When Tim Devin and Anna Weinberg decided to buy Chase Stream Farm in Monroe, they knew they wanted to produce and sell certified organic crops.
“We bought the land in February, and we’ve been farming for about three weeks,” Devine said last week. “We really wanted to carry on with the organic vegetable production that had been going on for 10 years on this farm before we bought it.”
Anyone can practice organic growing by avoiding chemical pesticides and relying on natural soil and plant enhancers, but to claim a product “certified organic,” a grower has to pass a U.S. Department of Agriculture certification process. In Maine, that certification comes from the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association‘s Certification Services, which works to ensure the state’s certified organic farmers comply with the USDA’s organic certification regulations.
Getting certified organic in Maine is as much about paperwork as it is about what goes in the ground, Devin said.
“The rules are fairly restrictive,” he said. “You need to be able to prove that the land was chemical- and pesticide-free for the immediate past three years, so that means you need really good record-keeping and documentation.”
Through some market research, Devin has determined people in Maine are willing to pony up that extra cost if it means they are getting a certified organic product.
“People absolutely want organic food,” Jim Gerritsen of Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater said. “Organic food is the hottest thing going.”
