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Why We No Longer Call Our Farm 'Organic'
by Bonnie Glass
Because the new USDA Organic Standards go into effect this month [October 2002], you will no longer see the word 'organic' used to describe Stearns Farm produce. Does this mean that we have changed our growing methods? No! It just means that we don't choose to buy from the federal government the right to use the word that describes the growing methods pioneered by Penelope Turton and other small farmers. In the past we could advertise our produce as organic without being certified, now to do so would wrack up big fines.
Certification is necessary for large-scale farms that sell to food processors, and for farmers who sell to people who don't know them personally. Here at Stearns, we encourage (well sort of require) that our sharers come out and work in the fields. Everyone knows Kathy and can feel sure that her integrity and love for the land and for her customers means that she would never be tempted to use non-organic pesticides or herbicides. You can feel free to look around, ask questions, and get more involved if you like. 'Certification' takes place daily at Stearns!
Would certification be expensive? First, the certifying agency will charge approximately 1% of gross revenue. That part isn't too bad. But certification also includes very detailed record keeping. This includes, by row, type and number of plants, expected yields, actual yields, loss to pests, loss to weather, loss to other causes, and any special treatments. For a large-scale farmer who plants many rows of the same crop and harvests everything at the same time, the record keeping is less burdensome. But for Stearns, where we plant many different crops, harvest them twice a week, and rely on untrained volunteer help, we would have to hire someone to do this record keeping and paperwork. Kathy cannot supervise and train work crews and volunteers and simultaneously do the record keeping required. At least not and keep her sanity too. With only 110 sharers to split the cost of this added worker, our share price would increase dramatically.
We also have concerns with the USDA organic standards. The standards are a compromise reached after a decade of political wrangling. They do not adhere to the spirit of the organic movement - stewardship of the land, safe food for people, encouragement of locally grown food, and fair living wage for small farmers. The standards govern agricultural methods only, everything else got lost.
The old NOFA certification procedure was, in effect, a mentoring program. The inspectors were themselves farmers, and an integral part of the process was the discussion of better, cheaper, or more efficient ways of doing things in which both inspector and farmer deepened their knowledge base. Innovation spread via the inspectors, and NOFA rules could change quickly as new methods were developed. Under the new regulations, the participation of certified organic farmers in certification agencies is severely limited. In addition, the inspectors are not allowed to suggest better practices, they are only allowed to observe the farm and report any infractions. Thus the new regulations dismantle one of the most valuable aspects of the old certification procedures - dissemination of information. Farmer and inspector are now adversaries, not partners in a movement.
And so Stearns Farm produce will now be known as "naturally grown" food. Whatever word we use to describe our produce, you can be assured that we remain committed to raising crops without use of non-organic pesticides and herbicides, and to acting as responsible stewards of the land.
Revision 1. Last edited Fri 4 Apr 2008 11:28am by TomYelton