Common question – why aren’t we Certified Organic, and what is “Naturally Grown”?
Like many other small farmers, we live an organic lifestyle and don’t put toxic herbicides or pesticides on our land or food that we grow and eat. However, in order to call our products Organic, we must go through USDA organic certification – which involves significant cost and overhead. Instead, we choose to call our fruits and vegetables Naturally Grown”. We grow without toxic herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides, on land that has not had used these items for decades, and we do not use GMOs in seeds, cuttings, transplants, supplements or animal feed.
We believe that a federally-approved stamp can still hide poor agricultural and environmental practices because of the loopholes that exist in the definition of “Certified Organic”. Not everyone operates this way – for example When seeking out food sources from your local farm market, look beyond the label to their philosophy. Agriculture involves much more than what one does or doesn’t put on one’s plants or soil. It involves a commitment to continually increasing soil health, conservation of resources, permaculture and regenerative principles, holistically working with nature instead of reducing growing to a simple set of reductionist formulas.
Would you like to know more about how we grow at Maple Dell Farm? Contact us to arrange for a farm visit and to see first-hand how we produce our high-quality and nutritious food for ourselves and our customers.