UNITY – The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association will hold several public presentations to explain new federally required organic certification standards.

This growing season MOFGA will abide by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Organic Program’s Rule on organic production. After Oct. 21, any farmer or processor wanting to label a product organic must be in compliance with the new standards. A USDA-accredited certifier must certify all growers or producers that sell more than $5,000 worth of organic products.

Some significant changes have been made in production guidelines for crops, livestock products and processed products. Producers should be aware of these changes and understand the program.

Eric Sideman, MOFGA’s director of technical services, will hold training sessions to discuss the new organic standards and answer questions. The dates and locations of these sessions are:

. Feb. 27, 5-7 p.m. at the Presque Isle USDA Service Center, 90 Fort Fairfield Road.

. March 12, 4-6 p.m. at the York County Extension office, Sanford.

. March 14, 4-6 p.m. at Highmoor Farm Experiment Station, Route 202, Monmouth.

. March 20, 1-3 p.m. at the MOFGA site, Unity.

MOFGA has created a limited liability corporation called MOFGA Certification Services, which will take over the operation of the MOFGA certification program. The LLC has applied for USDA accreditation. MOFGA encourages all organic producers to certify their crops and products as assurance to their customers. MOFGA is committed to maintaining reasonable fees for certification services.

For information, contact MOFGA Certification Services LLC at 568-4142.