According to the USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), organic agriculture is defined as "an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, or enhance ecological harmony. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people." There are more than a dozen state departments of agriculture and 51 private organizations that are accredited as organic certifiers. The Iowa Department of Agriculture is accredited by the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) to certify all aspects of the organic food chain including: organic crops, organic food products, organic feed, organic livestock and handling/processing of organic products.