Organic Certification: The Trace Back Audit

By Porter Mitchell  

Porter Mitchell is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.

For many fruit, vegetable, and row crop farmers, the records check is the most daunting part of an organic certification inspection. During an inspection, your inspector will review your records. They will perform what is called a “trace back audit,” which some certifiers call a “mass audit.” If they are not able to complete the audit, you may not be able to be certified. But never fear! The trace back audit is not as overwhelming as it seems, and if you keep decent records you’ll be able to pass with flying colors! 

What is a trace back audit?  

A trace back audit is a required component of the organic inspection process. The audit is designed to help prevent fraud and keep the integrity of the National Organic Program. During a trace back audit, your inspector will trace a product from when it left the farm all the way back to when you planted seeds or purchased transplants.  

Your inspector will look at your sales records and pick a crop. Let’s say they pick 20 lbs of arugula you sold during a farmers market. You and the inspector will trace the crop all the way back to seed purchasing and will check your records for each step. Here’s an example of how the process could go: 

Do I need to keep digital or paper records?                                              

Although digital records might be more searchable, paper records are perfectly acceptable and many certified organic farmers use them. Records don’t always have to be written either—photos taken with your phone in the field can be great records, especially since your phone will automatically record the date. 

How long do I have to find a record during the audit?  

Ideally, you would have your records prepared and ready to look through before your inspector arrives—however, you know things aren’t always ideal and your inspector knows too! The National Organic Program rules say you must be able to find your records in a “reasonable” amount of time. What’s considered “reasonable” varies, but a good rule of thumb is about 30 minutes. 

What if the organic inspector can’t complete the trace-back audit?  

Never fear! Your inspector will just move on and try to conduct a trace-back audit on a different product or from another time period. Although the number of attempts varies from certifier to certifier, many inspectors will typically try to conduct three different audits and will record the most complete one. 

If the inspector can’t complete an audit on any product, a few things may happen. Keep in mind, each farm, situation, certifier, and inspector are different, so don’t take the following information as a guarantee. Like most things in farming, the answer is “it depends!” 

If your inspector can’t complete a trace-back audit, they may: 

• Ask you to send the missing record as a follow-up if you need more time to find the record.  

• Put a note on your file that you were not compliant to the National Organic Program standard of record keeping and check that you improve your records for next year’s inspection 

IMPORTANT!  

Keep in mind that your inspector CANNOT approve or deny your request for certification. They simply report what they see during the inspection to the certifier. If the certifier decides your records are not adequate to prove that you are following the National Organic Program rules (called “in compliance”) they may deny your request for certification.  

How long do I have to find a record during the audit?  

Ideally, you would have your records prepared and ready to look through before your inspector arrives—however, you know things aren’t always ideal and your inspector knows this! The National Organic Program rules say you must be able to find your records in a “reasonable” amount of time. What’s considered “reasonable” varies, but a good rule of thumb is 30 minutes.

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow them on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Welcome, 2021-2022 Accelerator Farmer Cohort!

Written by Kayla Williams

Kayla Williams is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.

When a small-scale independent farmer sets out to run their own operation, there are typically several barriers to them running a successful business, having a good work-life balance, and ensuring that the plants/animals are being taken care of. Farmers suddenly become soil scientists, bookkeepers, a marketing agency, the human resources department, food safety specialists and so much more. More often than not, farmers do not get access to a support system that addresses the specific challenges they face. They are often isolated in rural places with little time to rest, nurture their mental health, pay all the various bills that pile up, and fix equipment that keeps breaking.

The Georgia Organics Farmer Services team supports farmer members in a variety of ways: providing emergency relief funds, assisting farmers to get access to free healthcare, facilitating networking opportunities for farmers to build community, hosting technical workshops, subsidizing fees for the USDA Organic Certification process and the Accelerator program.

Michael Wall, the director of Farmer Services, designed the Accelerator program with “going an inch wide and a mile deep” in mind. Although the program only accepts ten farmers per year, the case managers form deep relationships with the cohort through monthly check-ins and periodic check-ins after the year-long program is up. In addition to accessing this Georgia Organics support system, the farmers have the opportunity to get to know other cohort members and professional consultants, hopefully forming connections beyond Georgia Organics and their time in the program.

In spring 2021, the Georgia Organics Farmer Services team accepted the second Accelerator cohort. The ten cohort members were chosen from a pool of approximately sixty Georgia farmers who applied for the Accelerator program. The year-long program begins with the cohort members getting matched up with a Farmer Services staff member, which will serve as their case manager. Afterward, an intake process is conducted to determine the cohort farms’ key needs, opportunities and challenges. Through coaching with farm experts, conversations with their case managers, and research, the farms can spend up to $9650 on their operation. With approval from the consultants and case managers, farmers have chosen to spend this investment capital on everything from compost to tractor implements, automatic greenhouse watering systems, and tarps. In reality, many investments change a farm’s ability to be successful.

Speaking of success, the Farmer Services team hopes to move towards understanding what it looks like for a farm to be successful through the Accelerator program’s data collection before, during, and after the farm is a part of the program. From a stress assessment to the farms’ revenue and surveys on how the infrastructure investments have benefitted the farmers’ (physically? mentally? time-saving?), the Farmer Services team is interested in ensuring that this program is as effective and impactful as possible. A member from the 2020-2021 Accelerator cohort said during their exit interview, “For us, it did exactly what it set out to do. It gave us an acceleration… You learn so much about specific things you need help but don't spend your money on…We felt so fortunate to be benefactors of the Accelerator program.”

Without further delay, please give a warm welcome to our 2021-2022 Accelerator Cohort!

