RE: Organically certified-another point - very long

[Guest guest]

Hi Martin

 

> Vicky, You have done sone excellent research on the Aus organic

> growing scams and it would be great if you could talk to Chrissie

> Wildwood about what you know.

 

I wouldn't exactly call it research - I merely spoke to a local permie who

is heavily involved in the industry:-)

 

I'm not sure that I'd call it a scam, I think of it more as the state of

play here. The problem is that the certifying bodies set the standards.

 

I've just had a look at website for two of the main certifying bodies here

but while they don't exactly spell out what's required, they give a general

guide.

 

The BFA (Biological Farmers of Australia) requires producers using a land

based system (ie growers using the land to cultivate their crops, as opposed

to landless systems like mushroom growers or aquaculture) to go through a

three stage process which are as follows:

 

Stage 1 (Precertification) - a 12 month that precedes certification for

primary producers, in which the certified organic logo may not be used.

 

Stage 2 (In Conversion) - requires a minimum 12 months verifiable conforming

with the standard, during which stage the " In Conversion " Australian

Certified Organic logo may be used.

 

Stage 3 (Certified Organic) - requires a minimum prior period of usually 3

years of verifiable conforming with the standard, and this stage entitles

producers to use the Australian Certified Organic logo.

 

This information at

<http://www.bfa.com.au/Downloads/Documents/OrganicCertificationHandbook2003.

pdf>

 

Regarding prearraged audits, auditors contact the producer to arrange a

time, where the producer must have records and information ready.

Assessment includes inspecting farm, crops, livestock, animal housing and

storage facilities; talking to owner and employees about how property the is

managed; looking at property records and other documentation regarding how

the property is managed; conducting an audit trail to ensure consistency

between records.

 

Unscheduled audits are also conducted at random on around 5% of operators

each year.

 

There are also some additional requirements for producers wanting to enter

the international market.

 

I just rang one of the certifying bodies to clarify some points about the

certification periods and qualification for certification.

 

Applicants send an application form, then receive a statutory declaration

form (about 15-20 pages).

Precertification period (definitely minimum 12 months - to ensure systems

are in place) can begin from the time the stat dec is completed. Initial

audit can be arranged about 8 weeks after the stat dec received.

Another audit conducted at end of precertification period and to determine

whether in conversion status can be given (minimum three years but can

include the 12 months preconversion period). Soil testing done at

precertification and in conversion stages.

 

The mandatory waiting period is applied regardless of whether a farm has had

chemicals applied freely for the past 20 years, or whether chemicals haven't

been used for many years. The only time this is waived is if the applicant

can prove by documentation that organic methods have been used strictly

during this time. Very difficult if you don't have the exact documentation

requirements.

 

The representative I spoke to is sending me an information kit for growers,

so I might glean some more from that when it arrives.

 

It still seems ridiculous to me that two blocks of land using vastly

different methods must be assessed the same. The woman I spoke to explained

that it's difficult to determine chemical residues simply by soil testing

since so many of the agrichemicals have such a long life (and we know this

from DDT residues that have persisted for decades even after DDT was

banned).

 

Maybe they ought to get some of the funding that's going to the sporting

institutions - they seem to have pretty sophisticated drug testing regimes

that can pick up what's been used and how long ago:-)

 

Some other points regarding Australian organic producers:

 

I spoke at length to a local organic producer about the whole organics issue

about two months ago. He went to great pains to point out to me that it

wasn't just about using chemicals, and that it was as much about processes

in place and whole farm management. He has organic honey and he said it

would have been far more difficult for him to have obtained certification

had it not been for the fact that we live in a dairying district, and there

are no large scale crop farms within his designated bee flying zone (I think

5km from memory).

 

We also have a retired biodynamic farmer in the area who has successfully

converted three different types of farms to biodynamics during his farming

lifetime. He was heavily involved in one of the larger organic associations

many years ago, and it seems that there is much infighting and

politicisation of the processes, which ultimately led to him leaving (I'm

not sure if this was voluntary or forced, but I understand it was soul

destroying and very frustrating for him). And that's all I dare say on that

subject.

 

Another organic producer I know from outside this region let her

certification lapse some years ago. She maintains that her customers know

the integrity of her products and her methods and it was unnecessary, since

she could never meet demand and managed to sell everything she produced

(outside her own immediate needs). She was also a registered certifier with

one of the certifying bodies for some time.

 

Here in the UK we are desperately

> trying to expose similar scams being supported by our own organic

> growers certification bodies.

 

Good luck (sincerely) if that's what you want to achieve:-) Like I

intimated in my last mail on this topic, I have little faith that rules and

regulations really protect consumers overall (with some exceptions) and

sometimes there's another agenda altogether. There are so many examples of

this, even reported in the mainstream media and I'm continually amazed at

the inability for many people to be able to " connect the dots " .

 

The key is being able to buy products from a source you can trust, and the

more local this is, the more likely you'll have that expectation met.

 

One thing we would probably all agree on is that being able to use a

certified organic logo on a product is a great marketing tool. Regardless

of the procedures to obtain certification, in many consumers eyes, if it has

an organic logo on it and they're committed to using organics, they'll pay

more for it.

 

You can get to Chrissie either via me

> and I will pass on your email to her:

> info

> or via her own website www.chrissie-wildwood.com

 

I'm happy for you to pass this and the previous message on to Chrisse, but

in all honesty, I can't get involved in yet another issue. I'm spread far

too thinly on what I'm supposed to be doing and I keep getting involved in

more " projects " and committees in our local area as well as trying to

concentrate on our own business!

 

Vicki