Market Farming

["Wiediger, Alison" <awiediger AT HART.k12.ky.us>]

> One thing that is not clear to me is what really changed all that much
> from
> the cost of the organic certification programs from before the NOP to
> after?
> 
> It can't really have gone up in price all that much, if any, has it?
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Rick Williams
> 
I think this is a case of "it depends".  If the farmer lives close to a
certifier and inspector, perhaps not.  In Kentucky, we were paying $10.00.
Obviously, this was a ridiculously low figure.  At this point, we don't even
know what it would cost in the future.  There will be a certifying fee (for
the paperwork) and an inspection fee.  The inspection fee is time and
expense.  If you have a inspector close, this might not be too bad.  If
he/she has to drive/fly several hours/miles, it could be very costly - even
overnight lodging and meals.  But certification cost is not the issue for
us, record keeping is. As Chris Sawyer said earlier, many of us have very
small sub-divisions of our growing areas, and to keep track of all of that,
well....  And, for us, some of our growing beds might be planted 8-10 times
in a year, with several different crops possible any or all of those
planting times.  But the worst is the sales record.  There is no logical,
effective way to keep track of sales at a farmers' market using the form we
have been provided where we have to record quantity sold, from what field
(field?  we don't have fields of stuff, we have areas in growing beds - a
box of lettuce might have come from several different areas), to whom sold,
at what price. We might have 100+ customers in a Saturday, each buying
several different items.  It works okay for folks who have fields of
produce, selling to a wholesaler by the truckload - not so well for the
market grower.

Alison Wiediger, Au Naturel Farm