Bread and Butter Farm in Monroe, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Bread and Butter Farm courtesy of Kayla Williams

Bugg Farm in Pine Mountain, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Chattahoochee Queen in Atlanta, GA follow them on Instagram

Chattahoochee Queen courtesy of Kayla Williams

Heritage Farm on Sapelo Island, GA Learn more in this article

Ladybird Farm in Hull, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Ladybird Farm courtesy of Kayla Williams

Levity Farms in Madison, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Rag and Frass Farm in Jeffersonville, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Starlit Roots Farm in Keyesville, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Sunbird Flowers in Lithonia, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Sunbird Flowers courtesy of Sunbird Flowers

Vesterfield Farms in Cochran, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook

Stay tuned for a deeper dive with each farm over the next several months. Stay in touch with Georgia Organics on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics

The True Cost of Local Small-Scale Poultry

By Kayla Williams, Georgia Organics Farmer Services Coordinator 

A craving for chicken parmesan hits you. You plan to make the sauce with the delicious tomatoes you picked up at your local farmers’ market but ponder where to get your chicken. Sure, you could grab some chicken raised in Georgia and labeled as American Humane Association Certified Humanely Raised (Certified Humane), from a nearby grocery store.   

What does Certified Humane really mean though? Consumer Reports defined the label as meaning that “the animal was raised on a farm and slaughtered in a slaughterhouse that met the organization's "core criteria." These criteria include meeting basic needs, such as food and fresh water; providing care for sick and injured animals; and humane treatment on the farm, and during transport and slaughter.”

It’s a good start, but the label doesn’t require that the chicken’s natural inclinations like roaming free in a pasture is met, and the farm only needs to meet 85% of the requirements, although customers are not given the privilege of knowing which 85% of requirements are being met versus not met.  

Pasture raised chicken is typically difficult to find in a typical supermarket but it’s easy to check with the poultry farmers at your local farmers’ market. Pasture raised means exactly that – the chickens are raised in a pasture, and frequently moved (sometimes daily, sometimes weekly) to another part of a field to eat bugs and fertilize the land with manure for future healthy crops to grow on (you can harvest crops 90 days after manure has been applied to the field).  

Now, imagine a world in which you didn’t have to look up a label, didn’t have to guess about the kind of environment that those chickens were being raised in and knew exactly where your money was going. That world does exist, even within Georgia! The price may be higher than what you’ll find at your local supermarket and it may be a bit more labor on your end to find that local chicken, but there are some really good reasons why that price is higher.  

The current Georgia Department of Agriculture’s poultry processing rules favor the large producers, stating that only farms that raise less than 1,000 birds can process on the farm. This means that if you raise more than 1,000 birds per year, you need to use an off-farm processor.

Gabriel Jimenez of Caribe United Farm

As Gabriel Jimenez of Caribe United Farm put it, “Finding a good processor is like finding a good mechanic. It requires a lot of trust, because I love and care about my animals and when I give them to the processor for them to finish, I have to trust that they are going to treat them with the same love and care.”  

Melissa Nisbet of Four Bellies Farm in Bowdon, Georgia generally books with a Kentucky-based processor, a five-hour drive from the farm, one full year in advance to ensure she can get her batch processed. The Kentucky processor had a labor shortage due to COVID-19 which has been common for processors across the country which gave Melissa the impetus to find another processor as a backup plan. She has also used a processor in Sylacauga, Alabama, just an hour and a half away.  

Four Bellies Farm

When I spoke to Melissa on the phone recently, her husband and business partner, Avery Nisbet, had just driven the batch to be processed in Alabama the previous evening. A few days later, he’ll go get the processed meat and trailer that he left there. That’s six hours of driving back and forth, which is notably less than the roundtrip to their former processor in Kentucky but still a significant amount of time in a farmer’s week! Gas, time, and processing fees add up. To process the approximately 580 chickens (including some getting cut up, some getting turned into sausage, as well as additional processing for feet, livers and hearts), Melissa expects they’ll spend approximately $4000 at the processor.  

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Until recently, there were no USDA-inspected poultry processing facilities open to small scale producers. In spring of 2021, Shaun Terry of Grateful Pastures Farm, Georgia’s only local pasture raised certified-organic chicken producer, partnered with a nearby deer processing facility in Loganville, GA to open Atlanta Poultry Processing and began filling the void for small-scale poultry producers in Georgia. 

Shaun Terry and Beth Johnson

The first year Shaun started farming, he tried to process 100 birds on the farm. It took him a week to process 70 birds and after that, he decided he’d process off farm. Finding a reliable processing facility in quality, availability and convenience was always a difficulty for Shaun until he took matters into his own hands. After renting storage freezer space at one of Beth Johnson’s deer processing facilities several years prior, Shaun and Beth decided to open a poultry processing facility within the deer processing facility. He noted that having Beth’s processing wisdom, combined with the knowledge of Shaun’s former processor in Kentucky (the same that Four Bellies Farm used to use) made it possible for the Atlanta Poultry Processing facility to start up quickly.  

Atlanta Poultry Processing

Folks who work with Shaun and Beth have ranged from beginning farmers coming from all over Georgia and the surrounding states with less than fifty birds up to 600 bird batches, the size of Grateful Pastures’ typical batches. When asked if creating a facility closer to home changed retail-prices, Shaun replied “No, in fact my processing costs have gone up.” The Kentucky-based processor is part of the Mennonite community so labor is cheaper, making the price per bird less than what Atlanta Poultry Processing can charge to keep themselves afloat. 

Want to get in touch with Shaun and Beth? Email atlantapoultryprocessing@gmail.com.  

