The NOP is reorganizing into three branches: Standards Development &
Review; Accreditation, Auditing & Training; and Compliance &
Enforcement. Deputy Administrator for Transportation & Marketing
Programs Barbara Robinson will assume overall leadership for the NOP in
addition to her other duties, while Mark Bradley will assume leadership
for the Accreditation, Auditing & Training Branch, and Richard Mathews
will head up the Standards Development & Review Branch. No decision has
been made for leadership of Compliance & Enforcement at this time.

Also underway is the creation of an electronic reading room, where all
NOP records that can be made publicly available will be accessible
electronically, including a new Q&A site to provide answers to questions
posed to NOP. Only answers posted on the Q&A site will constitute an
official response from the NOP. The Q&A site will be a component of a
reorganized NOP site called "NOP-AQSS" (Answers to Questions on the
Standards by the Staff). Details on the new reading room and NOP-AQSS
will be forthcoming and posted in Today's News as soon as they are
available.

These changes will help NOP continue to accomplish its goals-ensuring
the integrity of the USDA organic seal, applying regulatory consistency,
and providing transparency to its stakeholders.