Organic Certification

We started our application for organic certification in November, and we have just recently sent off our last soil sample results. We were really encouraged by the whole process; it was rigorous and thorough, and the Verification Officer was unbiased but helpful. It's good to see certification is not simply jumping through hoops, but rather a thoughtful planning and verification process, so it feels like its a certification we can stand behind and be proud of... The whole process included making detailed maps of our farm, a concise soil input plan, a crop rotation plan, statements from the land owners, observations of neighbour's agricultural activities, soil samples, a visit from a verification officer and a lot more. Our land has not been sprayed in over 5 years, so we are hoping that the certifying body will grant us the 1 year waiting period for full organic certification, rather than the 3 year wait. But while we will be transitional organic until the waiting period is up, we will still be using 100% organic methods. Once we get full certification we can start calling ourselves "Ice Cap Organics"! That'll be great, we're really stoked on the certification and what it stands for, but we also think farming the organic way is the only way to do it, regardless of certification, so really it's a part of our belief system. We couldn't imagine starting a food farm knowing what we know, in this day and age, and not doing it organically...