Spring 2002 - The Food Issue

Regulating the Revolution
by Cate Weisweaver
Photos by Katie Kulla

Clear skies allow the warm spring sun to pull young plants up through dark rich soil. Soft breezes mix the smell of warm earth and tender tomato-plant shoots. People bustle from the farm store to the greenhouse to answer a ringing phone to take another order for a local market.

For organic farmers, this spring is a time to plant and harvest — and prepare for new standards. The federal government initiated new organic-certification regulations on April 21, 2001, which organic farmers must fully comply with by Oct. 21, 2002.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program created an organic certification standard for the entire nation. The new regulations require that a third party, either a Washington state agency or private certifier, prove that the farmer did not use synthetic chemicals while growing, handling or processing the food before it is certified organic.

For Washington state these changes are not drastic.

“In a lot of ways Washington state standards have been used as a model for the national standards,” said Miles McEvoy, director of the Organic Program of Washington state. “For the most part the standards are identical.”

While the standards are almost identical, the quantity of paperwork increased.

“The amount of documentation is a disservice to small growers,” said Mike Finger, an organic farmer.

McEvoy said he wants to find a way to make the process less difficult for local farmers who sell to local markets.

The new regulation allows farmers who sell less than $5,000 worth of organic goods each year, to label their food organic without going through certification, helping new organic farms get started. Small farmers, however, often sell much more that $5,000 worth of produce each year, and the certification process has some worried.

Farmers must submit a lengthy Organic Systems Plan, which details everything from soil conditions to compost application schedules. While the extra paperwork is easy for larger farms to handle, smaller farms often don’t have the spare time.

Finger said he only went through the process this year because he wanted his produce to carry the organic label for economic reasons. He said his success or failure this year will determine if he renews his certification in 2003.

“I don’t feel a great need for certification,” Finger said. “I feel the relationship I have with my customers is better than any certification. It’s called trust.”

Many small farmers around Bellingham already make their methods known to their customers but, because the new regulation gives power to the federal government, some farmers worry they won’t be able to have a say in new regulations.

“The national standardizing of organic produce seems like a good idea,” Finger said, “but it weakens the voice of smaller farms which once had a stronger say at the state level.”

Agribusiness tried to make irradiation, genetically modified seeds and sludge acceptable in organic farming four years ago, he said. With federalization, another push for these types of policies may have more of a chance because of big business’ influence.

Some of his fears may never be realized, but farmers have more immediate concerns this season. Issues such as cover crops, seeds, composted manure and pests consume the daily thoughts of the average farmer. For each issue, organic farmers must consider every choice’s consequence.

Some policies are harder to comply with than others. Since organic seed supply is a small industry, there is not enough certified seed for every organic farmer, Finger said.

Under the new regulations, farmers can use some non-organic seed, but only after showing they attempted to obtain organic-certified seed. The seed, however, cannot be exposed to anti-fungal chemicals or hormones.

A farmer’s cover crops, which maintain the soil’s nutrients and level of organic matter when the land is not in use, must also come from untreated seed.

The new standards also heavily regulate fertilizer. Farmers often have a compost pile of dairy manure they allow to decompose over a year or so. Professional compost suppliers use equipment to measure carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, temperature and bacterial levels in compost.

Now, an organic farm’s composted fertilizer must have a carbon and nitrogen ratio between 20-parts carbon to one-part nitrogen and 40-parts carbon to one-part nitrogen. This balance of carbon ensures enough heat in the pile to kill the bacteria and the low nitrogen level is to prevent evaporation. Unless farmers meet these standards, they may not be able to fertilize their crops for as long as three months before harvest.

“The required process verges on farmers being professional compost makers,” Finger said. “This just means I will not be using fertilizer this year. I’ve been using composted manure for years and never had a problem.”

Junior Cate Weisweaver studies journalism at Western. This is her first published piece.

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