The price of feed adds to the retail cost of local poultry as well. For a little perspective, Four Bellies needs more feed every 5-6 weeks (Freedom Ranger chickens need about 9-11 weeks to mature to full size). They buy 5 tons of non-GMO soy-free feed for their flock and most recently, it cost them $569/ton including a delivery fee. This feed goes towards both the mature chickens (who went to the processor in Alabama) and the chicks in the brooder (who will move to the tractor in a few weeks). The chicks eat a lot less than the more mature chickens so it’s hard to say exactly how much feed costs per the recently processed flock, but either way, feed is expensive. And this feed isn’t even certified organic. The prices for certified organic feed are higher–Shaun Terry pays $1100/ton.  

In April 2021, a “Notice of Intent to Amend Poultry Inspection–Poultry Processing Rules” was released from the Georgia Department of Agriculture that would change Rule 40-10-2-.02. from being able to process on farm if you only raised 1,000 birds or less to 20,000 birds or less.

This rule has not yet been implemented by Commissioner Gary Black and his administration but it has been approved. If a farm has the processing equipment and labor force to process on farm, this change of rule could potentially save folks time, money, and stress. When asked if they would process on farm given the new amendment, Melissa said “At this point, probably not because we don’t have the labor or equipment, but if we were just starting out our operation with this new rule, we might.”

For Gabriel, he searched for over a year before finding anyone to help him on the farm without even considering the labor required processing on farm. Gabriel also noted that as the requirements currently stand, if you process your birds on farm, you can only sell them direct-to-consumer (like at a farmer’s market) as opposed to selling wholesale.

Tamita Brown of Caribe United

Shaun stated that if he hadn’t just opened the Atlanta Poultry Processing facility, he might have considered processing on farm depending on the details of the rule. If he could process whole birds as well as cuts, he might consider. If the infrastructure rules required a drainable floor, walk in cooler, and walk in freezer among all the other equipment required to process, he probably wouldn’t process on farm. Small amendments like these have the potential to open doors for small poultry farmers but unless the rules favor flexibility in cuts and accessible infrastructure, many folks will continue to outsource for processing.

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Are you craving chicken parmesan still? Follow these folks to find out where you can buy some local poultry.

• Four Bellies (@fourbellies on Instagram and Facebook)

• Grateful Pastures (@gratefulpastures on Instagram and @gratefulpasturesfarm on Facebook)

• Caribe United (@caribeunitedfarm on Instagram and Facebook)

• Grassroots Farms (@grassrootsfarmsga on Instagram and Facebook)

• White Oak Pastures (@whiteoakpastures on Instagram and Facebook)

Follow Georgia Organics on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.

Give Your Soil a ‘Rays’ with Biosolarization

By Porter Mitchell

Porter Mitchell is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.

Biosolarization

Biosolarization is an organic method of weed control that uses heat from the sun to kill weeds. A farmer covers their growing area with clear plastic and keeps the soil underneath the plastic moist using drip irrigation. The sun heats the soil up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit which kills weeds and weed seeds.

Biosolarization Courtesy of Semantic Scholar

Biosolarization is also good for the soil. When the ground is thoroughly watered the water displaces the air in the soil. This creates an anaerobic (oxygen free) environment for helpful bacteria and fungi to grow and flourish. These fungi and bacteria help make nutrients more available for crops and can even kill many soil-borne diseases.

Research performed by our friends at ATTRA/NCAT shows that biosolarization is extremely effective on nutsedge, mustards, pigweed, thistle, and annual grasses. One study showed that biosolarization reduced weed coverage from 34 percent to four percent!

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Tips for Using Biosolarization at Your Farm:

• You must use clear plastic. Black plastic blocks the sun’s UV rays and keeps the soil from becoming hot enough to kill weeds and weed seeds. Try using old hoop house plastic to save on costs. 

• You must keep the soil under the plastic moist. Water thoroughly.

• You must create a good seal on the plastic to keep air out and moisture in. Air coming in can cool the soil and hamper the process.

How long does biosolarization take?

It takes roughly four weeks to kill weeds and weed seeds through biosolarization but the time can vary on temperature, humidity, soil type, and weed type. It’s best practice to take notes on which area you laid the plastic, which weeds are a problem in that area, and how long it took kill the weeds. A temperature log can also be useful if you are using biosolarization during the fall, winter, and spring seasons when weather can be unpredictable.

Drawbacks of Biosolarization

Alas, there is no perfect method of weed control. Here are some drawbacks of biosolarization:

• Biosolarization does not kill weeds that spread with deep rhizomes like Johnson grass.

• Biosolarization is not a realistic method of weed control if you do not use drip irrigation.

• Rolling out drip irrigation and plastic is time consuming, although some farmers have been successful at rolling drip irrigation lines and plastic mulch simultaneously using their plastic layers.

• Keeping the edges sealed means weighing them down, and weighing them down means moving and managing heavy sandbags.

• Removing the plastic, cleaning it, and storing it can be a time-consuming and messy process. 

Biosolarization Courtesy of UC Davis

Biosolarization Pro-Tip

Do you know that a field or bed has the same weed pressure every year? Get a head start on weeds by using biosolarization right when weeds emerge!

Up the Ante with ASD!

ASD is short for anaerobic soil disinfestation (that’s a mouthful!). ASD causes bacteria in the soil to release compounds that act as pesticides, killing harmful soil-borne diseases and pests. ASD also accelerates breaking down organic matter.

The process for ASD is similar to biosolarization but with two important differences: the farmer spreads a thick layer of organic matter on the area before covering and the farmer uses permeable plastic mulch instead of clear plastic. Use whatever organic matter you have readily available like compost, used straw, or broken-down wood chips.

Have you tried biosolarization? Let us know your results and any helpful tips or lessons learned! Email Porter at porter [at] georgiaorganics.org

Meet Organic Ag and Farm to School Hero, Loretta “The Farmer” Adderson

By Kimberly Koogler

Kimberly Koogler is the Farm to School Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Photos courtesy of Loretta Adderson.

