One of our customers told me this week "I was told 'Organic' only refers to the final stages of production. What about your chemical use at other stages of the growing cycle." It made me think, do people really know what it takes for a small farm like ours to get and stay USDA certified?
So first, the National Organic Program is the organization that develops and maintains federal standards for production of organic agricultural products in the US, and it is the bible for organic certification. The NOP provides detail for what is allowed and what is not allowed for all kinds of production ranging from Honey and maple syrup to vegetables, and for all phases of production, which for us means from seed to sale. It is this mantra, from seed to sale, that organic market gardeners like us hear playing in the back of our head when we wake up each morning. You see, the idea of organic production is simple and meritorious, but the implementation of a standard to ensure that all products labeled "USDA Standard" meet the same, well, standard is complicated.
The standard says, basically, you must:
1.) Use certified organic seeds (exceptions for a small percentage of non-organic seed where varieties are not available as organic seed are allowed, but you must prove you searched for organic.)
2.) Use only natural inputs specifically allowed by NOP (no synthetics) and use them in compliance with the NOP guideline. For example, composts must be made according to very specific technique in order to be used in an organic system, and animal manures may only be used if they are applied 120 days prior to harvesting any vegetables that contact the ground or 90 days prior to harvest for plants that do not contact the ground to ensure safety.
3.) Have an integrated pest control program that uses natural sprays allowable by NOP only as a last resort. This plan includes pre-approval of all organic products that you plan to use to try to control pests.
4.) Have a food safety program that identifies how you will safely move food from field to market. This includes things like how we wash and sanitize bins, maintain cold chain, ensure employee training regarding food safety, etc.
5.) Document every step of production from seed to sale including time and location of planting, times and amounts of application of any inputs, yield statistics, and channel/customer for final sale.
Before even starting the certification process, farmers are required to prove that not only do they follow the NOP standard, but they also have to prove that their land has had no forbidden substances applied for at least three years prior to certification. There also needs to be careful consideration about how you will prevent synthetics from unintentionally entering your property through aerosol drift or runoff.
Things like regular testing of the water we use to irrigate and wash vegetables to ensure safety, soil testing annually, etc. but you get the idea. It is a LOT of documentation, and it makes effective systems important. For those of you who have trouble sleeping the NOP standard is publicly available here: National Organic Program Handbook - PDF Table of Contents.
The USDA utilizes third party organizations to actually review and ensure that operations continue to comply with the standard. Our certifier, MOSA, reviews and approves our Organic Production Plan (OPP) each year (for a fee, of course) and renews our certification. When it comes to enforcement, we must have an annual inspection through MOSA (for another fee, of course), during which the farm itself is physically inspected, and documentation is audited (seed to sale documentation, pest control program vs. actual application documentation, food safety plan compliance, etc.)
Bottom line, there is a lot to this USDA Organic thing. We have wrestled with the idea of not incurring the expense anymore. After some careful consideration of what this certification means to our farm, and, honestly, for the discipline of the farmer, we have think it is all worth it and we will continue being USDA Certified Organic. I think if people and companies care about how they produce your food, they will think the same.
If you ever have any questions about our Organic Production Plan or anything else about how we grow your food, please ask. We love to talk about it!
Warmest regards,
Rob (your personal farmer)
Comments