Hundreds of farms and processors supply this emerging market, most operating according to organic standards developed and monitored by thirty-some third-party certifiers operating nationally. In addition, 14 states have their own state organic certification programs and up to 20 states have state standards for organic (National Association of State Organic Programs, 1999).

Certification requirements normally include a set of uniform, stringent production and handling standards. Standards are then combined with an audit trail allowing a product to be traced back from the consumer to the farmer's field in which it was grown. However, certification agencies vary in the stringency of their standards and procedural requirements. This variation is detrimental to the credibility of the industry.

Because of the variations, organic producers recognized the need for a uniform set of standards. They requested that the federal government develop a set of organic standards, which must be followed if the term 'organic' is used. In 1990, Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) which mandates that the United States Department of Agriculture establish national standards for the certification of organic products. The responsibility for developing the National Organic Program was assigned to the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The Act has three purposes:

	To establish national standards governing the marketing of certain agricultural products as organically produced;
	To assure consumers that organically produced foods meet a consistent standard; and
	To facilitate interstate commerce in fresh and processed food that is organically produced. (AMS paper, National Organic Program, 1998)

Issuance of the first proposed rule generated in excess of 275,000 public comments, overwhelmingly in opposition to the rule. The proposed rule was viewed as being not strong enough to clearly delineate organic products and systems from those produced conventionally. Currently, the USDA is in the process of redrafting the rule for another public comment period during 1999.