The Certified Naturally Grown label could be more accessible for farmers, but can it actually land with consumers?
PRAIRIE DU ROCHER, Ill. — On a cold winter day in Illinois, three little pigs are resting in a three-sided shed. They have plenty of space to trot around, as they do when Jennifer Duensing approaches. Those footsteps mean it’s feeding time. They squeal impatiently, waiting for their usual diet of organic feed, which sometimes includes vegetables like squash grown here on the farm.
The farm, Illinois Country Harvest, had been in Duensing’s family for generations when she took it over in 2015. She was new to farming, so there was a lot to learn about how to best manage the near-12 acres now under her purview. But one thing she definitely knew was that she wanted to manage the land, crops and animals without synthetic chemical inputs.
“We use absolutely zero chemicals, which means if we have pests, we don’t spray,” she said.
While sales of organic products are growing, they are growing at a significantly slower pace than their conventional counterparts. There are countless certifications she could have chosen and labels she could slap on her products. A nonprofit called “A Greener World” which “promotes practical, sustainable solutions in agriculture by supporting farmers and educating consumers” has a 15-page guide that attempts to clear up consumer confusion around labels that use terms like “natural,” “humane” and “organic.”
Certified Naturally Grown was a perfect fit for how she was already running her farm.
“Our certification process is really pretty simple, because we have zero chemical inputs,” she said. “There’s nothing we had to justify or have reasoning for, because we just do not use anything.”
Started in 2002, the nonprofit organization’s standards are modeled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Certified Organic Label, but they’re designed to give farmers a cheaper and more accessible (i.e. more affordable) way to certify and communicate how their farms work.
“A lot of farmers are committed to ecological practices, and probably would qualify for organic certification, but they hesitate because of the expense and also the paperwork,” said Alice Varon, CNG’s executive director.
“There’s some minor differences, but for the most part, it’s just like the National Organic Program.” she added.
USDA Organic certification vs. CNG
Liz Graznak is a certified organic farmer in Jamestown, Missouri. The program’s requirements vary by produce and animal, but generally, it encourages the use of non-synthetic and “eco-friendly pest control,” “natural fertilizers,” and for farmers to allow animals to “roam freely outdoors.” She has to renew her certification every year.
After adopting organic practices, the next step is applying to a USDA-accredited certifying agent. While there are more than 17,000 certified organic farms operating in the U.S, there are less than 80 certifying agencies. They send inspectors out to interview farmers and check that they are abiding by the USDA standards.
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