N. California Farmers Launch
"Organic Plus" Campaign

USA: MARIN COUNTY FARMERS CREATE ORGANIC PLUS
17 August, AFC NewSource
from <www.organicts.com>

Marin County growers, among the first in the nation to produce and market
organic foods, once again have broken new ground. Looking for a way to
distinguish themselves from the growing number of organic competitors, they
have come up with their own Marin Organic labeling program. In addition to
touting the region's 30 year-plus association with organic foods, farmers
see it as a chance to extend the organic movement into new realms.
"We like to call it organic plus," says Sue Conley, co-owner of Tomales Bay
Foods and Cowgirl Creamery.

The tenets of the "organic plus" philosophy go beyond basic avoidance of
pesticides, hormones and chemical fertilizers, practices which distinguished
the first organic farmers from their mainstream counterparts more than three
decades ago. Working with the county government, West Marin farmers are
putting together a certification process, which also takes into account soil
conservation, watershed protection and even fair labor practices. Farms,
ranches and food processors that meet the requirements of the certification
process earn the "Marin Organic" label.

Both the certification process and the "Marin Organic" marketing effort are
reactions to the growing size of the organic foods industry. What began as a
haven for a few hippie farmers has turned into a multi-million dollar
business nationwide. California alone has more than 2,500 registered organic
farms and food processors.

The difference between "certified" and "registered" organic farms is a
subtle but important one in California. Since passage of the Organic Foods
Act of 1990 any California farm that labels its food or farm products as
"organic" must register with the local county. Until recently, however,
county governments did nothing to verify whether farms were indeed using
organic practices. As a result, most grocery store chains require that
California organic farms be certified by local third party certification
firms such as the California Council of Organic Farmers, CCOF, and Oregon
TILTH.

This certification can be an expensive process. The CCOF, for example,
requires that farms pay an up front $200 certification fee and 1/2 of one
percent of total sales for farms that pull in revenues of $20,000 or more.
According to the Stacy Carlsen, Marin County agricultural commissioner, the
Marin Organics project began after a 1998 California state law made it
possible for local counties to perform certification in addition to its
usual farm and crop inspection duties.

"I think they started recognizing that there could be some levels of
efficiency built into it since we already issue the farmer's market
certificates and we do all these other things related to on site
inspection," says Carlsen. "It's just a matter of ratcheting it up one
step."

Ratcheting it up one step also meant raising the bar on what exactly
constitutes organic farming in Marin County. In the course of determining
what criteria to use for the certification process, Marin growers, most of
whom have been working with the office of the agricultural commissioner to
set certification standards, recognized an opportunity to distinguish
locally farming practices from those used by larger organic farms outside
the region. In addition to stressing water and soil conversation ­ two
extremely important locally important issues -- local farmers are also
looking at making fair hiring and living wages for farm workers additional
criteria for Marin County certification.

The ultimate purpose, says Sue Conley, a project co-organizer, is to
emphasize the value of locally grown food in a region where most farms are
family-owned and most food has to be trucked in from hundreds of miles away.
By putting the "Marin Organic" label on local produce, Marin growers
emphasize their commitment not only to organic farming but to local
community values as well.

"We think knowing where the food is grown is just as important as knowing
that the food was organically grown," Conley says. "The consumer should know
what kind of farm it's being grown on, the scale of the farm, and whether or
not it's a local farm."