HELENA, Mont. -- The Montana Organic Certification Advisory Council will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Friday, December 5, at the Bozeman Holiday Inn to discuss proposed fed-eral rule changes that could affect certified organic livestock producers in Montana.
The open meeting is scheduled during the Montana Organic Association annual confer-ence to encourage public participation, said Doug Crabtree, organic program manager for the Montana Department of Agriculture. The USDA proposal could have wide-ranging ef-fects on Montana organic livestock producers, Crabtree says.
Notice of the proposed rule changes was published in the Federal Register on October 24, 2008. The notice can be found at the USDA website: www.ams.usda.gov/ by following links to National Organic Program - Access to Pasture (Livestock). The deadline for comment is De-cember 23, 2008. In a letter, Montana Agriculture Director Ron de Yong has asked USDA Secretary Ed Schaffer to extend the public comment period.
Interested persons who are unable to attend the December 5 meeting in Bozeman may con-tact a council member to discuss the proposed rules or submit opinions. Council members are listed on the department website at: http://agr.mt.gov/organic/OrgAdvCom.asp . For more information on the Montana Organic Program, contact Doug Crabtree at (406) 444-3144 or by e-mail at agr@mt.gov .
