HOW TO BECOME CERTIFIED?
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry is a certifying agency that can certify farms in accordance with the provisions of the National Organic Program and the Oklahoma Organic Products Act. (OK Organic Fact Sheet, Organic 1100 folder). In order to be able to label, represent, and market the produce as organic, there needs to be certification from the National Organic Program.
There is a three year conversion period in order to be granted a full organic status, as there can not be any restricted substances used on the land for the 36 month period prior to the harvest of any product that will be labeled or otherwise represented as organic. Annual inspections are also included in the certification process. Another crucial part of being certified is being able to keep up to dated records. Under the National Organic Standard, each certified organic farm or ranch must have an Organic System Plan (OSP), also referred to as the organic farm systems management plan or the organic production and handling system plan. According to the National Standard, the OSP should include:
· A description of farm practices and procedures to be preformed and the frequency with which they would be performed
· A list of substances to be used as a production or handling input, indicating its composition, source, location where it will be used, and documentation of commercial availability
· A description of the monitoring practices and procedures to be performed and maintained.
· A description of the record keeping system.
· A description of the management practices and physical barriers establish to prevent commingling of organic and conventional products on a spilt operation with prohibited contamination with prohibited substances of organic products as well as the production and handling operations.
· Additional information deemed necessary be the certifying agent to evaluate compliance with the regulations.
It is necessary to complete the OSP at the same time the application for certification is being completed. Another factor needed for the OSP is an accurate map of all farm acreage and production units. A map should typically include the following:
· Consistent scale (Farm Service Agency photo maps may be used)
· Permanent field numbers or names (production bed umbers for intensive operations)
· Buildings, roadways, and similar features
· Hydrologic features: wells, fivers, ponds etc.
· Field boundaries and adjoining land use; that is, conventionally farmed, fallowed, certified, etc.
· Buffer zones
· Contiguous non-crop areas under your ownership or management
Field histories are also required as part of the OSP.
Contamination is also a very important issue for being considered organic. This issue can be solved with isolation, barriers, drainage diversion, posting of property, formal notification, and verification of adjoining land use. (NCAT Blue book)