WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE INSPECTED.

VIDEO HERE.

Certainly, one of the things we were most intimidated by when considering certifying our farm as USDA Organic was the on-farm inspection. I don’t know why exactly, but I imagine it was mostly because I had no idea what it would be like, or how rigorous, or what stupid thing I might have done to fail our certification (I once heard of someone losing certification, for instance, because they sprayed non-organic distilled white vinegar on some weeds in one plot and that plot couldn’t be certified again for three years! Yeah, for vinegar...) So anyway, having had a couple inspections of our own now, I thought it would at least be worth sharing our experiences with the inspection so you can know what to expect when the inspectors come come calling. -Jesse 

CERTIFYING ORGANIC.

  This week we drove to the post office and sent away a hefty application with a $250 check to Frankfort, KY, so we may finally call ourselves organic. And it feels....GREAT.We have been farming without chemicals, well, always. We have never––save for endorphins, beer, and adrenaline––applied chemicals to our farm. So after years of waffling about the idea––mostly because we had many weird misconceptions about the certifying process––we are excited to show it. Legally.It is nice, too, that our CSA customers won't really see any change in price. Since we have always farmed this way we aren't about to see any jump in labor costs (and the certification is relatively cheap) our prices already reflect what it costs to produce food this way. Though prices may go up a little for market customers––to make up for the cost of certified organic compost––costs actually went down this year for the CSA!Also, we like how extensive the certification is. By that I mean, we are required to buy organic seed now. We always mostly have. Mostly. Though we have never bought any GMO or even treated seed, we have in the past bought conventional seed––seed potentially grown with chemicals. Being organic, however, you are required to purchase (where possible) seeds from other organic growers. By going organic you support organic. And we like that.So yes, we're doing it. And we're proud of it. And we think it's the right move, not just for us, but for our customers, too, who now get to support many organic farms for the price of one!For a more in depth breakdown, I wrote this piece for Hobby Farms.-Jesse.