Dennis Johnson, West Central Research and Outreach Center, and Meg Moynihan, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

March 10, 2007

Note: This is the last in a series of three articles on Organic Dairying. See the January 13th and February 10th issues for the previous articles.

You’ve made the decision to take your herd organic. It wasn’t easy. You took into account the health status of your herd, your family goals, the extra cost of feed during transitioning, the added value of organic milk once it is on the truck. It looks like it’s going to work for you. So how do you go about getting your farm certified?

1. Find a certifying agency. Certification agencies are accredited by the USDA, empowering them to monitor your organic plan and management to assure that your farm is meeting USDA National Organic Standards. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is not an accredited certification agency but does offer a list of about 20 agencies that accept Minnesota clients (see http://www.mda.state.mn.us/esap/organic/#cert). The certifier will provide application materials and may also offer newsletters, workshops or educational programs.

2. Prepare an organic plan. The first step is to create an "Organic System Plan" (OSP) and submit it to your certifier. The OSP is a summary of how you plan to manage your farm in regard to the organic requirements. Typically (and conveniently), the OSP is the same thing as the certification agency’s application form. It should include descriptions of:

• farm practices and procedures to be performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed;
• 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, which may include source of animals, feed and feed supplements, description of housing and living conditions, health care practices and materials, management practices (i.e., access to the outdoors and pasture for ruminants), physical alterations, manure management, record-keeping system and product labeling;
• the monitoring practices and procedures to be performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed, to verify that the plan is effectively implemented;
• the record keeping system implemented to comply with the requirements of the standard;
• the management practices and physical barriers established to prevent commingling of organic and nonorganic products on a split operation and to prevent contact of organic production and handling operations and products with prohibited substances; and
• additional information deemed necessary by the certifying agent to evaluate compliance with the regulations.

The requirement to create an OSP and maintain detailed records has discouraged more than one farmer from becoming certified organic. While the effort is significant, it is doable, and some farmers have told us that, in retrospect, keeping better records has made them better farmers. You may want to start with the easy-to-use ATTRA’s Organic Livestock Workbook, www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/livestockworkbook.pdf.

3. Organic inspection. The certifying agency will send an organic inspector to your farm prior to initial certification, then once a year thereafter. The inspector’s job is to verify what you described in your OSP. The inspection includes reviewing field maps, input, production, harvest, and sales records, and any tags and labels from purchased inputs such as fertilizer, seed and inoculum.

• The inspector assesses the risk of contamination from prohibited materials, and may take soil, tissue or product samples if needed.
• The inspector will want to see fields, storage areas and equipment, assess soil conditions and crop health, and learn more about your approaches to management of water systems (for irrigation and post-harvest handling) as well as the management of weeds and other crop pests. Pasture and crop land may be certified 36 months after the last prohibited input has been applied and once you have created and started following an OSP.
• The inspector will also review feed production and purchase records, feed rations, animal living conditions, preventative health management practices (vaccinations and other medications currently being used or planned for future use) and health records. The inspector observes and assesses the animals' condition. One year of organic management is required to certify a dairy herd.
• The inspector will give you a written copy of the exit interview before leaving your farm.
• The inspector also submits a report to the certifier.

4. Organic certification. A certification review committee will examine your OSP/application form and the inspector’s report. If the committee determines that you are in compliance with organic standards, they will issue a certificate (sometimes they will issue the certificate noting minor non-compliances that you will have to address before the next inspection). After you receive your certificate, you may begin selling your products as organic.

Congratulations! Finally, after going through years of preparation and selecting a processor to buy your milk, your milk can go on the organic truck!