Don't Panic, We're Organic!

Grow Organic

Another year, a new organic certificate and inspection passed with flying colors and no changes needed. It feels good to be an organic producer.

At Alternative Roots Farm we believe that the right way to grow produce for our community is to grow organic. We never questioned this. There are arguments we hear, floating around the farming community, against this step, but they just aren't convincing to us to skip something so vital. The organic label is assurance to our customers that there are no synthetic chemicals on the food they are eating, we are caring for our land with organic management (crop rotation, organic matter, wildlife habitat) and no GMO crops are grown.

It is the only label that has solid, regulatory weight behind it that consumers can trust there are no chemicals and GMOs used. Many other claims, such as "natural" and "beyond organic," do not have any regulation for them. In a society where folks are hopping on the sustainability bandwagon, there is so much greenwashing of products it can be confusing when making purchasing decisions - organic eliminates this confusion.

ARF has been certified organic since August 2014.

Now, there are still ways organic could improve, but I feel it is a solid, trustworthy label for produce and produce products, while improvements for animal products are needed (in my opinion). When it comes to meat and eggs I would continue to use a skeptical eye and try to learn about your farmers and farms the products come from - buy local. "Access to pasture" is not the same as actually being out on pasture. With any good thing, such as a growing organic industry, there are going to be businesses that take advantage where there are profits to be made.

A Peek at the Certification Process

That brings me to the certification process behind organics. Each year, every organic operation - whether a grower, or processing facility - an organic business must work with their certification agency to apply annually for renewed certification. Then a third party, independent inspection agent makes a farm visit to verify paperwork, after which they report back to the certification agency, who reviews the report and makes a final determination of organic status. 

Certified organic by the Midwest Organic Services Association.

Paperwork and records are reviewed. Seed tags and bags and catalogs are saved for 5 years of accountability. Harvest data is checked to jive with what we are growing, to make sure folks aren't buying in and calling stuff organic that isn't. Seed to sale the inspector wants to be able to trace a product, for validity. What that looks like is our inspector, pulling out a sales receipt and having me trace that back to when and where it was harvested. There are various other paper trail details like this.

Arguments Against Organic

So, why do fellow farmer folks argue against organic? 

"The paperwork." Well, yes, there is paperwork, but in essence this is paperwork you want to do to be a good farmer, or business person, anyways. It's a little more work the first year of certification, then easy review and updating following that. 

"The Man." Yes, it is the government, and government regulations, which sometimes seem ass-backwards, but it's the way it is - deal with it. I file some paperwork, legally, federally filed paperwork that acts as a great insurance to our business and then I get to farm how I want. The government is not running my operation. I rotate crops on my schedule, plant the seeds that I want. Big Brother is never a presence on our farm.

There are other arguments, but these tend to be the main ones. I get frustrated by farms marketing as "Beyond Organic" which has no basis and confuses the organic name, confuses consumers we work so hard to educate and, frankly, is illegal. There are those that say we should not have to apply to not use chemicals, it's the conventional farmers that should apply to use chemicals (so much truth to that), but again...this is the way it is.

The hoops are worth jumping through for you, for our community, for education on real food. This isn't just about our farm, it's about our countries broken food system as well. It's as much a political statement as it is a small business decision.

Buy organic, support organic. For sustainable farms and food and future.

In the News :: Lakewinds Co-op Video

Lakewinds Co-op is awesome! I think my mother would agree, since it's her Co-op, but they are also awesome because of the multiple levels on which they support local and organic foods, as well as organic farms. At the beginning of the season we applied for, and received, a grant from Lakewinds' Organic Field Fund to support our Organic certification process. This being the first year the expense is much greater for us, to complete the full transition. Awesome! Right?!

A crew from the Co-op came out in September to shoot footage for a promotional video for the Co-op and they just finished it. It is pretty fun to see our farm featured on there, as well as all of the other great farms and projects that are also supported by this organization.

Take a few minutes to check out the great video and get a little glimpse into the regional food movement that is happening right now. If you want to skip head to see Alternative Roots Farm we come in at about minute eight.

We can grow all the awesome, organic veggies we want, but we need the collaboration between farmers, consumers and supportive organizations like Lakewinds, to really make a difference with this movement!

Lakewinds Co-op 2014 Organic Field Fund Recipients Video

Organic

We are thrilled to announce that Alternative Roots Farm is now Certified Organic!!! Every apple picked this season will be organic!

We are so grateful to have reached this point, after our three year transitioning processes. Thank you to the Lakewinds Co-op Field Fund, for a grant to help defray the initial certification costs, as well as our numerous farmer friends and mentors that have been there for us when we have questions.

What does this mean?
This means that you know food produced at Alternative Roots Farm was grown in a manner that protects the soil and environment, with absolutely no synthetic, nasty chemicals, and no GMOs or treated seeds of any kind. We are dedicated and conscious about how we plan, plant, produce, harvest and maintain our vegetables and fruits.

What else was involved?
The last couple of steps, which happened over the last month, included a third-party inspection and a final review by our certifying agency, Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA). After we submitted our Organic System Plan to MOSA they have the inspector come out and look at the farm, and orchard, go through the plan, verifying that what we have in the plan matches what is being done. The inspector then sent their report to MOSA, for final review.

The Organic System Plan details information on: soil fertility and conservation management (fertility inputs, natural resources conservation); seed and crop management (organic seed sourcing, crop rotation, weed/pest/disease management);  maintenance of organic integrity (buffer, equipment, harvest practices); marketing & labeling.

Over the last three years we have been maintaining the necessary records, some of which includes: where we looked for, and bought, seeds; all "inputs" that are applied to the field (fertilizer, pest control, etc); crop rotation and field maps. I can show you seed packets and catalogs for the last three years too!

That is the simplified explanation of the whole process, but it gives you a basic idea.

All the record-keeping, time and energy, fees and miscellaneous work is well worth the integrity of the organic label. It's a guarantee to our customers, it's honoring the land and it's a movement that we are so glad to be a part of.

Grant Awarded!

We are super excited to have been awarded our first grant. Alternative Roots Farm is one of eight recipients of the Lakewinds' Organic Field Fund for 2014. The grant is supporting our organic certification costs. I called my mother up right away, as Lakewinds Food Co-op is her co-op up in the cities--I had to tell her how cool her co-op is! 

It's so important to have organizations that support farmers, especially organic farmers, as we need more of them! “Our goal for this grant program was to strengthen our support of the local farming industry. Supporting the local food system is an integral part of who we are as a natural foods co-op,” -Dale Woodbeck, General Manager. 

 We are excited and so grateful. It's an exciting year, or third and final transitional year leading to organic certification. It's a big investment for a small farmer, but not one we would ever question!

-Brooke