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November 2023

This month was filled with transitioning fields into winter, packing winter squash orders, beginning to form crop plans and seed orders for next year, and completing our annual CCOF inspection. CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) is the certifying agent we use for our organic certification. It was formed in 1973 as one of the first organic certification entities in the U.S.

In 1979, California became one of the first states to regulate organic products through the California Organic Food Act of 1979. As the organic industry grew during the 1980s, and more certifying entities emerged (all with different standards, some that did not accept the validity of others), there was a call for a consistent set of standards to use in certifying organic. This led to the creation of the California Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (COFA – a state-level act establishing standards for organic food production and sales in California, which in 2017 was amended and renamed the California Organic Food and Farming Act), the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA – a federal act establishing national organic regulations) and, subsequently, the National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP is the USDA agency responsible for setting and implementing the nation’s organic standards and for the accreditation of organic certifying agents. Today, there are about 80 USDA accredited organic certifiers (like CCOF), most of which are allowed to certify farms and businesses anywhere in the world under the USDA organic label. As you can imagine, with that kind of growth and expansion, the certification practices and focus have shifted over the years.

The original foundation of CCOF, and, in turn, the NOP, was centered on fostering soil health (and ecological biodiversity). Organic Agriculture and Soil Health go hand in hand; healthy soils feed healthy plants, which support healthy people, communities, and planet. Prioritizing soil health was such an important backbone to organic standards that the OFPA specifically mandates:

An organic plan shall include provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring. (Sec. 2114)

In a legal sense, the term “shall” usually indicates that an action is mandatory, not permissive. According to the legal standards, soil is the basis for certified organic agriculture.

Over time, there has been a shift in focus away from this, and many other, founding principles of the organic standards. In a big display of this shift, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB – an advisory board to the NOP) made the decision to allow hydroponic and aquaponic (soil-less) systems to be recognized and federally certified as organic (remember, the legal requirements for certified organic production systems include soil). Additionally, they are loosening regulatory compliance around animal welfare: CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) can be (and increasingly are) certified organic despite the fact that USDA organic regulations “explicitly prohibit continuous total confinement of livestock.”). Among other things, these discrepancies are combined with a general lack of oversight and an increasing amount of organic fraud (specifically with imported grains).

While we, and many other farmers, still believe in the merits of certified organic, we feel the USDA is bending to well-financed lobbying efforts and is no longer upholding the standards outlined by the National Organic Program.

The diluting of regulatory standards founded in the 1980s and 1990s, coupled with a lack of protection for organic farmers from unfair competition, has pushed many farmers to seek alternative (additional) “organic-plus” certifications. For most of these labels, farms must first be certified through the USDA, and then must meet additional requirements regarding facets such as land and wildlife stewardship, animal welfare, employee care and rights, and our favorite: soil. While there are a growing number of these “organic-plus” labels to choose from, we have found the Real Organic Project to be most aligned with our philosophies and goals as farmers and land stewards.

Created and heavily supported by several pioneers of the U.S. organic movement, the Real Organic Project strives to keep the soil in organic*, among many other things. Since its farmer-led formation in 2018,1,100 farms have joined in this national (no-cost!) certification program. This quote from the Real Organic Project’s website sums up the organization’s mission in a nutshell:

USDA Organic has lost its way. The Real Organic Project was started by farmers to protect the meaning of organic. We refuse to let Big Ag define what it means to be ‘organic’. We grow food in the soil, not hydroponically. We raise livestock on pasture, not in confinement. As we lose trust in the USDA, Real Organic remains exactly what organic was [initially] intended to be. (realorganicproject.org)

If you are not already familiar with the Real Organic Project (and if you found any of this letter interesting), I highly recommend you check them out! Their website is full of videos (check out the “know your farmer” series), audio recordings, and written stories from certified farms and movement leaders. They have an abundance of information on the problems that led to the formation of the Real Organic Project (hint: Big Ag transitioning to “organic” to take advantage of a higher market price point – without doing the work of organic – with support from the USDA). They also have a weekly newsletter, which is a great way to stay informed about the shifting organic movement and learn about inspiring farmers around the country. If you feel so inclined, you could even join their book club!

Whew! If you made it this far, thanks for reading along on this not-so-brief overview of organic certification past, present, and future. Not to leave you hanging: we passed our annual inspection, sent over the few documents we didn’t have on hand during the inspection (so much paperwork is involved!), and now it’s back to planning and preparing for the year ahead. That, and eating lots of (Real Organic) winter squash.

*Interestingly, the Real Organic Project’s (ROP) standards for soil management are the same as the NOP soil management standards, as stated in Section 205.203 of the NOP Regulatory Text. The Real Organic Project certification standards, however, honor the “legal meaning of the word ‘must.’ In section 205.203 the National Organic Program uses the word ‘must’ because that is what is required by the law (the OFPA). Crop production that is not based on soil may be productive, safe, environmentally sound, etc., but it is not organic.” (realorganicproject.org)

Recipes We’re Loving:

It’s nice to have some homemade winter squash puree on hand during the fall & winter. I like to roast a few pumpkins, mash them into freezable containers, and keep them in my freezer so that when I want to make a loaf of pumpkin bread, cake, batch of cookies, gnocchi, or baked pasta I have some ready to go!

Sugar Pie Pumpkin Jam?! Why not? Give it a try!

With all the beautiful greens available this time of year, it seems a shame to not be eating more salads. Try tossing some cubed or wedged roasted winter squash in your salad (like this one with pomegranates, dates, pistachios, and goat cheese - oh my!).

On the note of winter squash salads, if you really want to mix it up: try it raw! Here’s a great one from Joshua McFadden’s book Six Seasons: Raw Butternut Ribbons with Brown Butter Dressing.