Better Than Organic!

What Does it mean to be "organic" and how does it effect the consumer?

Organic vegetable farmers do not use synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides or synthetic herbicides.  If they do use fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides they approved for use in growing organic produce.  Organic farmers protect the soil and the land, by following sustainable practices like crop rotation, soil amendement and companion planting.  From planting, growing, harvest and post-harvest handling, organic farmers follow certain requirements and practices that some may describe as healthier for the consumer and the earth.

The USDA decided, and with good intentions, that the organic industry should be regulated so that there was in fact a rule to follow, the National Organic Plan (NOP), and that those claiming to be organic actually were organic.  So the USDA took over the word "organic" and any producer wishing to advertise their product as "organic" had to be certified.

This is not unlike most industries, and being certified has its benefits.  The best thing about being certified is that you can use the word "organic."  Of course, if you are not certified, you cannot use the word "organic" which raises a problem for many farmers.  If you follow the NOP, as we do here at Mad Hatter, but you are not certified, how do you explain to people what you do?

At Mad Hatter Farm, we do not use synthetic fertilizers or herbicides.  We are Pesticide-Free! (that's above and beyond the NOP)  We have signed the Farmer's Pledge through CT NOFA (Connecticut chapter of Norhteast Organic Farming Association) which says we pledge to farm in a manner in keeping with "organic" practices.  We are sustainable, we are local, we like locavores, we like slow food, we like good food!  Did the USDA have to take the word "organic?"  Couldn't they have made up some other word for their needs?

Mad Hatter Farm will pursue organic certification in 2010.  We cannot become certified any earlier because we cannot provide a 3-year land history for our property.  We purchased the land in 2007, from a widow who speaks little english and lives in Germany.  For certification, we need proof, as in a signed letter, stating that no syntheitc chemicals have been used on the property in the past three years.  After several attempts, we find our German widow to be unresponsive, and thus certification is on hold until we ourselves have been on the property for three years.  So we can't say that we are "organic" because we are not certified. 

But are we organic?  We are better than organic!  We follow the NOP, we follow the Farmer's Pledge, which some say takes organics more seriously than the NOP, we do not use synthetics and we are pesticide-free.  All our produce is grown from certified organic seed, fertilized with certified organic fertilizer and compost, and treated with tender loving care.

If you want to know more about organic farming and how to know if what you are buying is grown in a sustainable manner, ask your farmer.  Whenever possible, buy organic, buy local, buy sustainable.