Our farm has been certified organic since 2008, but as of the 1st of July this year we have decided not to renew our certification.
In the past, certification has helped us access certain markets, such as sending fruit to the wholesale market, but as the orchard has downsized, this is no longer required.
While this feels like a really big decision for the coop, the main change is in our name. Our commitment to organic farming hasn’t changed!
Our name will change to the Harcourt Farming Coop. We’re dropping the word organic as we are strong believers that using the word organic to sell your product should be reserved for those who pay for certification, as it’s their decades of work that give meaning to the word.
In no way have we changed how we feel about certification. As consumers, it’s the best way to verify the farming practices your food was produced with if you don’t have a direct relationship with the farmer. As all our sales from producers at the Coop now have this direct customer relationship (through farmers markets and CSA subscriptions), we can now tell our own story without needing the middle person to certify that story. We intend to increase our transparency directly with you about how we farm in practice and the values which guide our decisions.
To many people, certified organic may just mean that you don’t spray herbicides and pesticides, but there is much more to it. Part of being certified was to have an up-to-date Organic Management Plan (OMP) which outlined everything that took place on the farm, from inputs, to wildlife corridors, to contamination management. Moving forward we have produced a Holistic Management Plan. This covers much of what the OMP did as well as other aspects which we at HoFC are equally passionate about upholding in the way we farm, such as building our relationship with Djaara and acknowledging the land we farm on is stolen. We are keeping things transparent by making our HMP publicly available, building strong connections with our customers and community, and openly sharing what we do.
Many things in practice will not change; the dairy will still aim to rely on certified organic and biodynamic feed for the cows, we are all committed to building resilient, biologically active soils as the primary farming input. All of this is outlined in our HMP as a contract we will hold with you and between each other on farm.
I also invite you all to have a read of the National Organic Standards so you can learn more about what’s involved in being certified and just how rigorous it is.
In a dramatic end to this story, we found out this morning that NASAA has suddenly decided to close, as of today. It’s uncanny timing, as there had been no word to producers that this was on the cards. We’re sad to see NASAA fold after being leaders in the certification space for so many years, but are relieved that we had decided to drop certification before we were forced to go through the difficult process of deciding who to recertify with.
