Why The Organic Consulting Firm (The OCF)

The Founders of The Organic Consulting Firm, Lois Christie, Karen Troxell and Shannon Murphy, have a wealth of practical experience in the organic industry. They have worked in all fields of the industry from raising organic crops and livestock to managing organic processing plants in the US and Latin America. The founders are active in today’s organic certification industry, working as consultants, inspectors, reviewers, and certification managers for several certification agencies. Members of The Organic Consulting Firm continue to update their education, which allows The OCF to provide clients with the best and newest methods, thus ensuring organic compliance.

The cumulative experience of the women of The OCF as growers and processors created an awareness of the difficulties in understanding the National Organic Program (NOP) and certification obstacles. As active participants in the organic certification process, they understand how to overcome those obstacles, but have been prevented from sharing this knowledge. One of the stringent rules of the NOP is that certifiers and their staff may not help clients overcome certification barriers. The Founders were frustrated with the inability to help within the certification process, knowing the answers yet prevented from helping due to NOP restrictions. This frustration led Lois, Karen, and Shannon to launch The Organic Consulting Firm.

The Organic Consulting Firm has specialists in all areas of organic production, including crop, livestock, processing, personal care, cosmetics, and many international organic standards. They will guide their clients through organic certification, simplifying the process every step of the way. The OCF will integrate organic compliance into existing procedures or create a complete Organic Systems Plan.

The Organic Consulting Firm utilizes a four step process: 1) Evaluation, 2) Development, 3) Training, and 4) Verification, which facilitates certification in the quickest possible time frame. The sooner certification is obtained, the more rapidly products reach the ever-growing organic market place thereby increasing your company’s profits.