The ins & outs of organized organic recordkeeping

Organic certification is a third-party verification system, allowing the certifier and its inspectors to verify what is happening on an organic farm.

“What does the inspector want to see? They want to see records that demonstrate that you’re meeting the organic standard,” said Nicole Dehne, the certification director at Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF), a third-party organic certifier.

Dehne discussed recordkeeping requirements for organic farmers in a recent webinar produced with support from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).

Yearly, organic farmers are required to provide records to an inspector that show they are meeting the organic standards. The National Organic Program (NOP) does not stipulate what exact records are required; the NOP simply specifies that the farm’s records verify compliance.

Dehne said that a misconception exists that VOF-certified organic farms are required to use VOF’s templates. In actuality, she said, “The farmer can determine the format of the records. They can be photographed. They can be in electronic form. They can also be handwritten.”

Inspectors use these records to conduct a traceability audit which tracks a product from its final sale all the way back to its seed source. The inspector can start at either end of this chain, but typically they begin with the sales records and work backwards. The main purpose of a traceability audit is to ensure that no non-organic crops enter the organic supply chain. It also helps inspectors understand the farm’s overall recordkeeping system and verify the activities involved in growing each crop.

For a traceability audit, inspectors will examine records related to sales, harvests, inputs and activities like pesticide applications.

Using cabbage as an example, an inspector would verify these records:

• Sales – How many cabbages were sold? Who were they sold to? When were they sold?

• Harvest – How many cabbages were harvested? From what field or bed were they harvested?

• Input & Activity – What inputs were applied? How much was applied? Where was it applied? Can we see the input receipts?

• Planting records – Where were the cabbages planted? How many were planted? What dates were they planted?

• Greenhouse & Seedlings – How many cabbages were started? When were they started? What inputs or potting mixes were used?

• Seed & Planting Stock – How many seeds or planting stock were purchased? From what source? Were they organic?

There must be a linking element that connects all these records, so the inspector can follow the same crop through the entire system. This can be as simple as the crop name (like cabbage) for smaller operations; for larger farms, more complex, like lot numbers.

Inspectors will also use these records to conduct a mass balance audit. The intent of this audit is to analyze the amount of seed or planting stock that was purchased and planted and reconcile that against the quantity sold.

Using the cabbage example, the inspector could look at the total amount of cabbage sold on a farm in a given year and then compare that to the amount of seed purchased, the square footage of cabbage that were planted and how many heads were harvested.

Taylor and Jake Mendell of Footprint Farm in Starksboro, VT, use a combination of handwritten and electronic records to demonstrate that their farm meets the organic standards. Footprint Farm is a three-acre operation focusing on year-round greens and vegetables, primarily serving community supported agriculture (CSA) and wholesale customers.

For records related to the traceability audit, they began with Excel spreadsheets. This method worked fine for the owners but created significant problems when employees joined the operation. The crew couldn’t effectively use the complex spreadsheets, leading to frequent mistakes. Additionally, the crew didn’t like having smartphones or tablets in the field.

They now use Airtable, an electronic, cloud-based tool, for comprehensive planning and data storage. During the growing season, crew members manually keep track of data on printed sheets stored in binders. They use Rite in the Rain paper, which is rugged enough to tolerate field conditions and can be written on with a pen or pencil. The paper does require the correct type of printer.

Eventually, one person translates the written field records into Airtable during quieter periods of the season.

They also track wholesale harvests manually. Each harvest day, Mendell prints out a sheet which reflects seasonal crop variation, so every single vegetable they grow doesn’t need to be on the list. It lists the vegetables to be harvested that day and the order in which they should be harvested. There is also space to record what bed the crop is coming from, targeted quantities to harvest and the amount actually harvested.

For their wholesale accounts – 50% of their gross income – it’s easy to connect these harvest records to their sales, which are tracked and invoiced through their bookkeeping system. This is how they meet the requirements of the mass balance audit for the wholesale side of the business.

CSA sales are more complex to track because there is some amount of choice provided to their customers. “Somebody might be able to choose between kale or chard, and we can’t necessarily say what was taken easily,” said Taylor.

What they can do, however, is demonstrate the quantities of produce sent to each of their CSA locations. They accomplish this by using a large whiteboard chart in their wash/pack area. The chart shows the quantities of items in the CSA for that week, which items have a choice option, the CSA locations and how many people are in each location.

They photograph the whiteboard whenever it’s updated, creating a folder of images in Google Photos. For audits, Mendell can search these photos using AI image recognition. Simply typing “carrots” will pull up all whiteboard photos containing that word, and she can tabulate how many bunches of carrots were harvested for the CSA over the season.

Records like those collected at Footprint Farm are required for audits, but Dehne stressed that they also have other benefits.

“We also really want to talk about the practical benefits of keeping records, which is when they’re set up well, that your organic records help you understand your business more clearly. They help you make decisions about your business,” Dehne said.

Dehne also encouraged organic producers to ask their organic inspector why they’re asking to review a specific record. Understanding the why behind record requests can provide flexibility in how the farm demonstrates compliance.

Certifiers may be available to support farmers in designing recordkeeping systems. Many templates exist online.

“In an ideal world, your documentation is complete, it’s organized and understandable and auditable,” said Dehne.

by Sonja Heyck-Merlin