Crop Certification

For a crop or product to be certified organic and the land and facilities used to produce it to be certified, there are key steps a producer must take to achieve certification. While these may vary slightly by certifying agency, the following steps are vital items outlined in the USDA-NOP standards and will provide guidance in preparing for the certifying process. This section will also give guidance to uncertified organic producers selling under the $5,000 exemption as to the processes and practices they need to be sure they are following. This is not intended to be a substitute for, and final authority rest with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 (PDF) and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Land Assessment

The first factor in determining whether or not a farm can be certified organic is to determine whether the land can be organically isolated. It must be able to be maintained organically and non-organic practices on adjacent lands must be prevented from encroaching on the land, crops and facilities to be certified. Most certifiers will require a field map that not only shows the land to be certified but the adjacent land as well. On the map, the owner will need to note the areas organic crops are to be grown in, natural or physical barriers to prevent cross pollution from adjacent lands, topography or notations to show the flow of water on the land that might carry pollutants and storage, maintenance or production facilities to be used in the organic operation.

Field History

For land to be certified for organic production, it must have a documentable ownership and organic maintenance history for a minimum of the current year plus three previous years. There may be exceptions to this for enclosed growing operations such as high-tunnels and hydroponic operations. In both cases, any products used for growing, such as soil, amendments and fertilizers must be verifiable as being from either a certified organic source or with a traceable organic history for a minimum of three years.

Organic System Plans

As part of any certification application producers are required to submit an Organic System Plan. Under the USDA-NOP standards this plan will have a minimum of:

1. A description of practices and procedures to be performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed
2. A list of each substance to be used as a production or handling input, indicating its composition, source, location(s) where it will be used and documentation of commercial availability, as applicable
3. A description of the monitoring practices and procedures to be performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed and methodology to verify that the plan is effectively implemented
4. A description of the recordkeeping system implemented to comply with the certification requirements
5. A description of the management practices and physical barriers established to prevent commingling of organic and nonorganic products on a split operation, to prevent contact of organic production, handling operations and products with prohibited substances and any additional information deemed necessary by the certifying agent to evaluate compliance with the USDA-NOP regulations

Labeling

If a producer plans on selling their crops with the use of a label displaying the USDA Certified Organic logo, claiming a product to be 100% organic, or made with organic ingredients, any labels must be designed and submitted to the certifying agent for approval to ensure compliance with the USDA-NOP standards.