To celebrate Women’s History Month and women in agriculture, we’d like to highlight the contributions to organic agriculture and Farm to School in Georgia by a trail-blazing woman, Georgia farmer, and newly-elected Georgia Organics board member, Loretta Adderson. 

Loretta and her husband Samuel Adderson, recipients of the 2018 Georgia Organics Land Stewardship Award, are third-generation family farmers with over 70 years of growing experience. They have been farming together for 14 years in Keysville, GA, where they are pioneers in organic agriculture and have served as mentors to many other aspiring organic farmers in the area. Their farm was the first to be USDA-certified organic in the Central Savannah River Area in 2011. Loretta grew up on her family’s farm with six brothers. 

This photo of Loretta on a tractor was taken over 50 years ago on her family’s farm. She says, “At this time, I was in College and enjoying being home with my family. In the 1960s, girls weren't encouraged to become farmers, but I always loved being outdoors.” 

 After retiring in 2006 from Public School Nutrition work and working and living in Pennsylvania and Michigan, she and her husband returned to the family farm in Georgia, where they started farming together. The name of their business is Adderson’s Fresh Produce, and they grow a diverse array of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. 

I asked Mrs. Adderson a few questions to get to know her a little more and to see why she farms and what inspires her. She generously took the time to answer all my questions, even as Spring fast approaches and her work on the farm becomes more demanding.

Photos courtesy of Loretta Adderson.

 How did you learn how to grow food?

I’m convinced that it’s in my DNA and many years of working on the farm. Penn State, Michigan State, Ala A & M, UGA and FVSU Extension Services, and many other workshops. 

My husband and I lived in Carlisle, PA, State College, PA, Allison Park, PA, Warner Robins, GA, and Lake Orion, MI, before retiring back in Georgia. Everywhere we lived, I had a garden and was known as the Farmer. I'm just beginning to connect the dots to my love for farming.  

Why do you farm organically?

On our farm when I was growing up daddy never put any chemicals on the garden area. They put the manure down at the end of the year for the next planting season. It was never called organic, so I knew we had to grow without using harmful inputs. Healthy soil yields healthy food, which equals healthy body. Grow Organic for Life.

What is your ultimate mission in farming? Why do you do what you do?

My ultimate mission in farming is to provide the next generation with safe land to pursue their dreams. I envision a farm with drones and robotic tools and equipment. Indoor growing at levels we never thought of. My dad wanted the land to be here for generations to come, and I do too.

What does “farm to school” mean to you?

“Farm to School” means the Farmer/Farm working directly with the school/nutrition program to enhance their school programs.

How do you participate in your local school system’s farm to school program, and why do you?

Adderson’s Fresh Produce has sponsored tours of the fields, orchard, and hoop house for School Nutrition Employees that included lunch prepared on the farm using farm-grown, organic vegetables. We’ve participated in on-campus Field Days and enjoyed lunch with the students. We’ve sold produce to the School Nutrition Program. We assisted the School Nutrition Program with starting a Farmers Market and participated as often as possible. We do this to help the students learn more about where food comes from, to expose the students to locally grown, fresh vegetables, and see the farmer who grew those vegetables.

Do you think farm to school programs have the potential to cultivate future organic farmers like yourself?

I definitely do; I feel by 2030, we will see a drastic increase in Organic Farms and Farmers. Schools are going to add farming to their curriculum as an elective and as a requirement by 2050.

What is one thing you would like to tell young people about farming?

Learn to grow food!

What is one thing you would like to tell young girls and women about farming?

Farming is a business that connects you to nature and the soil. 

Who is a woman you have looked up to and who has inspired you?

My great-great Grandmother, Tempe Jackson, was a farm owner and was driven off during the “Trails of Tears." My great-grandpa lived with us after he was older and would tell us about her and how he worked with her on the Farm. My mom and dad named my sister, who died as an infant before I was born, "Shirley Tempe," after my great-great-grandmother.

Our mom and dad brought their own farm and raised us on it. Farming in our family goes back to the 1860s. I am proud of our heritage.

It takes true grit, resilience, fortitude, and dedication to organically produce food from the earth, especially here in the South. On top of that, to go the extra mile and actively participate in her local school system’s farm to school program is a truly generous investment in our state’s future. It is not an easy job, but Loretta Adderson knows that it is as important as it is challenging. We are truly grateful for Mrs. Adderson and the legacy she is growing as she paves the way for future generations of organic farmers in Georgia.

You can find the Addersons’ organic produce at the Laney Walker Farmers Market, the Veggie Park Farmers Market, the Augusta Locally Grown Online Market and On-Farm Popup Markets.

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Follow them on social media at facebook.com/addersonsfreshproduce.

Be sure to save the date for our 8th Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit to be held virtually April 27- May 1! Learn more at bit.ly/2021SUMMIT

Good Food for Thought: Dish Dive into Wholesale and High-End Wholesale

By Kayla Williams 

Are you a farmer that sells to farmers’ markets or have a CSA but are ready to get into the wholesale market, either to restaurants or institutions? Luckily, we have some tips for you! On Thursday, February 26th, Lauren Cox, Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics along with Zac Harrison, owner of Fresh Harvest, and Neil Ringer, Director of Operations of The Common Market Southeast shared knowledge on what the processes look like to enter the wholesale market in Georgia in a variety of ways. Previously, Lauren managed Woodland Gardens, an organic mixed vegetable farm in the Athens-area that sells to many restaurants in Atlanta and Athens. At Georgia Organics, Lauren works  closely with farmers to help them sell to  larger institutions and restaurants, from helping them crop plan to organizing QuickBook trainings, improving their marketing skills and more. Lauren shared her knowledge about some pros and cons of selling to restaurants and larger wholesale markets in general, as well as best practices – we’ll share some here.

