The Journey to Organic Certification
Despite being small, we have large ambitions to prove that a small, mixed, regenerative farm can be viable. In order to prove it, we need to have external checks in place that demonstrate to others that we are actually doing what we claim. The Soil Association provides that third party rigour for how we grow our food.
Any distraction from the focus of making farming work has to be considered carefully. We chose organic certification with the Soil Association after such deliberations. As we’re a small team, we could probably have spoken to our clients about how we farm organically even if we were not certified, and most people would have understood. But as our goal is to prove that small farms can be good, we decided to make it official.
We are going through our organic conversion
We have followed regenerative and organic principles from the start, but gaining full organic certification is a lengthy process. As of May 2024, our land and livestock are now officially organic. Our crops are following close behind, with the last of them due to have full organic status by the end of May 2025. Perennial crops such as fruit and nut trees take three years to convert to organic, and even annual crops such as the market garden veg only have full organic status if they are sown into land that is already organic. So, after three years of inspections and documentation, the whole farm will be fully organic in May 2025.
What does being organic really mean?
Organic farming means using systems that sustain and enhance the health of the soil, plants, livestock, ecosystem and people. Farming practices are based on living ecological systems and cycles, and consider the health and wellbeing of current and future generations and the environment.
Organic standards include requirements on many different aspects of our farming practice, including how much space we give our hens, what veterinary medicines we’re allowed to use on our cattle, how we manage soil fertility in the market garden, where we source our seeds, which potting composts we can use, and much more. Organic farming affects the quality of the food we eat and has scientifically proven health benefits1.
- Baudry J, Méjean C, Péneau S, Galan P, Hercberg S, Lairon D, Kesse-Guyot E. Health and dietary traits of organic food consumers: results from the NutriNet-Santé study. Br J Nutr. 2015 Dec 28;114(12):2064-73. doi: 10.1017/ S0007114515003761. Epub 2015 Oct 2. PMID: 26429066 and https://www.europeanorganiccongress.bio/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ European-Organic-Congress-2022_ Denis_Lairon.pdf ↩︎