With support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program, Oregon Tilth developed a series of farmer-to-farmer case studies on best practices in recordkeeping. The records of a certified organic farm’s operations and activities demonstrate where promise and practice meet for an inspector and certifier. An annual mandatory inspection examines the integrity and accountability an organic operation, from pest management to soil conditions to contamination prevention and more. Learn about recordkeeping from the inside look at different recordkeeping systems from four different farms.
An inside look at
Leibfried
Farm
Owner and operator of Leibfried Farm, Aaron, and his staff use a
system of calendars to track most records and create an on-farm
timetable of activities. “Everyone is responsible for logging specific
actions such as harvest yields, locations, inventory levels and ration
amounts into individual pocket calendars or posted wall calendars,”
explains Aaron. “I then copy all the information from staff calendars
into one of the farm’s two master calendars — one for animal and feed
records and the other for field records.”
com pon en ts of A recordk ee pi n g syste m:
Documents
records received from
others, such as receipts,
product labels,
invoices, certificates,
and
Data
Records that
log production
activities, including
dates, locations,
quantities, etc.
affidavits, etc.
Recordkeeping Case Study: Documenting Ruminant Livestock Feed
O r g a n i c R u m i n a n t L i v e s t o c k F e e d Au d i t
The USDA National Organic
Program requires that organic
livestock feed consist of certified
organic agricultural products. Feed
rations may also include allowed
feed additives and supplements.
As part of the organic inspection,
the inspector will conduct a feed
audit of at least one feed ration
or component of a ration fed to a
specific group of animals during
a specific timeframe (e.g. the bred
heifers during the non-grazing
season) to ensure compliance. The
inspector will examine feed records
to verify what and how much was
fed to the selected group during that
time. The farmer must demonstrate
that the amount of feed consumed
matches the amount that was
available, as determined by harvest
yield records (for feed grown onfarm) and/or receipts and weight
tags (for purchased feed).
OR
Aug
Feed Log
2015
L e i b f r i e d Fa r m – W i s c o n s i n
M O N D AY
1
T U E S D AY
2
Inputs
Harvest Field 1: Includes compost,
minerals and
Hay (44 Bales),
Stored in Barn A amendments added
directly to the soil
W E D N E S D AY
3
Feed Purchase:
Corn Silage (1 ton),
Stored in Silo A
How Leibfried Farm
Prepares for a
Sample Feed
Audit Records
ACTIvity:
Follow organic
system plan (OSP)
Livestock
Feed Audit
track
Documents:
Purchase receipt with date + volume
Label/ingredient type
Organic certificate
Certifier approval for supplements/additives
Transport documentation
DATA:
Storage location
documents:
Current OSP
Ration formulations + amounts (lbs. fed)
Dry matter demand (DMD) calculations
Individual supplements + additives
(Report any changes to certifier)
Feed records should reflect all
activities surrounding your livestock
nutrition
program,
including
harvesting feed, grazing livestock,
purchases of concentrates, forages,
and feed additives/supplements,
as well as your current ration.
Organizing this information along
with your other production records
keeps the documentation in one
place for ease of access.
feed Records
Review records before inspection
to ensure they are complete, and
tally up figures the inspector might
need, such as total tons of hay
harvested that year, or estimates
of dry matter intake (DMI) from
pasture during the grazing season.
USDA Documentation Forms for Livestock Producers (free pdf download)
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=358
GET CONNECTED
W W W. TI LTH . O R G
ACTIvity:
Last day of grazing season
(off pasture)
change in feed ration/
plan- new ingredients
DATA:
Harvest date
Field harvested
Crop yield
Storage location
calculate
Resources:
Data:
Date
Updated formulation
Ingredients of
new components
ACTIvity:
Purchase Feed,
Supplements/additives
feed records
Always track harvest yields for
all feed crops, measured in either
number of bins, bales or total
weight. Be sure to document yields
and the field of origin in your
calendar, harvest spreadsheet or
directly on the storage container
with the date. Also save weigh tags
for review during your inspection.
harvest feed
crops
ACTIvity:
Organize
feed harvest
ACTIvity:
Documents:
Certifier approval for supplements/additives
Transport documentation
DATA:
Date
Animal group
Change to winter ration
Amount of feed available
Save
feed Records
Since a feed audit can evaluate
activities that occur over two or
more calendar years, be sure to
have previous years’ calendars
accessible during an inspection.
The USDA organic standard
requires that you to keep your
records for a minimum of 5 years.
This product was developed with support from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural
Marketing Service, National Organic Program.
(5 0 3 )3 7 8 – 0 6 9 0
@O R E G ON T I LT H
All Regions
PDF
4017, 4017, OT_RecordKeepingSeries_Feed_2016.pdf, OT_RecordKeepingSeries_Feed_2016.pdf, 1307646, https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/OT_RecordKeepingSeries_Feed_2016.pdf, https://cms.organictransition.org/resource/recordkeeping-case-study-documenting-ruminant-livestock-feed/ot_recordkeepingseries_feed_2016-pdf/, , 1, , , ot_recordkeepingseries_feed_2016-pdf, inherit, 4016, 2024-01-08 08:10:18, 2024-01-08 08:10:18, 0, application/pdf, application, pdf, https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-includes/images/media/document.png
2016