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
C-R VIEW
DAIRY Farm
Each year as winter blankets C-R View Dairy Farm, the Westabys
sit down and analyze the seed catalogue that they receive in the
mail. They look for a mix of cover crop and forage seeds that
will both promote good soil fertility and meet their animals’
nutritional needs over the upcoming year. Theresa and Delmar
always try to source certified organic seed, however, maintaining
healthy soil with a diverse cover crop rotation sometimes requires
that they source seed varieties that aren’t available as certified
organic in the quantities they need.
Recordkeeping Case Study: Seed Search Documentation & History
Understanding the Organic Seed Sourcing Process
The USDA’s organic regulations provide
“commercial
availability
require farmers to use certified organic forms” for growers to use, C-R View
seeds and planting stock. However, has their own form for keeping their
the regulations do allow an exception seed records. “When we learn—after
for using untreated, non-organic searching multiple seed sources—that
seed and planting stock if a certified what we want to grow isn’t available
organic equivalent is not commercially organically, we immediately write it
available in the appropriate form, down on our form. This way we have
quantity or quality. Non-organic seed the search documentation all in one
can be used only when a grower place, including what we searched for,
provides adequate documentation why it wasn’t available, and the nonof a search of at least three different certified product that we ended up
sources without finding an organic ordering instead.”
equivalent. While some certifiers
Seed Search
Mar. 3
2015
C-R View dairy Farm – Illinois
Va r i e t y
Reason
Supplier
Reason
Sudan Special
Blend BMR
Sorg X Sudan
Wanted a
Brown Mid-Rib
Sorghum
Sudan Cross
Company A
Company B
Company C
Was not
available organic
Organic
BMRSS sold out
at Company C
C-r View Dairy Farm’s
Best Practices for
seed sourcing
Documentation
document
the search
Documenting the date of your
seed availability search, suppliers
contacted and communication
history (emails, phone call logs,
etc.) is vital information for your
inspection. It must be presented
for
any
non-organic
seed
planted, even if you are using
seed previously documented as
commercially unavailable from
the previous year.
The USDA states that non-organic, untreated seed is
permitted for use only if organic seed of an equivalent variety
is unavailable in “appropriate form, quality or quantity.”
A ppr o pr iat e for m, q ua l it y a nd quan t i t y i n clu d es :
Form
seed size and
treatment
Organize
Request
your records
Save and organize all of your
receipts, labels and packets of both
certified and non-certified seeds
for the past five years. Purchase
records should be easily accessible
during your inspection. In addition,
have your commercial availability
search documentation available
for all non-organic seed used.
a statement
Request a supplier statement for
all non-certified organic seeds,
affirming the seeds are non- GMO
(if a GMO version is commercially
available), and are not treated with
prohibited substances.
Resources:
AOSCA Organic Seed Finder: http://www.organicseedfinder.org
Pick-a-Carrot Seed Search: http://www.pickacarrot.com
GET CO NNECTED
W W W. TI LTH . O R G
Quality
germination
rate and days to
maturity
Quantity
Organic
availability does
not match need
Create
your System
C-R View Dairy Farm uses a record
keeping system that prints seed
receipts and writes the quantity
of seed purchased directly on
the receipts. They also request
supplier statements before making
purchases and store the statements
and receipts separately from
organic seed receipts so they are
quickly accessible.
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
4021, 4021, OT_RecordKeepingSeries_Seed_2016.pdf, OT_RecordKeepingSeries_Seed_2016.pdf, 1171471, https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/OT_RecordKeepingSeries_Seed_2016.pdf, https://cms.organictransition.org/resource/recordkeeping-case-study-seed-search-documentation-and-history/ot_recordkeepingseries_seed_2016-pdf/, , 1, , , ot_recordkeepingseries_seed_2016-pdf, inherit, 4020, 2024-01-08 08:10:22, 2024-01-08 08:10:22, 0, application/pdf, application, pdf, https://cms.organictransition.org/wp-includes/images/media/document.png
2016