Whichever way you decide to “slice your pie”, your farm will become more resilient if you have multiple revenue streams. Maybe you attend one farmers’ market on the weekend, have CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up on Tuesdays, and deliver to restaurants in your closest larger city on Wednesdays. Or maybe, you sell to one large wholesale customer on Thursdays, delivery to restaurants on Fridays and do a CSA pick up on Saturdays, skipping farmers’ markets all together! You can choose how you slice your pie, but it’s important as you scale up, to add more revenue streams so you can be flexible as needed. So how do you choose?

Restaurant Walk-In. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

Although restaurants can be unreliable customers due to frequent menu and staff changes, you can usually get the best wholesale price available and because you are harvesting to order, you won’t have any leftovers. If you decide to sell to a larger wholesale customer, like grocery stores or distributors, you may have to settle for the lowest price point for your goods (as compared to the retail farmers’ market price) but the transactions may be more reliable working with a larger institution, and they may come pick up the products from your farm rather than delivering to a restaurant. It’s important to remember that the type of operation you run may be a better fit for some wholesale than others – if you are small and very diversified farm, you may be a better fit for a high-priced restaurant that uses smaller quantities of many products. If you are larger and specialize in (let’s say) tomatoes, you may be a better fit for a local pizza joint that makes huge quantities of sauce daily

Quick Cleaning Turnips. Photo credit: Lauren Cox,

. No matter which revenue streams you choose, recordkeeping is essential. From knowing where things are in the field, to making sure you have a consistent inventory for your customers, to knowing the prices each item sells for through your various streams, to telling your employees where to harvest what, recordkeeping can only make your life easier and more organized. How you harvest, package and clean your products also make a difference in the world of wholesale. Minimize handling your products because the more you touch it, the more degraded it gets,  especially when wholesalers are aggregating, repackaging and redistributing. Cleanliness is key and minimizing moisture in washed greens, for example, extend the shelf life of your produce.

The Common Market, a non-profit aggregator and distributor, works with many institutions such as private schools, hospitals, universities, food service providers and municipal offices. The Common Market Southeast Headquarters are in East Point, GA but they also have a program based in Houston, TX and Philadelphia, PA. The Common Market wants to lower barriers and provide the infrastructure for local farmers to be able to sell to these institutions. The requirements for working with The Common Market Southeast are as follows: farmer must be in a 250 mile radius of their offices, must have sustainable growing practices, proof of liability insurance, be involved in a food safety program, and have a post-harvesting handling and packing system. Additionally, you must pack your products in wax boxes with your contact information on the label. During COVID-19, The Common Market Southeast received a USDA grant that allowed them to deliver over 96,440 boxes to families across the state, partnering with over 45 community organizations and purchasing over 964,000 pounds of local food purchased and distributed. Their systems and infrastructure made that work possible. A big thanks to Neil Ringer and Common Market for sharing with us and doing incredible work every day to make it easier for local producers to be involved in larger institutions!

West Georgia Farmers Coorperative Delivering to Miller Union. Photo Credit: Bailey Garrot.

Fresh Harvest, on the other hand, is solely residential. Each week, Zac Harrison texts all the farmers in the Fresh Harvest network (some big, some small, but all organic) and finds out what their availability is for the week. Based on which farmer has what products, he compiles weekly boxes that are delivered to homes around Atlanta. In addition to a weekly produce box, customers can add on other local goods, like local dairy, eggs, meat, prepared foods and more. Fresh Harvest’s offices are in Clarkston, GA and they employee many refugees that are based in Clarkston. Zac’s goal is to expand the reach and sale of the farmer, not to infringe on their other revenue streams and he wants to crop plan with farmers at the beginning of the season, so they can be guaranteed a revenue stream from Fresh Harvest.

No matter which route you decide to go down for slicing your pie, utilizing the tips from Lauren and working with folks like Neil and Zac who have the farmers’ best interest at heart, choosing to diversify your revenue streams can only make your farm more successful and resilient.

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Interested in learning more about Lauren’s work? Check out farmtorestaurant.georgiaorganics.org/, follow Georgia Organics on Instagram @georgiaorganics, and Facebook at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics/.

Want to see if The Common Market may be a good fit for you or support their work? Check out thecommonmarket.org, follow them on Instagram at @commonmarketse and Facebook at facebook.com/thecommonmarketse.

Ready to work with Fresh Harvest or purchase a box? Visit them at freshharvestga.com/, follow them on Instagram at @freshharvest and Facebook at .facebook.com/freshharvestga.

Good Food for Thought: How We Slice Our Pie—Choosing Markets and Managing Revenue Streams

By Lauren Cox 

Lauren Cox is the Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics

Aluma Farm’s very organized harvest board. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

Small farms operate much like other small entrepreneurial businesses. In addition to producing food, a farmer must also be a self-promoter, a marketer, their own research and development team, and very often juggle the wants and needs of a variety of customers. In the 6th installation of the Winter Webinar series, Farm to Restaurant’s Organic Procurement Coordinator leads a three-part webinar covering these activities: deciding on your basket of goods and services and creating a value statement, managing your weekly farm flow, and understanding how you divide up your farm based on your revenue streams.  

Whether you sell at the farmers market, to restaurants, wholesalers, or through a CSA program, you should aim to know your customer base and plan for moving product. Photo by Lauren Cox.

There are multiple ways for farmers to get food to their final customers. This ‘farmer to eater’ supply chain can include processors, wholesalers, restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers or simply go directly into the hands of an eater. Farmers can sell to each of these groups and should understand that each one of them has different wants and needs, including where they hold value and what they are looking for when buying from a farmer. 

This ‘basket of goods and services’ can also change over time depending on the farmer as well as the customer. While planning for the year ahead, ask yourself: What am I selling and why is it important to my customer? Remember, what is important to you isn’t necessarily going to be important to everyone else. Maybe your customer values being able to talk to you each week and ask questions about what they’re buying while you prioritize paying your employees fair wages and growing organically. One does not necessarily exclude the other but again, your customer’s values and where they’re prioritized might not be the same as your own. 

