Nicole Dehne, Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF) Certification Director, shares an overview of the organic certification process.
Resources Category: Organic Crop Certification
Transitional Production Plan
A Transitional Production Plan (TPP) is a tool for producers transitioning to organic and looking to get certified organic. The TPP prepares producers for organic certification and helps producers develop an organic management plan for the transition period. A completed TPP can be reviewed and signed by a USDA accredited certifier and can be used… Continue reading Transitional Production Plan
To Certify or Not to Certify Webinar
Mark Keating, who has been working in organic, local, and sustainable agriculture since 1988, answers your questions about organic certification. He began his career working as a farm laborer and food processing technician, and has spent stretches working in cooperative extension, state and federal civil service, academia and journalism. He worked for the USDA National… Continue reading To Certify or Not to Certify Webinar
4 Common Mistakes by First Time Organic Growers
The article covers a few common mistakes that the NOFA/Mass Organic Certification Technical Assistance Provider often sees on first-time applications for organic certification.
Bite by Bite: Organic Certification Made Simple
In this multi-part video series, farmers discuss their firsthand experiences with obtaining organic certification—and why they decided to pursue it. Small video segments show viewers how the USDA organic regulations translate to practices on the ground by following a direct market farmer on his journey through the organic certification process. The video also provides a… Continue reading Bite by Bite: Organic Certification Made Simple
Organic Sound and Sensible Resources: Understanding the Rules, Certification, and Inspections
USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) has put together a resource hub of guides, videos, and other tools that help farms and businesses understand the USDA organic standards, certification process, and inspections in more depth. In this hub of resources is the Sound and Sensible resources, a series of short videos that help to explain the… Continue reading Organic Sound and Sensible Resources: Understanding the Rules, Certification, and Inspections
Evaluating Organic Transitions at the Field Level
This publication provides information on making plans to transition to organic crop production. It helps outline the need for a transition crop plan, the importance of individual crop budgets, and evaluating results.
Making the Transition from Conventional to Organic
Farming organically allows producers to incur many economic and social advantages compared to farming conventionally. Understanding and planning the economic returns of the transition process can aid the producer in planning and in becoming organically certified.
Iowa State University Extension Fundamentals of Organic Agriculture
Detailed information on organic agriculture including history, legalities and logistics, labeling, marketing, and pest and weed management. Includes two field examples on organic soybean and apple production.
National Organic Farming Handbook
The USDA National Organic Farming Handbook