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market-farming - Why We Need Standards and Market Rules

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Subject: Market Farming

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  • From: "Dori Green" <dorigreen00 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Why We Need Standards and Market Rules
  • Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2000 08:47:55 EST


Bart wrote: "since they are (by their own definition)
an organic farmer"

And there's the problem. As much as I hate and detest regulation, as long as there's one person Out There who won't regulate themselves, then we've got to have controls to protect the uneducated consumer.

The year that I pursued and achieved organic certification was one of intense education, and the certification fees provided very inexpensive tuition that's paid off thousandfold since then. The only reason that I'm not certified this year is that I haven't yet developed a local market that will support the additional time and money it requires -- I still follow the Standard but wouldn't dream of hanging out the "organic" shingle without the documentation.

And I'm durned tired of being at a market next to a hobbyist who reports $4,999 in sales so she can label her stuff "organic" but not have to bother with certification while she gives her seedlings that lovely market boost with Miracle Gro. That's just a basic failure of personal ethics.

I'm starting a new market this summer, next to the area's biggest mall. It will be open to all farmers, but to bona fide producers only. And claims must be backed by proper paperwork (as in, certification) no matter what the gross sales might be.

One other rule now in discussion among the initial participants is that we might also close it to people who have a full-time commercial sales location elsewhere. We probably won't limit ourselves this year -- we need all the volume we can get -- but eventually we might impose this limitation so that the market is an outlet for the little guys who have precious little oppotunity to otherwise compete with the big storefront places on busy roads.

Dori Green
Ash Grove Community Farm

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