Usda organic label and raw milk

[Dr. B]

Is the usda organic certification expensive to obtain and maintain?

apparently in the US its only around $750 a year?

many of the farms offering herdshare programs and raw milk, say that their farm and milk is organic but not certified organic due to the expenses involved.
but if its only around $1000 a year, that doesnt make sense. is raw milk pretty much unsafe unless usda certified organic? if the certification is that cheap it makes you think if the farms are cutting corners and doing something that disqualifies them being organic?
I know the usda label isnt a guarantee of safety, considering carrageenan for instance can be in organic products.
but at the same time if a farm is not able to meet the basic standards for usda organic, makes it seem like they could be cutting corners. it doesnt seem expensive to get. and once you get it, you maintain it forever as long as you remain organic

 

[konatowntom]

I have been told by a farmer that the cost of the certification is not the problem but it is the time involved filling out all the paperwork that is involved. If you have ever worked on a farm you probably know there is not enough time in a day to get everything done that needs doing. His argument was that he has to jump through all these additional hoops but that the convential farmer can do whatever he chooses, literally poisoning his land, his crops and his animals and there are no regulations to stop him.

 

[Dr. B]

I have been told by a farmer that the cost of the certification is not the problem but it is the time involved filling out all the paperwork that is involved. If you have ever worked on a farm you probably know there is not enough time in a day to get everything done that needs doing. His argument was that he has to jump through all these additional hoops but that the convential farmer can do whatever he chooses, literally poisoning his land, his crops and his animals and there are no regulations to stop him.

so he is an organic farmer or is he a conventional farmer?
and I see. some of the farms I spoke to directly said they cant afford the certification since they're a smaller farm... maybe they never looked into it much. doesnt the certification provide assurance youre getting a safer, cleaner product, whereas if you go with the farms who say "we are organic but just not certified organic" you basically have to take them at their word for it?

 

[konatowntom]

Well the farmer that I referenced was an organic farmer and I worked on his farm. He was also practiced biodynamic farming. It was in Hawaii and he fed his chickens the same organic grains that we ate, the reason being that it's pretty difficult if not impossible to buy organic feed for your animals in Hawaii. The cows only ate grass which was abundant year round.

 

[koky]

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