14 CapitalPress.com
March 13, 2015
Five myths dispelled about organic certification
By GAIL OBERST
For the Capital Press
Each year since the 1990s,
consumer demand for organi-
cally-grown foods has grown by
double digits. Certified organic
products now account for 4 per-
cent of all food sales, according
to the U.S. Department of Agri-
culture.
If you’re a farmer or ranch-
er, organic successes can’t have
escaped you: A “certified or-
ganic” label can double or even
quadruple the prices paid for
conventionally grown products.
But many who look into organic
certification come away shaking
their heads at what seems like
endless application documents,
reports, equipment, inspections
and hours required to maintain
organic certification. Why does
it have to be so hard?
It doesn’t, said Connie Karr
of Oregon Tilth, one of 54 orga-
nizations in the U.S. accredited
to certify organic producers. Karr
was on a mission to debunk myths
about the difficulties surrounding
organic certification. Karr and two
certified organic processors were
part of a Feb. 2 discussion at the
annual Local Food Connection
gathering of producers, buyers
and distributors in Eugene, Ore.
Misinformation often stops
producers from joining the ranks
of organic farmers. “It’s not a
passing fad,” she said of organic
farming. “It’s here to stay.”
Myth 1: My whole farm
has to be certified or none of it
will qualify. “You can absolute-
ly certify a part of your farm,”
said Karr. One 2,000-acre Or-
egon farm has a 5-acre patch
certified for organic production.
Myth 2: There aren’t
enough acceptable products
out there to conduct business
according to organic rules.
Producers worry that they won’t
be able to find cleaning agents,
weed and pest control agents,
fertilizers or feed to meet organ-
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ic guidelines, but they shouldn’t
worry, Karr said. More than
3,000 acceptable products are
listed on www.omri.org website,
complete with purchase infor-
mation. Oregon Tilth’s website,
www.tilth.org, lists 8,000 prod-
ucts.
Myth 3: Certification is too
expensive. Not so for now, Karr
said. Oregon Tilth sliding scale
fees to certify begin at $399,
plus $200 for inspection, but the
Farm Bill’s cost share program
reimburses the grower or pro-
cessor 75 percent of that at the
end of the year. This reimburse-
ment may, unfortunately, disap-
pear in the near future, but for
now, registration is a good deal,
Karr said.
Myth 4: I don’t have
enough time for all that re-
cord-keeping. Organic fa-
cilities are required to track
products from their origins to
the point of sale, with proof at
every turn that conditions were
organic. While this requirement
may seem a waste of time, it is
a valuable tool that can be used
to improve yields and manage
business, according to Richard
Wilen, owner of Hayhurst Or-
ganic Farm and developer of
COG Pro, software that simpli-
fies reporting for organic and
food safety purposes.
“I never met a farmer who
got into organics to be an ac-
countant and keeping records
and filling out forms ranks right
below shoveling manure for
most farmers,” Wilen said. The
software is available for sale at
www.cog-pro.com. Field data is
stored online and is then avail-
able across devices on laptops,
smart phones and tablets. Re-
ports can be produced with the
click of a button, Wilen said.
Myth 5: I’ll have to fill out
a 22-page document to apply
for certification. Usually not,
Karr said. Most applicants only
have to fill out the few pages
that apply to their operations.
Oregon Tilth has recently hired
a transition services coordinator
to help applicants through the
process, Karr said.
“At first, the organic process
seemed very difficult and pret-
ty complicated,” said Stephan
Cameron, whose Blue Lotus
Chai company must follow its
products from India and then
through shipping, processing
and packaging in the U.S. to
maintain organic certification.
In the past few years, infor-
mation has been easier to ac-
cess from Oregon Tilth and
from the Oregon Department
of Agriculture, which is also
accredited to certify organic
operations. Most of his work
has been to clearly label or-
ganic and non-organic mate-
rials and to be able to prove
they have not been mixed.
Good business practices come
into play, Cameron said.
“Do your homework and
think about your systems. There’s
no room for mistakes. Recalls are
too expensive,” he said.
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