CPG Operator Guide
Organic Land Transition Source-Date Guide
Do not change organic representations, labels, planting, production, harvest, sourcing, land-use, input application, certification, or launch decisions based on this page; obtain operation-specific review from your accredited certifying agent and qualified advisers first. This static guide explains which land-history and intended-harvest sources to assemble; it does not calculate a date or determine eligibility.
Start with the exact question
State the parcel or field, intended crop and harvest, organic representation under consideration, operation, current certification context, accountable reviewer, and explicit out-of-scope items. This guide is land-and-harvest specific.
What to include
- parcel or field
- intended crop and harvest
- operation and accountable reviewer
Read the three-year condition narrowly
Current 7 CFR 205.202(b) describes no application of prohibited substances listed in 7 CFR 205.105 to the land for three years immediately preceding harvest of the crop. Keep this as source language to review; do not calculate a date or treat it as a universal certification timeline.
What to include
- land or parcel
- application history
- intended crop harvest
Identify current land-history sources
Identify parcel maps, ownership or control records, leases, input and application records, prior-manager records, affidavits or declarations, neighboring-use context, and certifier correspondence as applicable. Naming a source does not authenticate it or establish sufficiency.
What to include
- parcel identity
- application records
- source owner and date
Separate facts, unknowns, and interpretation
Separate recorded dates and substances from missing or conflicting history, unknown status under the National List or other requirements, and questions requiring accredited-certifier or qualified review. Do not classify a substance on this page.
What to include
- recorded facts
- missing or conflicting history
- questions for qualified review
Include boundaries and buffer context
Current 7 CFR 205.202 also addresses distinct boundaries and buffer zones. Assemble current maps, neighboring-use context, drift or runoff information, and approved procedures without determining adequacy or compliance.
What to include
- maps and boundaries
- neighboring-use context
- approved procedure and questions
Separate land timing from certification timing
USDA describes certification as a broader process involving a certifier, application, Organic System Plan, review, inspection, and certifier decision, and complete timing varies. The land condition does not promise certification after three years.
What to include
- certifier and application
- Organic System Plan and inspection
- variable certification timing
Build the qualified-review packet
Summarize the parcel, intended harvest, source-record dates, application history, unknowns, boundaries, changes, and questions for the operation, accredited certifying agent, agronomic, organic-program, quality, regulatory, legal, and other accountable advisers.
What to include
- complete current sources
- unresolved questions
- named accountable reviewers
How this page fits the Tools system
The Organic Mass Balance Ratio & Variance Planner owns run-level arithmetic; this guide owns only the land-and-harvest source-review method and qualified handoff.
The guide ends with current source records and questions for accredited-certifier review, not a calculated date, prohibited-substance classification, land eligibility result, certification timeline, compliance conclusion, approval, label decision, or launch date.
What this page does—and does not—show
Do not change organic representations, labels, planting, production, harvest, sourcing, land-use, input application, certification, or launch decisions based on this page; obtain operation-specific review from your accredited certifying agent and qualified advisers first. This guide explains a land-and-harvest source-review method and the conditional wording of current primary sources. It does not calculate dates, classify substances, authenticate land-history records, determine whether land requirements are met, or determine eligibility, certification, compliance, approval, labeling, legal, or regulatory outcomes. Confirm the parcel, intended harvest, complete application history, current requirements, and certification process with the operation, its accredited certifying agent, and qualified advisers before acting.
The Organic Mass Balance Ratio & Variance Planner owns ORG-MASS-RATIO-V1 and run-level input-output arithmetic. This guide contains no owner field, ratio, loss, output, variance, date calculator, or eligibility result.
Evidence and review boundary
Tier A. Do not change organic representations, labels, planting, production, harvest, sourcing, land-use, input application, certification, or launch decisions based on this page; obtain operation-specific review from your accredited certifying agent and qualified advisers first. This guide explains a land-and-harvest source-review method and the conditional wording of current primary sources. It does not calculate dates, classify substances, authenticate land-history records, determine whether land requirements are met, or determine eligibility, certification, compliance, approval, labeling, legal, or regulatory outcomes. Confirm the parcel, intended harvest, complete application history, current requirements, and certification process with the operation, its accredited certifying agent, and qualified advisers before acting.
The operation and its accredited certifying agent, plus qualified agronomic, organic-program, quality, regulatory, legal, technical, and other accountable reviewers using complete current records and applicable requirements.
Sources reviewed
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