complaints 
NOP Goals: Fair and Fast Enforcement

In fiscal year 2021, Compliance and Enforcement will:

1. Collaborate with partners to advance high-impact or high-risk 

investigations. 

2. Import supply chains: conduct 3 region-focused surveillance 

analyses.

3. Continue livestock compliance program, expanding the use of 

technology monitoring tools and scope of visits. 

4. Close 75% of incoming complaints and inquiries within 12 

months.

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Office of the Inspector General

Criminal Investigations
2019: Five Guilty Pleas in Grain Fraud Scheme

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2020: Grain Trader Arrested in South Dakota

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NOP-OIG Partnership: Many Hands

• In 2019, NOP conducted a two-day in-service training for nearly 

half the OIG investigative force. 

• In January 2020, OIG Special Agents and Special Agents-InCharge trained NOP certifiers.

• Many hands support organic integrity across the government.

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Other NOP Enforcement Partners

• USDA

– Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - APHIS

– Foreign Agricultural Service - FAS

– Office of the Chief Economist - OCE

– Farm Service Agency - FSA

– Risk Management Agency - RMA

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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Import Oversight

Region-Focused Surveillance 
Import oversight and data analysis

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NOP uses data to:

• Analyze market intelligence that alerts the NOP to 

suspicious activities

• Identify fraud indicators & begin surveillance
Regular import assessments

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• Methods include:

– Monitoring trade data

–Developing baselines and 

benchmarks

– Identify sudden spikes

• Used data to stop nonorganic soybean imports 

from India
12

Average organic 

wheat yield:

31 bushels/acre

Training on Yield Analysis

Average conventional 

wheat yield:

54 bushels/acre

0.6 yield ratio

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Organic Livestock Compliance

Technology tools & onsite visits 
Livestock Organic Compliance Program

What is it?

• Unannounced, boots-on-the-ground visits 

• Verifying compliance with organic pasture practice standards 

• Highly-trained Federal livestock auditing staff

• Dairies selected for geographical area, market impact, certifier 

compliance evaluation, and complaints to NOP 

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• Most dairies were in compliance

• Cows grazed 120 or more days

• 2 dairies surrendered certification

• 1 dairy received a proposed suspension

• 1 certifier entered into a settlement 

agreement with USDA

• 5 certifiers received noncompliances 

Livestock Organic Compliance: 2019 Impacts

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• Dairy/Livestock training added to the Organic Integrity 

Learning Center to increase certifier consistency
Livestock Organic Compliance: New in 2020

• Multi-day training in California for Federal auditors, 

State organic program, and certifiers 

• Expansion: new states, new certifiers, new dairies

• Investigations of live animal sales activity

• Focus: assessing temporary confinement
Complaints & Inquiries

Enforcement Operations & Dashboard
Investigative Complaints: Backlog Reduced

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

FY 2019 FY 2021

Total Open Older than 2 years

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NOP Compliance Investigations

Over 750 complaints 

and inquiries received 

each year

40% resolved with 

educational 

information to address 

customer needs

C&E investigates or 

refers remaining 60% of 

complaints, asking: did 

someone break the 

organic rules? 

Most common 

outcomes: voluntary 

compliance, no 

violation found

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Outcomes: 448 closed cases in 12 months

Administrative 

Actions

13%

Criminal Referral

1%

Fraudulent 

Certificate Posted

3%

Settlements, Civil 

Penalties, & Appeals

3%

Referred for 

Investigation

9%

No Violation

24%

Voluntary 

Compliance

47%

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Complaint & Inquiry Trends

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Completed Investigations 129 127 279 260 285 390 360 470 335 413 448

Resolved Inquiries 30 197 248 386

New Investigations 194 183 278 215 411 548 508 395 370 374 391

Total Incoming 194 183 278 215 411 548 508 425 567 622 777

Percentage completed 66% 69% 100% 121% 69% 71% 71% 118% 94% 106% 107%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

*

* Fiscal year 2020 

numbers as of 

9/30/2020

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Inquiries Not Accepted for Investigation

Operation is 

certified 

organic, 106

Out of NOP No evidence, 89

jurisdiction, 69

Question, not 

complaint, 29

Repeat 

complaint, 18

Textiles, 

Personal Care, 

Inputs, Other, 

39

Removed from 

Amazon.com, 

44

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Customer Experience: Online Complaint Form

• Launched February 2020

• 370 inquiries submitted

• Clear filing instructions

• Inquiry tracking numbers

• Complaints still accepted 

by email, phone, and 

postal mail

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Thank you!

Betsy Rakola

Director, USDA NOP Compliance and Enforcement

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