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  • From: KAKerby AT aol.com
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sorta OT - update on our organic certification process (...
  • Date: Sun, 13 May 2012 12:54:47 -0400 (EDT)

There was one question which came up for our application, I won't get into the gist of it, but it was rather sticky.  It involved transitioning the animals, particularly the hogs, over from conventional to certified. Dairy cows can be transitioned as a herd, but adult animals from any other species can't be transitioned in the same way.  I wasn't sure how we were going to transition the next generation for each species without buying in all new animals and/or going broke.  The solution the staff came up with met the spirit of the law, without actually breaking the letter of the law, but a stickler for detail would have objected.  When I went through that solution with the reviewer, she said their discussion came down to one colleague's point that "if we looked hard enough, we could find a reason to kill every single application that comes through here.  Is that what we want?"  That's when I knew that these folks were working just as hard as I was to come up with ways to make this happen, rather than sink it.  Of course, warm-n-fuzzy notions like that aren't the ones that wake us up in the middle of the night, so I'm still nervous about the inspection.  But not as nervous as I was.
 
As for writing this up for the blog, I'm actually working on a project in that regard.  The day I submitted our paperwork, I wanted to celebrate so I bought the latest issue of Small Farmer's Journal, which has been one of my beacons of "this is what farming should be" over the years.  In that issue, someone wrote about why they felt organic certification was unnecessary for their farm.  That's all fine and good, but the letter was written in a way that told me they really only saw a few of the surface features for what the NOP is trying to accomplish.  Then when I posted to a variety of other groups about our application, again I got some backlash about how the NOP is "just a way to squeeze more money from a stupid consumer", and "just switching brands of feed or fertilizer to make farming more expensive."  I was shocked at the level of ignorance on what the program was all about, particularly amongst folks who freely used the word "organic" in their marketing (without being certified).  At that point I decided to spend some time writing up what participation in the NOP meant for us, and why we thought it was important, and at least touch on some of the less-visible aspects of the program.  It won't suddenly enlighten or convert folks who are dead set against it.  But perhaps it'll shed some light on the depth and breadth of the program for those who are on the fence.  I'll post that to the website, and possibly also send it in as a letter to the SFJ in response to the article they ran.  Not sure how many folks it'll reach.  But wow, I thought most folks knew the basics by now.  If I can reach a few more and shed light on what the NOP really hopes to accomplish, that'll be a nice "pay it forward".
Kathryn Kerby
frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA
Ruminations - essays on the farming life at frogchorusfarm.com/weblog.html
 
In a message dated 5/13/2012 7:57:43 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, organic87 AT frontiernet.net writes:
I used to be terrified of inspections. They were never anywhere near as bad as I expected.

It sounds like you've found an inspection agency and inspector who are working well with you. Remember that their interest is in getting you to the point at which you can pass inspection, not in trying to flunk you even though you're trying to meet the standards. Yes, you do have to do basically what your plan says you're going to; and yes, there's undoubtedly work that needs to be done; but, given that you're taking it seriously, it'll happen.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale (certified since 1988)




On May 12, 2012, at 10:51 PM, KAKerby AT aol.com wrote:

So I spent most of the rest of yesterday bouncing between Cloud 9 and "OMIGOD the inspection is coming up!  Augh!" 

=

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