but, DONT sell or market your organic products without them being first listed on your organic certificate!
Many farmers are entering the harvest period of their year and are ready to start selling their commodities. Farmers can start the process of producing organic products by planting, providing for fertility and pest, weed, and disease control, and harvesting, but don’t begin selling or marketing your products as “organic” until you become certified or it is listed on your organic certificate. Selling organic products without a certificate does damage to those farms and businesses who have taken the appropriate steps to verify their compliance with the organic laws.
The USDA levels steep civil penalties–up to $18, 951 per violation–against businesses who sell or market goods without first seeking organic certification. That’s why it’s important to be aware of the organic standards and to get certified before selling or marketing anything as organic by taking the steps listed below. Of course, it’s always a good first step to familiarize yourself with the organic standards, you can find them here:
How do I get my crops
certified to sell as organic?
If you are new to organic certification, head to our website and download a certification packet that is applicable to your scope (crops, livestock, wild crops).
Renewing clients should submit the below information to OneCert with their annual renewal packet:
- Seed List with type, status of seed, name of seed, source, if treated, and amount
- Organic Seed Search form for use of nonorganic seed
- Annual Field Plan or Field History form with location of crop
- Any other form requested by OneCert
We realize that plans do change so, if you run into issues and need to update your crops please submit updated forms to OneCert at least 3 months prior to the harvest of your crop to ensure you have an updated organic certificate on hand.
Once your crop is certified you should maintain all recordkeeping documentation to provide a clear traceability audit by your certification agency and your buyer. Records to maintain can include field activity documentation, input application records, equipment cleanout, clean truck, storage in/out, BOLs, your organic certificate, etc. Note that your current organic certificate is valid until surrendered, suspended, or revoked. Your buyer can accept your current certificate with updated crop listing or a copy of your listing from the National Organic Programs Organic Integrity Database (OID). If you need assistance navigating the OID, please contact OneCert.