Re: The importance of Organic Re: sources for middle TN -Katja

[Guest guest]

At 11:31 AM 6/30/2004, you wrote:

>Nanette and Katja,

>

>I'm of two minds here. First, I am well aware that certified organic meat

>and produce does not automatically equal high quality. For instance, beef

>that is fed organic grain is not my idea of good beef, but it is organic, so

>to speak. If I know the farmer and how he produces his product, I don't

>give a rat's a** if he is certified or not. Certification is expensive,

>isn't it? And Katja, is there any truth in the claim that the certification

>process benefits the big companies that have jumped on the bandwagon

>(Horizon, e.g.) while making it harder for the little guys? I'd love to

>hear your thoughts on this.

in vermont, that is not the case. i can't vouch for other states, because i

don't have experience with them, but for the states that fall under NOFA,

the gearing is actually far in favor of small farms, even little 5 acre

farms. no one is too small - even if you just go to the farmer's market.

they'll even certify you just for fun if you're so inclined - even if you

don't sell anything!

in new england, NOFA also actively works for legislation against the abuses

of big corporations and big farms, and specifically spends money to do

things to help small farmers. one good example is that in vermont, they are

helping fund the purchase of an small, abandonded milk bottling plant, so

that the small organic dairy farmers in vermont can form their own co-op

and have their milk bottled without having to join the organic valley

co-op, or whatever. (currently there are no milk processing plants in

vermont with the exception of private on farm bottleries, which puts our

farmers at a significant disadvantage). another example is that NOFA runs

lots of workshops and seminars for new farmers or farmers making the

transition to organics or to other disciplines, so that people can learn,

and they offer free (well, free with the price of certification) " technical

support " - they have several specialists on staff who are available any

time for consultation - one for dairy, one for goats/sheep, one for

poultry, and one for soil ammendment and that sort of thing. they have

other specialists to help in other areas too, and you can call them any

time always. also, NOFA makes small farm loans available to anyone who

needs them for purchasing equipment, seed, or livestock. these aren't the

sort of things they'd be doing if they were trying to crowd out the little

guy in favor of the big ones.

however, one thing i find is that there is a great deal of negative

propaganda about organics in general. there's a lot of bitterness all

around which is unfounded. for example, dairy farmers around here say they

can't switch to organic, cause they " heard that if i have to use an

antibiotic, i have to kill the cow " - which is bullshit, of course. (i'm

happy to discuss the nitty gritty rules, but i don't want to bore anyone).

people who aren't certified think it's some kind of " club " or " clique " and

that the certifiers are out to get them, which is not true, at least here.

if you don't pass the first time around, they teach you what you need to

fix, and then they come back and check to make sure you did alright. they

keep working with you till you're up to standards.

as for cost, in vermont and new england, it's scaled on profit. also,

there's partial reimbursement from the state. for us the total fee was $350

before reimbursement, which i personally consider very fair, considering

that money pays the technical support staff, pays the conference

co-ordinators where i learn tons of stuff, pays the people who teach the

seminars and workshops (which, if you're a member, you attend for

practically free), and pays the farm inspectors, who i appreciate above

all! our farm inspector spent an entire day with us, answering all our

questions and giving us advice, etc. we didn't have to make any changes,

but she just had other tips to share. she was SO knowledgeable and just

spending the day with her was worth the fee! the highest fee you would pay

is $750, which you pay if your farm profits are $200,000 or more. the fees

are based on actual profits per year, so if this year you did really well

but next year was tough, your fee changes accordingly. i just really don't

think that's very unreasonable at all. (not to mention that you're also

allowed to pay it in installments, and again, we can get reimbursement)

finally, i agree about beef. it's got to be organic (which is important to

me, because i don't want to eat ivermectin'ed beef) AND grassfed.

fortunately, our NOFA office staff also runs the vermont grassfarmers'

association, and widely promotes grassfarming. the staff are all members of

WAPF, and one of the state's chapter leaders works for NOFA, and runs the

state's raw milk organization and legislation projects right from the NOFA

office - in fact, that's what they pay her for.

so, maybe the OFAs in other states are lame, but VOF and NOFA kick the butt.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your reply, Katja--it's nice to hear a farmer's perspective on

this. I live in NY (also under NOFA's jurisdiction). One more question:

how does NOFA certification relate to USDA certification?

TIA,

[Guest guest]

again, i can only answer for NOFA - this may be different elsewhere: if you

are certified by NOFA, you are permitted to use the USDA organic sticker as

well as the NOFA sticker. in our area, NOFA has the responsibility for

whatever additional work there is in reporting to the USDA and for checking

that all the USDA standards are met (which are all in agreement with or

actually not as strict as NOFA's guidelines, so there's no real difference

for us here.)

At 12:50 PM 6/30/2004, you wrote:

>Thank you for your reply, Katja--it's nice to hear a farmer's perspective on

>this. I live in NY (also under NOFA's jurisdiction). One more question:

>how does NOFA certification relate to USDA certification?

>

>TIA,

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