Organic Paperwork Is Not That Cumbersome

Jim Shrefler

OSU / WWAREC

Lane

Robert Stelle

Sunrise Acres

Blanchard

Why Keep Farm Records?

Drawbacks– Wastes time you could spend on

other activities– Potential for self incrimination?– More work and information to

keep track of

Why Keep Farm Records?

Benefits– Impress IRS and OTC auditors– Enable financial evaluation of

the farm operations– Saves time when you want to

know how something was done in the past

– Potential for legal defense– Necessary for careful farm

planning

Farm Record Keeping in General

Kinds of records– Financial and tax related– Land use, including weed and

disease incidence– Crop varieties and associated

market response, productivity, pest problems etc.

– Fertilizer & manure applications and soil test results

– Pesticide use, inventories, performance observations etc.

Do Record Keeping Requirements Vary for Different

Kinds of Farms?

Requirements may vary among farm types:- Conventional- Hobby / personal use- Certified Organic - Organic, but not Certified

Certified Organic Farming Requires ….

CommitmentPlanningTotal Farm Management Time / PatienceEffective Production PracticesAchieving Certification

Certified Organic Farming Requires ….

CommitmentPlanningTotal Farm Management Time / PatienceEffective Production PracticesAchieving Certification

Doing these things successfully requires the maintenance of suitable records!

Let’s Focus on Certified Organic Farming …. For What Will

Records Be Needed?

For Certification Purposes– Transition status– Initial Certification– Recertification

For Farm Profitability Purposes– Keeping crops productive– Being competitive at market– Financial stability of farm

Farm Certification

Initial Certification– 3 year process (+ / -)– Transition period

Recertification: The Yearly Maintenance of Certification

Record Keeping

Document that the operation is in compliance with the regulationsVerify the information provided to the certifying agentAccess to these records must be provided to authorized representatives of USDA, including the certifying agent.

Types of Information Needed

Materials applied during the previous 3 years, current year, & two years projectedOrganic crops/products being grown Organic plan, - practices and substances usedMonitoring practices to be performed to verify that the plan is effectively implementedDescription of record-keeping systemDescription of the practices to prevent co-mingling of organic and non-organic products

Lane Center Certifications

Initial Certification in Dec. 2005– Vegetable Project - Christmas trees– Meadow Area – Meadow for 10+ years

Yearly Maintenance of Certification– Recertified for 2007, 2008

Some close calls!

Organic Paperwork Is Not That Cumbersome

Jim Shrefler

OSU / WWAREC

Lane

Robert Stelle

Sunrise Acres

Blanchard

Why Keep Farm Records?Why Keep Farm Records?Producer’s Point of View Producer’s Point of View

Fill out re-certification form Fill out re-certification form

Answer questions during on-site Answer questions during on-site inspectioninspection

Make decisions about what to Make decisions about what to growgrow

Decide when to plant (to Decide when to plant (to schedule harvest)schedule harvest)

Make pricing decisions to Make pricing decisions to maximize profitsmaximize profits

Examples of Organic Records Examples of Organic Records

Seed research and purchaseSeed research and purchase

Planting (Crop rotation)Planting (Crop rotation)

Fertilizer applicationFertilizer application

Pest control applicationPest control application

Harvest dates and quantitiesHarvest dates and quantities

Sales quantities (not $$$)Sales quantities (not $$$)

Field Layouts Field Layouts Field F

Greenbeans

Carrots

Mustard GreensKaleBroccoli

Cauliflower

Cabbage

Peppers

Field E

Okra

Field D

Sweet Potatoes

Field A

Potatoes

TurnipsRadishes

Beets

Spinach

Field B

Garlic

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Field C

Squash

Onions

Eggplant

SPRING 2005

Field Planting RecordField Planting Record

Date Field ABed Row Variety

acbacbacbacbacbacb

1

6

2

3

4

5

Certified Organic Farming Certified Organic Farming Records Require ….Records Require ….

A Notebook and a ShoeboxA Notebook and a ShoeboxNotebook is for Journal Notebook is for Journal Write down what you did each dayWrite down what you did each dayShoebox is for everything else..Shoebox is for everything else..Nice if in labeled folders: Seed invoices, Nice if in labeled folders: Seed invoices, Harvest records, etcHarvest records, etc

Additional Records We Keep For Additional Records We Keep For Transplant Growing OperationTransplant Growing Operation

Varieties grown this year Varieties grown this year

95 tomatoes95 tomatoes

51 peppers51 peppers

28 cool crops28 cool crops

40 other vegetables40 other vegetables

61 herbs 61 herbs

Labeling Scheme Lot NumbersLabeling Scheme Lot Numbers

SA for Sunrise AcresSA for Sunrise Acres

Alpha character for transplant class (T for Tomato, Alpha character for transplant class (T for Tomato, L for Heirloom Tomato, P for Pepper, V for Other L for Heirloom Tomato, P for Pepper, V for Other Vegetables, H for Herbs, C for Cool Season Vegetables, H for Herbs, C for Cool Season Vegetables)Vegetables)

One digit for Year (eg. 8 for 2008)One digit for Year (eg. 8 for 2008)

Two digits for item number on transplant listTwo digits for item number on transplant list

One digit for seeding One digit for seeding

Example: LOT# SAP8272 Example: LOT# SAP8272

Sunrise Acres, Pepper, grown in 2008, Carmen Sunrise Acres, Pepper, grown in 2008, Carmen (#27 on list), 2nd seeding(#27 on list), 2nd seeding Carmen Hybrid

Sweet Pepper75-80 daysLOT# SAP8272

Hope to see you at the tourHope to see you at the tour