Thinking about a value statement or value proposition is also important. This can change with your customers and correlates to your basket of goods and services. If you can’t make money from your basket of ‘goods and services’ then don’t do it and always make sure you have a feedback loop to understand if your customer’s values are changing. Easy ways to do this include talking to your customers directly as well as conducting surveys to market-goers and CSA members. Also watching what sells quickly and what doesn’t is a non-verbal way to assess your markets. No matter what, having a feedback loop gives a farmer the advantage to help plan for growing any of their revenue streams. 

Planning for growth is important. Photo by Lauren Cox.

As you think about the year ahead and decide which customers and parts of your business will shift or grow, consider your current weekly farm schedule. Taking on more revenue streams could mean you take more time off the farm for market days. It could mean more time spent harvesting and delivering to wholesalers or restaurants. While planning, try this exercise: Make a column for each day of the week and then fill it with the general tasks you do consistently, for example, Monday’s are bookkeeping days, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are workdays while Friday is a harvest day for Saturday market. Once this is done ask yourself, “Does my weekly flow feel well-paced? Is it packed in one part of the week and less busy in another? What if there were an emergency? Do I have enough time, in that case, to react? And finally, “Could I take on another sales channel?” Depending on your customer’s needs and values, you might be able to shift your schedule to take on new opportunities or give you that much-needed time on the farm you’ve been looking for.  

 Listing out your top sellers across your different markets can highlight your resiliency in withstands shifts in market demand. Photo by Lauren Cox.

How do we bring what we know about our customer base, our weekly bandwidth, and how we want to grow our business together to refine our systems and plan for the year ahead? First and foremost record-keeping is our biggest asset! Thinking about your ‘top sellers’ for each customer base and looking at your books to see if you’re making money on them can give you valuable insight (no pun intended) into whether or not you’re on the right track. Ideally, you should plan for growth and have multiple customers that are interested in the same thing in case one of them falls through. In addition to QuickBooks and surveys, keep a notebook with your weekly sales information. Walk around the first day of your workweek and write down what you need to sell, how much you have, and to whom you plan to sell it to (CSA, restaurants, markets, or otherwise).

This exercise will help you get better at understanding quantities of what you have to offer and how much space you are allocating on your farm for each sales outlet. As you think about the space on your farm and how it relates to your customer base ask yourself these questions: What isn’t selling to multiple customers? Are there other things I could use that farm space for? Are there other things I could sell to the same customers that also sell at other markets? Asking yourself these questions explicitly with give you a leg up in planning for growth and managing your revenue streams. 

This Good Food for Thought event was a workshop exclusive to Georgia Organics Farmer Members. Interested in becoming a farmer member for just $12 per year? Visit membership.georgiaorganics.org/farmer-membership. Join us for more Good Food for Thought by visiting gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.

Meet Dan Glenn of Deep Grass Graziers, Ben Hill’s Soil Steward

Courtesy of Deep Grass Graziers

By Porter Mitchell

Dan Glenn's family farm is located in one of the country’s poorest counties, located right in the middle of South Georgia. Over one-third of people in Ben Hill County have lived below the poverty line for at least the past three decades. The sun is blazing hot, the humidity is intense, and the weeds grow so fast you can practically sit and watch them take over your fields in a single day. But the heavy rain and warm winters mean you can grow there year-round, and cattle can graze on pasture 365 days a year.   

The family farm, founded by Dan’s grandparents in the 1960s, is a powerful example of how a farm can nurture both people and the land. The farm provides jobs in one of the poorest counties in the country. It honors the skill of farming, providing seasoned hands a way to showcase their craft and new farmers a way to learn. The farm provides food. The farm nurtures ecosystems and even draws down carbon from the atmosphere.   

And it all starts with the soil.   

Ben Hill and Back   

Dan Glenn grew up on family land in Ben Hill County, about ninety minutes north of Valdosta. The farm belonged to his grandparents, conventional farmers who grew corn, soy, cotton, peanuts, tobacco, and raised some cattle on their 800 acres.    

Courtesy of Deep Grass Graziers

 Like many people who grew up in rural areas, Dan didn’t intend on staying there. In his early twenties, he developed a keen interest in permaculture and organic farming, and relocated to St. Croix to work on a sustainable farm. Eventually, he and some like-minded farmers founded the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute, a research and training farm. The institute not only taught new farmers but also fueled Dan’s passion for regenerative agriculture.   

Then Dan’s grandparents passed away. In 2009, Dan was called back home to help his mother manage the farm. “I had to square my interest and passions in soil health, permaculture, and organic farming with a very conventional operation,” explains Dan. The family farm was doing well. Transitioning away from conventional farming takes years and carries a hefty financial risk for the farmer. Dan knew he couldn’t take a gamble on his family’s farm, but he also knew that for the farm to survive long-term, they had to change. They couldn’t just keep doing what Dan’s grandparents had done. They had to start taking their soil seriously.    

Living Soil   

“I thought it was about the cow, but it was about the forages. I thought it was about the forages, but it was about the soil.” Dan Glenn   

Courtesy of Deep Grass Graziers

Like a coral reef or a rainforest, soil has its own diverse ecosystem. Healthy soil is full of microscopic organisms, different types of fungi, and invertebrates like earthworms. Like any other ecosystem, all the different components work together in harmony to benefit both the soil ecosystem and the plants growing in it. Healthy soil is better able to hold water, making it resistant to both drought and flooding. Healthy soil makes it easier for plant roots to absorb the nutrients they need. Healthy soil provides a habitat for organisms that keep plant diseases and pests in check. And healthy soil takes carbon from the atmosphere and changes it into a solid form stored in the ground. In fact, healthy soil can store between 25 and 50 tons of carbon per acre.* If you have seen healthy soil, you’ll see it’s very dark in color—this color comes from the carbon.  

