California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-accredited organic certifying agency and trade association, located in Santa Cruz, California. Formed in 1973, CCOF was the first organic certification entity in the United States. [1] [2]
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CCOF includes three legally distinct entities. [3] CCOF, Inc. is governed by a board of directors, and provides infrastructure for the certification, advocacy, and Foundation programs, and also supports a regional chapter system for its members. [3] CCOF Certification Services, LLC, governed by the LLC management committee, is a USDA National Organic Program (NOP)-accredited organic certification agency. The CCOF Foundation is a nonprofit foundation that includes educational programs, grants for students and teachers, consumer education campaigns, and hardship assistance for organic farmers. [3]
CCOF Certification Services, LLC offers organic certification to the USDA NOP standards to farms, livestock operations, processors, private labelers, brokers and retailers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. [4]
The sunflower in the logo for CCOF was hand drawn, in pen and ink, by Molly Greenham when she was a student at UC Berkeley in the late 80s.
In 2012, a merger between Oregon Tilth and CCOF was proposed. In October 2012, the merger was called off after the proposal failed to achieve the two-thirds vote necessary from Oregon Tilth members. [5]