"America is hungry for food that comes from the family farm just down the road, not from the other side of the country or the world."
~George DeVault
Emmaus, PA
Certification is a choice
Growers who sell most of their crops directly to the end consumer—via a farm stand, farmers market or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)—may consider organic certification unnecessary because their customers know them and trust their farming practices. Keep in mind, however, that if you intend to sell any of your product through a third party—such as a grocery retailer—certification is imperative to ensure customer confidence (and a grocer can't label your product as "organic" unless it is certified). One of the strongest arguments for uniform federal organic standards was that consumers would be able to rest assured that "organic" meant something specific. A federal standard also makes organic interstate commerce a lot less of a headache.
Building community through organic farming
Besides health and nutrition concerns, a growing number of Americans are placing both the environment and their community at the top of their priority list these days. We now know that organic farming is better for the water we drink and bathe in, the air we breathe, and all the plants and animals of the earth, including ourselves. There's mounting evidence that the nutritional content of organically raised food can be higher than that of foods raised non- organically.
Organic is better for our communities, too. Downtown farmers markets
"build commerce, culture and community," according to an article by the
Michigan Land Use Institute. Many of these markets are "producer only"—you
can sell there only if you grew it or made it—and an increasing percentage of
the vendors are organic. Here community members meet face to face with
each other and with the farmers who grow their food. Pickup at a local farm or
roadside farm stand also offers this personal touch. More grocery stores are
offering local and organic produce and will sometimes put the name of the
farm or a picture of the farmer next to the product as a marketing tactic.
Why? Because retailers know that customers want food "with a story" and
are willing to pay a premium for it.