Many common agricultural practices harm the soil ecosystem and therefore the plants that the ecosystem supports. Tilling releases carbon stored into the soil into the atmosphere and exposes the soil organisms to heat and sunlight, killing them. Synthetic fertilizers create weak plant root systems that can’t take up nutrients well, meaning more and more fertilizer is needed. These weak root systems also create weak plants that are worse at fending off pests and disease, which means they require more pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Unhealthy soil is very different in physical structure to healthy soil and is poorly able to store water and nutrients, leading to the farmer using more water and more nutrients. It’s a vicious cycle that creates a heavy burden for both the farmer and the land.  

But rebuilding the soil takes years--too long to for a farmer to wait when bills come every month. Farming is notorious for its razor-thin profit margins and fluctuating markets. Add in the unpredictability of the weather, and you’ve got a business that can collapse after a few bad seasons. For farming families like Dan’s that depend on the farm, they literally can’t afford to wait until their soil is restored.   

To offset this risk, Dan made changes very slowly, weaning the depleted soil microbiome off of its dependence on conventional fertilizer, building the health of the land. Dan employed natural fertility practices like planting soil-building crops such as clover, peas, and buckwheat, known as cover cropping. Dan had to slowly change the attitudes of some people on the farm too. “I had to twist some arms for sure,” laughs Dan.  

Reviving an Old Practice for the New Millennium  

Dan became fascinated in how livestock can be used to nurture depleted soil back to health. Rotating livestock into crop fields is a very old practice found in agricultural traditions around the world. For example, in Ireland sheep, cows, and horses spend the winter in crop fields, readying the soil for spring planting. But this ancient practice had been forgotten by the average farmer in the United States. “We separated the animals from the farm here,” remarks Dan.  

Livestock, especially ruminating animals like cows and sheep, provide urine and manure that fertilizes the soil and nourishes its ecosystem. Grazing grass encourages roots to grow stronger and deeper into the soil, locking it in place. Livestock can clear what’s left over after harvest and they eat many invasive weeds, making room for native plants. And livestock can make money too, helping offset financial risk.   

Dan went to see Will Harris of White Oak Pastures, a cattle farmer using the animals to restore soil that had been reduced from a living ecosystem to dead dust by decades of abuse. White Oak is about as close to a household name as a farm can get, but Dan went to Will Harris long before he was on magazine covers and his expertise was sought after worldwide.   

He met Will in his small church-turned-office in the not-even-a-one-stoplight hamlet of Bluffton, Georgia. Dan was excited and full of energy. He had big plans for his family’s farm, incorporating not only cattle but chickens, sheep, goats, and a whole Noah’s Ark of animals.   

Will hit the brakes. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, boy! Just concentrate on one thing and do it well.” Dan took his advice to heart, focusing on cattle. He worked to develop a clear plan. He focused on finances to figure out how the cattle were going to restore the land and keep the family farm in business. And then Dan got to work.   

A Man and His Pivot  

Getting the right mix of grass and plant species at the right time is key to providing the cow with the nutrients they need. While pasture cattle ranchers in other areas of the country have a broad body of research and best practices to turn to, Dan found almost nothing for the specific climate, conditions, and plants of South Georgia.  

So he started conducting his own research.   

Dan set up a 90-acre center pivot irrigation system. Center pivots work like the hand on a clock. A center anchor holds a long arm that rotates in a circle, while a line of sprinklers along the arm provide water. If you’ve been on an airplane and seen perfect circles in cropland, that’s the work of a center pivot.   

Dan divided the area covered by the pivot into eight parts, fencing each of them in to create eight pastures. His cattle rotate around the pastures, moving to a new pasture almost every day. The cattle follow the irrigation arm so every time they go into a new pasture there’s well-watered and healthy forage for them.   

Dan uses the different pastures to conduct trials on different mixes of forage crops. He’s experimenting to try and find the perfect blend that provides nutrition to his cattle, requires little if any maintenance, and builds soil quickly.    

The Perfect Cow   

Not only did Dan have to find the right mix of forage for South Georgia, he had to find the right type of cow too. The most common breeds were adapted for a diet of corn, not a diet of grass and plants. Dan got to work, selectively breeding his herd to create the perfect cow for his farm.   

“I want a cow that doesn’t need a diet of corn to fill out. I want healthy cows, ones that are resilient and don’t need a lot of inputs. I want a mama cow that has a healthy calf every year for a long time. These are the traits that produce a profit,” explains Dan.   

Georgia’s Newest Cash Crop   

Dan, along with his business partner, has begun growing hemp and building out the infrastructure to dry and process it. They recently purchased an old sewing factory in Ben Hill Country that they’re converting to a CBD processing facility, bringing both jobs and outside investment to the county. Dan’s hemp business will be vertically integrated from growing the hemp transplants to processing the plants into CBD oil. Dan is a huge proponent of vertical integration and advises other farmers to follow his lead. “It’s been the difference between breaking even and making money for me,” he explains.   

Dan’s venture into hemp and CBD also serves to create a more sustainable business. “My grandpa had cattle, row crops, and a tractor dealership. Because he diversified his income sources, he was less vulnerable.”    

But Dan cautions against taking on too many ventures at once. “Don’t bite off a big bite and try to do too many things. Add more enterprises as your other enterprises become successful.” 

Courtesy of Deep Grass Graziers

Dan’s Vision 

Dan’s vision for his farm is one in which the forages, the crops, and the cattle all work together to create a system that benefits the environment and is financially sustainable. “I want to have good genetics and create perennial and polyculture (meaning many different species) systems that work to produce cattle that are efficient and hands-off.”   

