Burlington Free Press (link no longer available)
By Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff Writer
NORTH HERO — Behind the lettuce, beans and zucchini that sit in bins at Amanda Gervais’s farmstand was a lot of planning and paperwork.
Before the heads of broccoli and Swiss chard ever emerged from the ground, Gervais had to document their origin, feed and caring. She has maps that prove she rotated the crops from the previous year, lists that tell what kind of seeds they started from, invoices that show how much organic fertilizer she used.
Record-keeping is a big part of life for a certified-organic farmer.
Some 540 farms in Vermont are certified organic by Vermont Organic Farmers, a branch of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont and the only organic certifier in the state. In return for proof that they follow specific, often more costly practices, these farmers may sell their produce as organic, earning them a higher price and a targeted market.
The number of organic farmers in Vermont has grown steadily in most types of farming over the years. For Gervais, there was never any doubt that she would opt for organic farming practices.
“If I’m going to grow something, I wouldn’t spray pesticides and herbicides,” she said, noting her crops surround the North Hero home where she, her husband and two young children live.
Still, Gervais’ farm is certified organic for vegetables but not for the eggs her chickens produce or the pigs she raises. That, she said, would be cost-prohibitive for her farm’s size, so she settles for following many organic practices without the seal of certification.
Why certification?
North Hero resident Barbara Purinton stopped at Gervais’ Savage Gardens farmstand on a recent morning and picked up some tomatoes.
Purinton said she’s become more attentive about where her food comes from and how it’s grown.
“I’m more aware of what I’m putting into my body,” she said, adding, “It tastes better.”
Without certification, which Gervais has had since 2007, she could not sell her vegetables as organic. At a farmstand on her own property, where she can meet customers one-on-one, that’s not necessarily a big deal, but to sell to wholesalers she needs certification.
That requirement is what keeps Shoreham vegetable farmer Will Stevens going back every year to renew his organic certification, but it’s not what drove him to become certified more than two decades ago, he said. Instead, he joined the world of organic farming in 1987 to learn better farming techniques.
The network of information to which it connected him was invaluable, he said. The process he had to go through taught Stevens how to plan ahead for two years, how to fertilize his land and, perhaps most important, how to keep meticulous records.
“It made us better growers,” Stevens said. “That we had to keep records was a good thing.”
Those records proved important in a surprising way. In 1997, a neighboring farmer sprayed herbicides, and, because of faulty equipment, the chemicals strayed onto Stevens’ crops. With the records he kept, he was able to prove the size of his loss. “That helped us with the insurance claim,” Stevens said.
The process
Stevens spoke so favorably of the organic-certification process, it sounded as though there were not a wisp of a downside to it.
Well, not quite. “It’s a total pain in the neck,” he said. “It takes a day to complete.”
The paperwork for his Golden Russet Farm extends to 22 pages or more, detailing his fertilizer applications, his harvest dates, what percentage of his seeds are organic.
“A big piece of organic certification is record-keeping,” said Cheryl Bruce, a certification staff member with Vermont Organic Farmers.
Applications for certification and annual renewal are due in April. That’s right about tilling and planting time, Gervais noted. “It’s a busy time of year.”
The idea behind the paperwork is that farmers have to document their farming practices in a tangible way.
A hay producer, for example, would have to show how much manure was used, when the planting took place, when the cuts were done and how many bales were produced. A livestock farmer has to show the receipts that prove the animals were fed 100 percent organic feed.
Because organic farmers can’t use herbicides to tame weeds, they have to do more cultivating. Pests have to be treated by an approved method. Organic fertilizers tend to be more expensive.
Sometime during the growing season, an inspector will show up at the farm asking for a year’s worth of records, checking to see that it all adds up.
Lapses don’t necessarily mean rejection from certification, Bruce said. The farmer may be given recommendations for how to increase use of organic seeds, for example, or improve documentation, she said.
The cost of certification ranges from $350 to $1,000 a year, depending on gross sales of the farm. The federal government will reimburse 75 percent of the fee. Without that, Gervais said, it would be harder to justify going for certification.
Not getting certified
Though his farm has been organic for 22 years, Stevens said he sometimes thinks about not bothering with certification. He keeps at it, though, because his wholesale buyers require it.
Gervais also needs the certification to sell her produce to City Market and Black River Produce, earning a premium for the organic status. For organic strawberries, she estimated the premium is 10 to 15 percent; for gourmet fingerling potatoes, it’s more like 50 percent.
