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NewFarm.org: Guide to US Organic Certifiers : Certifier Profile - Texas Department of Agriculture
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Certifier Profile

Texas Department of Agriculture

Austin, TX, U.S.

Essentials

Clients

Fees

Services/Affiliations

Staff/Inspectors

Texas Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 12847 Austin, TX 78711

Phone: 512-475-1641	Email: leslie.mckinnon@agr.state.tx.us
Fax: 512-463-8225	Website: http://www.agr.state.tx.us
Contact Person: Leslie McKinnon

Year Founded: 1988
Business Type: Government/public agency
Geographic Range:

Activity in: U.S.
South	TX

Activity in: Global Regions
Americas	North America

Texas Department of Agriculture
Essentials	Clients	Fees	Services/Affiliations	Staff/Inspectors

Top 3 crops:	1. mixed vegetables, including herbs	2. grain crops and forages	3. cotton
Top 3 livestock types:	1. beef	2. poultry/eggs	3. dairy

Inspections and certifications

Inspections and certifications by type of clients (total number):

	Production Only	Production & Processing
Crop farms	Not listed	0
Livestock farms	Not listed	Not listed
Crops and livestock	Not listed	Not listed

Inspections and certifications by type of clients (total number):

Processing	Handling	Other
53	45	57 (Retailers)

Farm inspections and certifications by size (percentage of certifier's farm total):

<5 a	5-49 a	50-179 a	180-499 a	500-1000 a	>1000 a
22%	26%	14%	15%	12%	12%

Texas Department of Agriculture
Essentials	Clients	Fees	Services/Affiliations	Staff/Inspectors

Process highlights for new applications

Cost structure

Fees set by: Acreage, Nonproducers have flat fees.
Application fee: $25
Annual Fee:

Minimum: Not Listed
Maximum: Not Listed

Overall charges statement:

On website, to be entered. Annual fee covers one inspection. There is an additional inspection fee for more than one annual inspection ($100).

Fees published: Yes

Format: Posted on website, Printed outlines
Customer can estimate fees from publication: No

Refund Policy:

This is listed in our Rule and on the website.

Texas Department of Agriculture
Essentials	Clients	Fees	Services/Affiliations	Staff/Inspectors

Types of Certification

State organic registration: Yes
Other: Not Listed

Other accreditation groups recognized: None Listed
Professional organizations

Organic Trade Association

Newsletter/Periodical: Not Listed
Publications

Business list print of Certified Organic Growers
Working with marketing to build a guide: How to Get into Organics

Conferences/Events - None Listed
Other Services - None Listed
Other Resource Referrals - None Listed
Other - Not Listed
Cooperating partners? - Not Listed
Full-time receptionist? Yes
Response Time Commitment: We respond as quickly as possible. For phone, we usually have a same day response, sometimes a day or two if playing phone tag. Policy on emails is to respond within 3 days, written inquiry response time within 10 days.
Member records available by email? No
Member able to complete/access records online? No
Transparency steps for farmers/public? - Not Listed
Farmer Friendly Services

We put forms on our website, so applicants can print them instead of waiting for the forms to be mailed.
We participate in federal cost-share programs, where applicants can be reimbursed for up to 75% of certification costs.

Top Five Strengths

We are an impartial government agency.
Our inspectors are local residents who live in the area where they do inspections, so they are familiar with agriculture in that part of the state.
We conduct residue testing on a regular basis. For each farm, we collect tissue samples for the testing.
We have the supportive infrastructure of a state agency, such as administrative services, computers, and a legal division we can go to with legal questions. So, we don’t have to hire a lawyer because their services are built into the state agency.

Texas Department of Agriculture
Essentials	Clients	Fees	Services/Affiliations	Staff/Inspectors

Executive/management/support staff
Full-time	2 Program Office Staff
Part-time	0
Independent Contractors	0
Other Staff	0
Total Paid Staff	2

Inspectors used in 2002: 90 -- for all regulatory programs, not just organic
Inspector employment status: State employees
Qualifications/training for inspectors:

Job qualifications for inspectors will be emailed, to be entered.

Most recent update by certifier: 01/31/04

Disclaimer: The certifier profile data shown on this site is for informational purposes, based on data submitted by participating certifiers. The Rodale Institute® does not specifically endorse any certifier, nor guarantee the accuracy of the information. Please contact certifiers to verify information that is critical to decision-making. If you have comments about any of the listings, or listings to add, please contact our guide coordinator

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