More Organic Farmers By-pass Certification, Market Direct to Consumers

[nosmokes]

A natural result of the watering down of organic standards and the real meaning of the organic label.
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original-northwestern

Organic farming gaining grounds in the area

By Aldrich M. Tan
of The Northwestern

Omro farmer Tom Wrchota's products could be labeled as organic.

The cattle and lambs at his farm, Cattleana Ranch, are not given hormones or steroids, and are 100 percent grass-fed.

"That is our values," he said. "We knew what was good for the animals and what was good for the environment...It was the right thing to do and the way that we wanted to do our business."

But Wrchota won't say that he has an organic farm — in fact, he can't. That is because Wrchota is one of many small farm owners in Winnebago County who practice organic farming methods, but are not "certified organic" under National Organic Program standards.

And he doesn't need to. Wrchota sells his products directly to customers on the ranch, at select small health food stores, and at the Neenah Farmer's Market where he can tell buyers how he raises his products.

"We have a direct relationship with our consumers so they come here and see what our practices are," he said. "We aren't selling it to a grocery store or to people who do not know who we are."
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complete article here

[Morgana LaFey]

1. I don't blame them. Just say NO! -- no to the fees, no to the

games, no to the degradation of the standards. Soon enough the term "organic" on labels will only mean factory farmed with an eye toward a certain upscale market segment. Bah!

John your local CSA or co-op. Raise your own.

[Karenina]

2. Sausage is a matter of trust.

[nosmokes]

7. sausage is trust? i always kinda figgered it was

denial...:9:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Hmm.

Imagine what would happen if Monsanto tried that.

[nosmokes]

5. if monsanto were to open their doors and their books to public perusal

like these organic producers do then maybe i might start believing what they say. but as long as they only release selected portions of test results or release falsified data of test results and continue to bribe government officials to gain approval for plant trials or just do it illegally then frankly it's not in my best interest to trust them.

[fed-up]

6. monsanto going organic????? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha nt

[SoCalDem]

11. well..don't they make organoPHOSPHATES ??

they will say they have "always" been organic :rofl:

[rucky]

4. Who needs a USDA cert when you can inspect 'em yourself?

:shrug:

[Critters2]

8. There are other, more trustworthy third-party certifiers than the USDA.

I look for these when buying organic. USDA certification means nothing.

[riderinthestorm]

9. We do this. We have a farmstand out by the road and the restaurant we serve, comes out

and has inspected our place. We are completely open about our practices and our farm - anyone can see us at any time.

We haven't opted for the "organic" label since it's a lot of bullshit getting "certified" and it won't bring us any more profit for our small scale operation than we already make.

[formercia]

10. Make a law, make a business

Now, all you have to do is fill out a form and pay a fee to the private contractors that do the certifying.

It's just another way to corrupt the system and put your money in the pockets of politically connected crooks.