About Organic Farming

Steps to Certification

Related information

Certification is your assurance that the food you are buying has been produced and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, or GMOs. Standards to achieve this designation are rigid, and are ensured through annual inspections of the farmer by an independent third party inspector. The organic farmer must also keep detailed records of farming practices as further proof of product quality.

When a farmer/producer wants to become certified organic he or she will follow the following steps:

  1. Contact a certification agency and obtain questionnaires, standards, licensing agreements, and other associated forms. Read carefully the Standards and Materials Lists. Many people contact two or more certifying bodies and compare the information to see which agency will best meet their needs. It is advisable to also talk to producers belonging to each organization, as well as buyers or traders before deciding on a certification agency.
  2. Review your field histories (the past five years), farm inputs and management plans to assess their compliance with Standards. Producers should implement written records of crops planted and inputs used. Storage records and a lot numbering system may also need to be developed, depending on the crops to be sold.
  3. Review current crop plans (soil building rotation in place). Develop clear field maps (highlight borders), and denote adjoining land use. Figure the # of acres of each crop and clearly number each field.
  4. Records that need to be kept by the farmer:
    • Input documentation: labels, rates and dates of applications and what fields, purchase invoices.
    • Seeds: obtain untreated seed or keep proof of efforts made to obtain treated seed (seed orders requesting treated seed, statements from dealer, etc.) Genetically engineered seeds are prohibited.
    • Field history records showing crops planted by field #. Setting up a separate page for each field allows easy assessment of crop rotation and fertility problems/improvements. These production records are often kept on calendars, pocket notebooks and journals.
    • Harvest records: may be a part of production and/or storage records.
    • Storage or inventory records: show pre-cleaning, any pest control measures, commodity, quantity in, quantity out, dates in and out and storage unit #. Also should show records of buffers harvested separately and where sold/stored. Scale tickets should be accessible, if used.
    • Sales invoices, bills of lading (BOLs), lot numbers and proper labeling of organic products, where applicable. Lot # should allow tracking of crop back to field of production.
    • Transportation. Inspect trucks before loading organic crops. This is usually documented on Bills of Lading, truck inspection affidavits or on storage records.
  5. Fill out the questionnaire and submit to the Certification Agency. Attach farm map and other required forms. (For example, a water test for coliform bacteria and nitrates is required annually for all livestock producers.) Producers should keep a copy of all documents submitted.