Blogs & insights
What your certifier asks for, when it is due, and how to have it ready — written for certified organic growers.
On most farms the first record of the day is a message from someone in the field, retyped into a spreadsheet at night and retyped again at renewal. One federal rule and one state rule decide who has to sign it, and it is not the one usually quoted. What the relay can carry, what it cannot, and the one field that goes wrong every time.
7 CFR 205.406 asks for a summary of what changed since last year's plan — and every renewal starts by copying last year's answers forward. The gap between the two is where filings go stale. A checklist of what to re-read, and why a plan that still says “six parcels” reads badly to a reviewer.
A step-by-step guide to documenting every farming event from soil preparation through harvest, so the season is on record when your inspector asks.
In USDA NASS's 2021 Certified Organic Survey, 55% of organic farms named regulatory problems — excessive paperwork/record keeping and certification costs, in the survey's own words — a major challenge, more than any other. Here's what NOP actually requires, the most common mistakes that risk certification, and how digital documentation closes the gap between annual audits.
COG Pro has announced it will end service December 31, 2026. Here's the export checklist, the field-mapping guide, and the vendor questions to ask before your organic records disappear along with the software.
Organic renewal isn't one deadline, it's a six-month sequence from postharvest through spring. A month-by-month calendar of what typically falls due, from OCCSP cost-share to certifier annual updates.
An organic inspection follows a predictable set of questions, not a hidden test. Here's what inspectors actually check, area by area, and the specific record that answers each one.
Renewal deadlines, recordkeeping guides and NOP rule changes, in your inbox monthly.