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
jacob’s
Farm
Jacob’s Farm in Freedom, California, specializes in growing over 30 varieties of
culinary herbs year-round. The farm’s production cycle is different from classic
crop farm operations; they may plant up to 25 successions of a single variety in
multiple farm locations over the course of a year. “Activities that occur only
during specific seasons on other farms – like planting and harvesting – we
do multiple times a day,” says Brenden, director of farming operations. With
multiple staff responsible for reporting different records for each succession,
the farm compartmentalizes their recordkeeping system. Each succession is
broken into steps (planting, growing, harvest, and post harvest), with each step
having its own set of activities and records.
com pon en ts OF A Recordke e pi n g syste M:
Documents
records received
from others such as
Receipts, package labels,
invoices, certificates,
Data
Records that
log production
activities, including
dates, locations,
and
quantities, etc.
affidavits, etc.
Recordkeeping Case Study: Keeping Records for a Crop Audit
OR
C r o p Au d i t T r a i l : R e c o u n t i n g a C r o p ’ s “ S t o ry ”
Organic inspectors are required
to conduct at least one complete
crop audit at each inspection.
An audit trail is a recordkeeping
system by which a crop may be
traced from field to storage to
sale. This includes verification of
acceptable organic management
practices, inputs and products
that were used at every point
along the way. In short, it tells
the “story” of a crop’s lifecycle.
Oregon Tilth organic inspector,
Andrew Black, maintains that an
organic farmer should always try
to create a recordkeeping system
with this in mind. A good start
is outlining all activities for each
crop and then creating an ordered
list of what records provide
verifiable accounting of sound
organic practices at every point
of the crop’s story.
Harvest Log
2015
J ac o b ’ s Fa r m – C a l i f o r n i a
D at e
Crop
Field
Harvest
1/2/15
BASIL
3
400 lbs
1/2/15
SAGE
3
50 lbs.
1/5/15
1/5/15
Inputs
Includes compost,
minerals and
MINT
5
amendments added
directly to the soil
THYME
3
50 lbs.
100lbs.
Jacob’s Farm
Best practices for
Sample Crop
Audit Records
ACTIVITY:
Develop
your Procedure
Jacob’s Farm uses a free online
program where records can be
uploaded, viewed and updated by
any staff member. If using paper
records, journals and forms may
be strategically placed around
the farm to make it convenient
for staff to log and access records
quickly.
DATA TO LOG:
Date, location &
amount
BUY SEED
recordkeeping
Systems
DATA TO LOG:
Date & location
ACTIVITY:
ACTIVITY:
HARVEST/sale
TRANSPLANT
ACTIVITY:
ACTIVITY:
WEED FIELD
SOW SEED
DATA TO LOG:
Purchase date
DATA TO LOG:
Date, location &
amount
DATA TO LOG:
Date, location &
amount
documents:
Seed package
Receipt/label
documents:
Planting log
documents:
Sale receipt / purchase order
Transportation documents
Create
Work
your System
Standardize your recordkeeping
forms for all crops. “Standardized
forms with clear instructions on
how to record information ensures
that regardless of how many
crops you have, or the number of
staff that are keeping records, all
records will be kept the same way,”
says Brenden.
with your Team
Create a job description that gives
equal weight to recordkeeping
as other farm tasks to help
develop a sense of ownership
over
documentation
duties.
Conduct trainings and promote
a culture that incentivizes good
recordkeeping habits.
Resources:
USDA Documentation Forms for Crop Producers (free pdf download)
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=358
GET CO NNECTED
documents:
Cleaning log
Activity log
documents:
Potting mix
Receipt/ label
W W W. TI LTH . O R G
Review
your Records
Check your recordkeeping system
to account for all steps of an audit.
When creating recordkeeping
templates or forms, double check
that all critical information is
collected. See the infographic
above for more information on
what records to keep for a crop
audit.
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 RE G ON T I LT H
All Regions
PDF
4015, 4015, OT_RecordKeepingSeries_CropAudit_2016.pdf, OT_RecordKeepingSeries_CropAudit_2016.pdf, 856620, https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/OT_RecordKeepingSeries_CropAudit_2016.pdf, https://cms.organictransition.org/resource/recordkeeping-case-study-keeping-records-for-a-crop-audit/ot_recordkeepingseries_cropaudit_2016-pdf/, , 1, , , ot_recordkeepingseries_cropaudit_2016-pdf, inherit, 4014, 2024-01-08 08:10:16, 2024-01-08 08:10:16, 0, application/pdf, application, pdf, https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-includes/images/media/document.png
2016