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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] taking the plunge
  • Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:01:43 -0500

Hi Kathryn,

First, I would ask all of this of your specific certifier. They're the only ones who can say for sure how much detail is needed, whether they require a backup plan for hay, etc.


Having said that, my guess based on my experience (though bear in mind I'm not a livestock farmer) is:

1) The information you're listing will probably be enough.

2) You probably need to provide approximate sizes of paddocks, and a farm map showing where each paddock is located. My guess is that they'll want some idea of what species are in the pasture, but most likely not an exhaustive list if it's mixed with more than a few; at least approximate stocking rates (so they can tell if you're likely to be overgrazing). If by rotation you mean crop rotation in the paddocks, in your first year of certification they may want the previous three years, and will probably want an overall rotation plan, but will most likely allow leeway if you need to change as long as it's still a reasonable rotation (I've switched fields in a wet year because the intended field was too wet to plant at the time, and NOFA-NY, at least, was OK with that.) If the paddocks are in permanent pasture, and you mean moving the stock from one paddock to another, my guess is that they'd want an overall idea but would allow for changes due to weather etc. affecting speed of growth; but again, talk to the certifier.

3) Will you be able to certify your hay fields this year, or will they still be transitional? (this depends, basically, on whether they've been managed organically for three years; and whether you have records sufficient to show this.) -- as to what the certifier considers "reliable", I think you'll just have to ask them.

You may have a choice of certifying agencies in your area; if so, as they now all have to certify to the same standards, what you want to look for in choosing among them (besides price) is how responsive they are to questions, and how well their forms fit your particular operation. (In my area, while many of the larger field crop operations are certified with OCIA, many of the diversified vegetable farms find the NOFA forms easier to work with. NOFA-NY holds workshops for first year applicants; I don't know whether any agency working in your area does the same, but it may well be worth your time to find out.)


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale




On Feb 20, 2012, at 10:21 AM, KAKerby AT aol.com wrote:

I guess the main question I have at this point is in terms of how much detail to provide with the various forms.  Some examples:
1) in the crop production paperwork, where I need to describe insect/pest control, we mainly have issues with slugs and birds.  We control the former with a combination of hiding-spot removal, beer traps, slug bait (which is OMRI listed) and hand-picking, and the latter by putting netting over the rows they're pestering.  Is that all I need to say, or does it need to be more elaborate?
 
2) In the livestock production paperwork where I describe that they're on pasture roughly six months each year and in yards the balance of the year, do I need to give the exact sizes of the paddocks?  The species in the pasture?  The stocking rates and rotation schedule?  Or just a general overview?
 
3) There's a stipulation that we must have "reliable" access to certified organic feeds.  We are going to put up our own hay this year on certified organic ground.  Do I have to show alternative sources for hay if something goes wrong with that harvest?  We'll be buying in feed from a long-standing organic feeds supplier.  Do we have to show a Plan B if that supplier suddenly can't provide feed anymore?  Or for both, can we simply state that we've got a stockpile of feed/hay to carry us through short-term gaps?
 
I could drive myself crazy with trying to hit that "Goldilocks" point of providing "just right" levels of detail.  Should I start with only general information and let the inspector tell me if more detail is needed?  Thanks all.......
Kathryn Kerby
frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA
Ruminations - essays on the farming life at frogchorusfarm.com/weblog.html




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