The organic big picture

The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), organized by USDA’s National Organic Program, has helped farmers navigate the transition process from conventional to organic production with the help of mentors and organic farming resources. Three Michigan farmers who benefited from the program discussed their transition to organic.

Jamie and Brad Wilbraham operate Full Hollow Farm near Grand Rapids. They’ve been farming for 11 years and have been certified organic through OFA for nine years. They grow produce on about four acres, including four hoop houses for year-round production. Customers appreciate summer and winter CSAs and the opportunity to purchase fresh produce at farmers markets.

“We decided from the beginning that we wanted to be certified,” Jamie said. “We had the property one year before we started farming, so we only had to have two years farmed to become certified through OFA. Our cost last year was $2,465 for certification, and we had cost-share help.”

Jamie said people generally know what organic is, and that has proven helpful at markets and for the CSA. She admitted there’s a lot of paperwork, especially the first year when so much information about the previous three years is required, but they included recordkeeping with what was needed for the certification inspection as well as seed order decisions, sanitization and compost application. Tracking all of that (and more) has made her a better farmer.

“Some of our customers shop with us just because we are certified, but also because they know our practices,” Jamie said. “They are also coming back because the food tastes good.”

One of the most difficult aspects of certification in early years was the audit, starting from seed to every step along the way. Jamie said it felt clunky at first because she was trying to remember everything. Writing it all down helped.

“Every year feels so different, and that can be the challenge of farming,” Jamie said. “When you think you have it figured out, it changes. For the first several years, everything was thrown back to the farm. Now that we have children, there’s more of a sense of urgency to make a profit from the farm.”

Zach Goodman and Magda Nawrocka-Weekes work the soil on Dogstar Farm outside Ann Arbor. They lease five acres, which includes three acres of no-till mixed vegetables. They also have 2.5 acres dedicated to asparagus.

“We grow the farmers markets classics: salad mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, kale, chard,” Zach said. “We’re also experimenting with some staples like wheat, barley and corn.”

Dogstar Farm was certified organic this past year. They sell at a farmers market, maintain a small CSA and a farm stand and sell wholesale to several restaurants in the area.

Zach said their cost to certify is $1,365 through OFA and is based on farm income. TOPP helped cover part of that cost, and the farm can obtain additional funding after completing a mentorship through TOPP.

“One of the things we promised our customers is that we weren’t going to change pricing after becoming certified organic,” Zach said. “It wasn’t a big transition to move in the direction of becoming certified, and it helped with bookkeeping.”

Part of the farm they’re leasing was previously certified when they took over, so they didn’t have to wait three years of using organic practices before certifying.

“Since we sell through consignment where our produce is on the shelf, it can be hard to pack a lot of information about our practices on our label,” Zach said. “Having the organic stamp helps customers know what we’re doing.”

Zach said the farm is small enough to interact with all customers, which he sees as an advantage.

“We are the only organic asparagus grower, which differentiates us,” he said. “There are a lot of organic farms, but transparency and being clear about practices makes a difference. There weren’t too many barriers because we weren’t changing, but the biggest was the paperwork.”

Zach is planning to obtain Real Organic certification. This will tack on another label, but he believes labels are important consumer protection.

“A lot of people are slapping labels on food products, and these labels mean something and protect consumers,” Zach said. “I can see the confusion, especially if you aren’t familiar with them. I’m frustrated with labels that don’t have a meaning, but companies use them because they know it’s profitable.”

Brittany Rooney owns and manages Beaverland Farms in Detroit. She’s in her 12th season growing on four acres. She had considered growing organically then joined the TOPP program to figure out what she wanted to do. She ultimately decided that she didn’t want to certify organic.

“We are not certified, but I know we would pass the certification,” Brittany said. “Instead, we decided to become certified under the Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) program, a non-governmental, voluntary certification program that’s peer-reviewed.”

While the CNG program doesn’t require a certifier, CNG members visit each other’s farms to check practices and certify. The standards are the same as for organic certification but without the overhead.

Brittany appreciates the farmer-to-farmer aspect of the program. It involves sitting down with another farmer who is farming similarly, going point by point through all the different management strategies – pests, amendments, harvest.

“I have learned so much at every sit down we’ve had,” Brittany said. “CNG still requires third party verification but it’s a much smaller financial and administrative burden and makes it easier for other small farms.”

In addition to vegetables, Brittany has an alley cropping system for fruit trees and grows flowers in spring. Her goal is to promote a healthy, natural ecosystem that encourages healthy soil and prioritizes biological processes rather than chemical inputs.

“We don’t need to sell more produce,” Brittany said. “We take it to market and sell it and are at maximum capacity for sales, so why add an extra expense? If we do become certified organic, we might charge a little more for products because of the certification fees and extra time and effort that goes into recordkeeping. If we raise the price of products, they become less accessible… We love feeding our neighborhood, but if carrots are $1 more per bunch it would exclude a lot of people from being able to purchase them. Organic certification didn’t reflect our core values, which is to feed our community.”

Brittany welcomes customers to the farm and takes the time to walk around with them to see what’s growing and how it’s grown. Within a few minutes they are satisfied.

“Customers trust me, they trust my farm and they trust the food,” Brittany said. “Organic means one thing and being a trustworthy farm means another thing. Organic farms are doing things that are trustworthy and a lot of trustworthy farms are doing things that are organic, but it’s possible to be only one of those things. There are plenty of farms that have the organic label but don’t have the relationships and trust, which probably doesn’t go as far. Community support is the most important thing.”

There are times Brittany hasn’t seen a good return on investment from organic methods. However, in the big picture, it’s worthwhile.

“The ecosystem is healthier, and I feel good about the organic farming we’re doing,” Brittany said. “You have to zoom out a little and look at the big picture.”

by Sally Colby