Farmers who don’t sell wholesale, however, might not bother with certification.
At her own farmstand and at area farmers’ markets, Gervais doesn’t bother to note the fact that she’s organic except when it comes to strawberries. Strawberry customers tend to be more particular about seeking organic because of the fruit’s soft nature, she said.
She has another reason for not noting that her food is organic: The eggs she sells aren’t certified, and she wants to avoid any confusion.
“I couldn’t justify it,” Gervais said of raising organic chickens. She estimates that if she bought all organic feed, she’d have to sell the eggs for $5 a dozen, which would be prohibitive.
Customers typically are more interested in knowing the eggs are local and hearing how her 800 layers are treated, she said. “A lot of people like to hear how we handle our animals,” she said.
The chickens, she tells customers, have free range in a fresh pasture. “We say our chickens act as chickens should,” she said.
Contact Terri Hallenbeck at 651-4887 or [email protected], and follow her on Twitter at @terrivt.
Additional Facts
By the numbers:
Organic farms in Vermont listed by product
• DAIRY: 200
• VEGETABLE: 128
• MAPLE SYRUP: 91
• FIELD CROP: 71
• LIVESTOCK: 60
• PROCESSORS (non-farm): 54
• PROCESSORS (on-farm): 17
• HONEY: 1
• MUSHROOM: 1
Farms producing a variety of crops may be counted more than once.
Organic farms in Vermont through the years
• 1993: 78
• 1994: 90
• 1995: 106
• 1996: 150
• 1997: 170
• 1998: 179
• 1999: 187
• 2000: 212
• 2001: 230
• 2002: 253
• 2003: 289
• 2004: 332
• 2005: 366
• 2006: 394
• 2007: 487
• 2008: 535
• 2009: 543
Dairy farms in Vermont by year
• 1993: 3
• 1994: 3
• 1995: 14
• 1996: 28
• 1996: 28
• 1997: 35
• 1998: 33
• 1999: 38
• 2000: 47
• 2001: 55
• 2002: 59
• 2003: 64
• 2004: 79
• 2005: 93
• 2006: 129
• 2007: 204
• 2008: 200
• 2009: 200
Source: Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
Organic vs. conventional
• DAIRY: Approximately 20 percent of Vermont dairy farms are organic.
• VEGETABLE: About 23 percent of Vermont vegetable farms are organic.
Cost of certification
The fee for organic certification is based on gross sales of the farm and is 75 percent reimbursable from the federal government:
• LESS THAN $2,500: $350 fee
• $2,500-$4,999: $375
• $5,000-$9,999: $400
• $10,000-$24,999: $450
• $25,000-$39,999: $500
• $40,000-$69,999: $550
• $70,000-$99,999: $600
• $100,000-$149,999: $650
• $150,000-$199,999: $800
• MORE THAN $200,000: $1,000.
Certification process
The certification requirements are specific to the kind of farming. Some of the details required for vegetable crops:
• No prohibited substances (synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides) may have been applied to the fields for three years before the crops are harvested.
• A buffer must be created between an organic farm and a neighboring farm using prohibited substances. In open fields, 50 feet is recommended.
• If compost is used that contains manure, it must have a recorded temperature of at least 131 degrees for at least three days. Otherwise, the substance is considered raw manure.
• If raw manure has direct contact with crops, it must be at least 120 days before harvest, or 90 days if the edible portion has no direct contact.
• Farmers must use organic seeds when available, and cost may not be a factor in determining availability. No seeds that are treated with prohibited materials are allowed.
• Weeds and pests must be controlled with specified, non-synthetic methods.
Organic principles
Vermont Organic Farmers, a subsidiary of NOFA-VT, lists the following guidelines for organic farmers:
• To improve and maintain long-term soil fertility.
• To produce quality, nutritious food and feed.
• To reduce pollution from farming and processing.
• To encourage use of local resources.
• To enhance biological cycles within the food-production system.
• To increase diversity and stability of farm ecosystem.
• To ensure non-exploitative treatment of farm workers.
• To create healthy conditions for livestock.
• To maximize farmers’ return.
• To maintain healthy land.
Source: Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
For more information on organic certification in Vermont or to find a list of organic farmers, visit NOFA-VT at www.nofavt.org or call 434-3821.