Dan’s reconciled with his home too. He’s no longer the twenty-something trying to get as far away from rural Georgia as he could. “Growing up and coming home here, I know it in my bones. I know the people. I’m in my community here”   

Dan Glenn is the incoming president of the Georgia Forage and Grassland Association and is a member of the following organization’s Board of Directors: American Forage and Grassland Committee, National Grazing Land Coalition, and Southern SARE. (SSARE). Dan is also part of our inaugural Farmer Accelerator Program cohort. You can learn more about the program here.   

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Porter Mitchell is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram@GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Georgia Organics Kicks Off First of Its Kind Farmer Accelerator Program

Tianna Neal of Starlit Roots Farm (Photo courtesy of National Young Farmers Coalition).

By Porter Mitchell

Beginning farmers come in our doors eager to learn and to make a career from agriculture. They want to feed their neighbors, continue a family tradition of farming, steward the land, and care for their rural communities. We’ve seen many of these farmers succeed, but we’ve seen hundreds begin farming only to quit after a few years. Why?  

Farmers reach a point in which they need real investment to move their business from day-to-day survival mode to true sustainability. They need personalized services, investment in infrastructure, personalized education to develop a business or marketing plan, and training to access new markets—not the one-size-fits-all approach that is the current norm. 

Sed Rowe of Rowe Organic Farm (Photo Credit Southern Styles and Steeds)

Jenny of Jenny Jack Farm harvests onions (photo courtesy of Jenny Jack Farm)

These critical services are out of reach for many smaller growers. They may not qualify for FSA loans, they may not have the credit to access a small business loan, they may not have family or personal wealth or property to use as collateral. Black growers specifically face an uphill battle due to decades of discrimination from banks and the USDA. Or many beginning farmers, often already saddled with student loan debt, may simply not want to take on debt in a profession not known to be particularly lucrative.

The Georgia Organics Farmer Accelerator Program is the first of its kind to fill these resource gaps. Ten farmers enter a yearlong cohort and each receives nearly $10,000 in on-farm infrastructure investment and labor stipends, plus an additional $3,000 in professional consulting from experts. Farmers also receive coaching on food safety and organic certification from the Farmer Services team.

“We’ve got the best coaches in the country for this program,” says Farmer Services Director Michael Wall who has spent the past year securing these consultants. “By going deep with these coaches, these farmers can really strengthen their operations.”

About sixty farmers applied for the ten spots available. Choosing which farmers would receive support and which ones wouldn’t was incredibly difficult. Kayla Williams, Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics, led efforts to build a complex application scoring system. 

“When deciding how to choose Accelerator cohort members, we wanted to recognize the fact that race and place are two very real factors that can and do affect a farmers’ ability to succeed. By giving extra points to and prioritizing our farmers of color and rural farmers, it holds us accountable to our mission of ‘Good Food for All’” she explains. At least five of the Accelerator spots are reserved for BIPOC farmers and at least five spots are reserved for rural farmers

 After lengthy inner dialogue and presenting the list of finalists to a panel of farmers and outside experts, the Farmer Services team chose ten farmers from across the state. They range from fourteen years of farming experience to three, from large scale row crop and commodity production to small market vegetable farms, from chicken and cattle to flowers and fruit, from several hundred acres to three acres. In other words, the 2020 class of Accelerator farmers represent the diversity of Georgia’s agriculture. The inaugural Accelerator class is:

• Deep Grass Graziers, Fitzgerald (www.deepgrassgraziers.com/) – Beef cattle

• Hearts of Harvest Farm, Arnoldsville (www.heartsofharvestfarm.com) - Mixed fruit and vegetables, flowers

• Four Bellies Farm, Bowdon (http://fourbelliesfarm.com/) - Beef, rabbit, chicken, lamb

• Jenny Jack Farm, Pine Mountain (https://www.jennyjackfarm.com/) - Mixed fruit, vegetables

• Narrow Way Farm, McDonough (https://narrowwayfarm.com/) – Vegetables, berries, fruit

  New Eden Ecosystems, West Point (www.facebook.com/westgeorgiafarmerscooperative/) - Fruit, vegetables, livestock

• Rag and Frass Farm (Jeffersonville) - Mixed fruit and vegetables, flowers https://www.ragandfrassfarm.com/ 

• Rolling Branch Farm, Naylor (www.rollingbranchfarms.com/) - Pecans flowers

• Rowe Organic Farm, Albany (ga.foodmarketmaker.com/business/4914917-rowe-organic-farm) - Peanuts, sunflowers, melons

• Starlit Roots Farm, Keysville ( www.Instagram.com/starlitroots) - Vegetables

After an intense intake process that gathered extensive data on the farm and farmer, the Farmer Services team collectively drafted plans for each farmer for coaching and infrastructure spending. These plans were based on priorities listed by the farmer, a SWOT analysis (strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats), a formal business analysis, and lengthy conversations with the farmers. Each plan is wholly unlike the other ones, just as each farmer is different. For the next nine months, the farmers will work closely with a Farmer Services staff member as their case manager. “The success of our Accelerator farmers is our number one priority,” explains Michael Wall. 

Dan Glenn of Deep Grass Graziers (Courtesy of Deep Grass Graziers)

Eric Simpson of New Eden Ecosystems (Courtesy of Black Farmers Network)

Georgia Organics hopes that this program will not only help these farmers grow and strengthen their businesses and their skillsets but can also be used as a model to replicate across the country. 

Interested in learning more about these farmers and keeping up with their progress? Keep checking in for extended profiles and interviews on The Dirt!

Check out where our Accelerator farmers are on the map!

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Click to view Accelerator Program farms around the state.

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Porter Mitchell, Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics.