UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE 

BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATOR 

Inre: 

Gaia's Breath Farm 

Jordanville, New York 

) 

) 

) 

) 

) 

Administrator's Decision 

APL-077-19 

This Decision responds to an appeal ( APL-077-19) of a Notice of Proposed Suspension 

issued to Gaia's Breath Farm (Gaia) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), National Organic Program (NOP). The operation has 

been deemed not in compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (Act) 1 and the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture organic regulations.2 

BACKGROUND 

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

and handling operations pursuant to the USDA organic regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 205). 

Accreditation of ce1tifying agents is done by the NOP, which also initiates compliance actions to 

enforce program requirements. Noncompliance procedures for certifying agents are set forth in 

§205.665 of the USDA organic regulations. Persons subject to the Act who believe that they are 

adversely affected by a noncompliance decision of the NOP may appeal such decision to the 

1 7 U.S.C. 6501-6522 2 7 C.F.R. Part 205 

Page 1 of 9 
AMS Administrator, pursuant to §205.680 Adverse Action Appeals Process - General, and 

§205.681, Appeals of the USDA organic regulations. 

FINDINGS OF FACT 

I. On July 15, 2013, Gaia's certification for livestock, crops, wild crops, and handling was 

suspended. Gaia's crop ce1iification was reinstated on July 8, 2015 under Stellar 

Certification Services (Stellar). 

2. On June 13, 2018, Gaia's then-certifying agent Stellar Certification Services (Stellar) 

informed the NOP that it was surrendering its accreditation. NOP wrote Stellar on June 

14, 2018, instructing it to notify all its certified operations of the surrender of 

accreditation and the need to find a new certifying agent. 

3. On June 22, 2018, Stellar informed Gaia that it would no longer be providing NOP 

ce1iification services and that Gaia needed to inform NOP within 60 days of the notice 

date whether Gaia would surrender its certification or apply to another certifying agent 

for certification. 

4. On July 31, 2018, Stellar's surrender of its accreditation became effective. 

5. On October 17, 2018, Gaia submitted an incomplete application for certification to 

USDA-accredited certifying agent NOF A-NY Certified Organic LLC (NOFA). 

6. On March 29, 2019, NOFA issued a Notice ofNoncompliance to Gaia for its failure to 

submit a complete certification application and applicable fees. 

7. On April 29, 2019, NOFAissued a Notice of Denial of Certification to Gaia for its failure 

to submit a complete ce1iification application and applicable fees. 

Page 2 of9 
8. On August 15, 2019, NOP issued Gaia a Notice of Noncompliance for its failure to 

inform NOP whether Gaia will surrender its certification or has applied for certification 

with a new ce1iifier. NOP instructed Gaia to inform NOP of its decision within 14 days. 

9. On September 17, 2019, Gaia reapplied to NOFA for ce1iification. 

10. On September 23, 2019, NOP issued Gaia a Notice of Proposed Suspension after finding 

that although Gaia had reiterated its choice to obtain ce1iification from NOFA and had 

reapplied to NOFA, Gaia had still not submitted a complete application to NOFA. NOP 

cited to the organic regulations at 7 CFR §205.400, General requirements for 

certification. 

11. On September 26, 2019, Gaia filed an Appeal. 

DISCUSSION 

The NOP issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension stating that Gaia violated the USDA 

organic regulations at 7 CFR §205.400 and 7 CFR §205.401 by not submitting a complete 

application for certification to a USDA-accredited certifying agent after Gaia's prior certifier 

surrendered its accreditation. 

The organic regulations at 7 CFR §205.400 state that "A person seeking to receive or 

maintain organic ce1iification under the regulations in this part must: (a) Comply with the Act 

and applicable organic production and handling regulations of this part; (b) Establish, implement, 

and update annually an organic production or handling system plan ... ( e) Submit the applicable 

fees charged by the certifying agent ... " 

The regulations at Section 205.401, Application for ce1iification, requires that "A person 

seeking certification of a production or handling operation under this subpart must submit an 

Page 3 of9 
application for ce1tification to a ce1tifying agent." 

Specifically, NOP's Accreditation Division states that Gaia's former ce1tifying agent, 

Stellar, informed Gaia that it was no longer going to be providing organic ce1tification services 

and that Gaia must inform NOP of whether it wished to smTender its certification or apply for 

certification to a new certifier. However, while Gaia applied to a new certifier, NOF A, the 

application was not complete nor were ce1tification fees paid, and NOFA issued a Denial of 

Certification. NOP subsequently issued a Notice of Noncompliance to Gaia after it failed to 

inform NOP of whether it would be surrendering its ce1tification or applying for certification 

under anew certifier. Gaia informed NOP that it had reapplied to NOFA; however, after NOFA 

informed NOP that the application was still incomplete, NOP issued the Notice of Proposed 

Suspension. 

In its Appeal, Gaia stated that whereas it had money available to pay its certification fees 

at the time its fonner ce1tifier went 'defunct,' it then had added expenses due to needing to find a 

new certifier. Additionally, a fire destroyed its barn; and rebuilding and other expenses 

necessitated Gaia choosing between buying grain or paying its fees. Gaia states it has since sent 

its certification application and applicable fees to NOFA. 

The review of the Appeal substantiates that per the directions of NOP, former certifying 

agent Stellar gave notice to Gaia on J1me 22, 2018 that it would no longer be providing 

certification services and that Gaia needed to inform NOP of whether it would be surrendering 

its certification or obtaining ce1tification from a new ce1tifier. The sunender of Stellar's 

accreditation became effective July 31, 2018. Gaia has yet to obtain certification from a new 

ce1tifier; however, NOP has displayed patience with Gaia. 

Page 4 of9 
Gaia applied to a new USDA-accredited certifying agent, NOFA, on October 17, 2018 

for ce1iification for all scopes - crops, wild crops, livestock, and handling. The 2018 Organic 

System Plan (OSP) \Vas checked as being an application for crops, wild crops, and livestock 

certification, while a separate 2018 Organic System Plan - Handling/On Farm Processing was 

checked as being an application for handling certification. The 'application packet' also 

included an Applicant Affinnation; crop harvest records; inputs/materials fo1m; animal 

identification lists; crop plans; seed commercial availability infonnation; and animal structure 

maps, along with numerous other documents. Although Gaia's application was for all 4 scopes, 

NOFA informed Gaia in an October 30, 2018 email that its ce1tification for livestock, wild crops, 

and handling had been suspended and those scopes would need to be reinstated by NOP prior to 

certification. However, because Gaia didn't apply for reinstatement of the 3 scopes, NOF A's 

processing of Gaia's application actually only applied to crop ce1tification. 

Gaia's application \Vas subsequently denied on April 29, 2019 due to not being complete 

and Gaia's failure to pay its cetiification fees. NOFA also stated in the denial letter that Gaia 

had failed to reply to their February 6 and 19, 2019 emails identifying the documentation still 

needed for Gaia's application. Specifically, NOFA's February 6, 2019 emails to Gaia stated that 

Gaia still needed to submit an Inspection Visit Appointment Form; a signed Applicant 

Affirmation; certified New Field History and Affirmation fo1ms; correctly labeled field maps; 

infonnation on inputs/materials identified by Appellant; and a Poultry OSP Addendum. NOFA's 

email of February 19, 2019 to Gaia acknowledged receipt of the Inspection Visit Appointment 

Fo1m and New Field History and Affirmation forms but stated that the other documentation was 

either incomplete or not submitted. 

Page 5 of9 
Therefore, on March 29, 2019, NOF A issued a Notice of Noncompliance to Gaia for 

failing to submit a complete application, failing to respond to NOFA's email requests, and failing 

to pay ce1iification fees. NOF A gave Gaia until April 19, 2019 to provide a written rebuttal or 

correct all noncompliances and \Vamecl Gaia that failure to do so could result in issuance of a 

denial of their certification application. The Notice of Denial of Certification was issued on 

April 29, 2019. 

NOP emailed Gaia on June 4, 2019, stating that it had been informed by NOFA of their 

denial of Gaia's application for certification. NOP inquired whether Gaia v1,1ished to continue 

with organic certification and if had reapplied for certification. After not receiving a reply to its 

email, NOP emailed Gaia on August 13, 2019, again inquiring into Gaia's intentions. After not 

receiving a response to its second email or proof that Gaia had submitted a new application for 

certification, NOP issued an August 15, 2019 Notice of Noncompliance providing Gaia with still 

more time - 14 days - in which to infcnm NOP of its decision to either surrender its certification 

or apply for ce1iification. Gaia responded to NOP on August 21, 2019 stating that it would be 

submitting a complete application to NOFA 'sho1ily.' Subsequently, on September 19, 2019, 

Gaia emailed NOP that it had submitted a complete application to NOFA along ,vith the 

ce1iification fees. 

Gaia's additional 'application packet' submitted to NOFA on September 17, 2019, 

included numerous documents, including a New Field History and Affinnation Form; an 

equipment cleaning log; crop sales records; and inf01mation on seeds and seed treatments. Gaia 

didn't submit a new OSP and therefore, NOF A was unsure for what scopes the new application 

was applying, however, the subsequent lists of missing documentation pointed to all scopes. 

However, as noted above, Gaia was not eligible for the wild crops, livestock, and handling 

Page 6 of9 
certifications which had been suspended and not reinstated. NOFA emailed NOP on September 

20, 2019, stating that Gaia's 're-application' was still incomplete, but that Gaia stated it would 

submit the remaining documentation by September 22, 2019. On September 23 2019, NOFA 

emailed NOP that Gaia had still not submitted the needed documentation, and identified the 

missing documentation: OSP for crops ( since an update is needed for the OSP submitted a year 

prior); OSP contact information; signed and dated Applicant Affirmation form; New Field 

History and New Field Affomation form; Inputs/Materials Intended for Use form; Seeds and 

Seed Treatments form; Maps; Animal List; and Animal Medication/Health Care Info form. 

NOFA continued to consider Gaia's interest in obtaining certification for all 4 scopes. 

After receiving confomation from NOFA that Gaia had still not submitted a complete 

application for certification, NOP issued the September 23, 2019 Notice of Proposed Suspension 

stating that Gaia had not provided NOP the required certification information pursuant to the 

organic regulations at 7 CFR §205.400. After issuance by NOP of the notice, NOFA info1med 

NOP on September 25, 2019, that while Gaia had just submitted some documentation, there were 

still many outstanding items. Specifically, Gaia had submitted the New Field History and New 

Field Affirmation F01m, as well as the Seeds and Seed Treatments Form. However, other items 

identified on September 23, 2019 were still missing. Fmther, the info1mation submitted by Gaia 

on September 25, 2019, resulted in NOFA identifying an Organic System Plan for Wild Crops as 

also being needed. NOF A has confomed that Gaia has since paid the required ceitification fees 

and submitted the animal identification information and maps. However, to date, Gaia has yet to 

submit all required and requested documentation. NOF A stated that there is not yet sufficient 

documentation in the reapplication to be able to grant ce1tification to Gaia. NOFA submitted to 

Page 7 of9 
NOP a list of the still outstanding documentation which includes additional documentation due 

to the need to provide updates to the initial October 17, 2018 application. 

CONCLUSION 

The evidence substantiates that Gaia has violated the organic regulations at 7 CFR 

§205.400 and 7 CFR §205.401. The organic regulations at 7 CFR §205.400 require that a person 

seeking to receive or maintain organic certification must: "(a) Comply with the Act (Organic 

Foods Production Act) and applicable organic production and handling regulations of this part; 

(b) Establish, implement, and update annually an organic production or handling system plan 

that is submitted to an accredited certifying agent. .. ( e) Submit the applicable fees charged by the 

certifying agent. .. " Pursuant to the regulations at 7 CFR §205.401, a person seeking 

certification of a production or handling operation must submit an application for certification to 

a certifying agent, including an organic production or handling system plan and "other 

infmmation necessary to determine compliance with the Act and the regulations ... " The 

application will be reviewed by the certifying agent for completeness pursuant to 7 CFR 

§205.402. Gaia's applications of October 17, 2018 and September 17, 2019 to NOFA for 

organic ce1iification were not complete. NOFA infmmed Gaia of the documentation/items 

missing from its applications on several occasions. Further, NOP corresponded with Gaia prior 

to issuance of the August 15, 2019 Notice of Noncompliance and the September 23, 2019 Notice 

of Proposed Suspension. Gaia, to this date, has not submitted a complete application for 

certification to NOFA despite its claim in the Appeal that it has done so, though it has paid the 

applicable ce1tification fees. Additionally, it is noted that some of the missing documentation, 

Page 8 of9 
i.e. the Organic System Plans and information on Inputs/Materials Intended for Use, are central 

and crucial for any operation wishing to be certified organic. 

DECISION 

The Appeal is denied and the Notice of Proposed Suspension is aifomed. Gaia's 

certification for crops is hereby suspended. Further, by extension, NOF A's denial of organic 

certification, upon which the proposed suspension is based, is also affirmed. Gaia's certification 

for wild crops, livestock, and handling, remains suspended. However, Gaia may reapply for 

certification of any or all scopes at any time pursuant to 7 CFR § 205.405(e). 

Attached to this fo1mal Administrator's Decision is a Request for Hearing fo1m. Gaia 

has thi1ty days to request an administrative hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. If Gaia 

does not request a hearing in that period, this Decision will be implemented, and Gaia's crop 

certification wiU be suspended. 

Done at Washington, D.C., on this 7-f'l 

day of Fe ~I--' .,. r::--, , 2020. 

Brnce Summers 

Administrator 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

Page 9 of9