Whether it’s your first organic inspection, or your fifth, what you need to have available on the day of the inspection – and what this inspection will entail – can still be confusing.

The most important part of organic certification, and what the inspection is meant to prove, is that your product can be tracked from field or point of purchase to the consumer to be free of chemicals and contamination from non-organic products.

All those in organic production know first-hand that this tracking requires a great deal of paperwork and a good organizational system in place.

To help you get through this inspection, ICS has developed a few tips. Some of these may not be relevant to your operation.

1. Make sure the date and time scheduled for your inspection is clear on your calendar, and that arrangements have been made for someone else to handle anything that might come up unexpectedly.
2. Review the National Organic Program standards applicable to your operation, your copy of your Organic System Plan, and any communications you’ve had with your inspector in the past year (including any non-compliance letters you received in your last inspection) prior to the inspection.
3. Gather all your records and have them available. If you don’t know what all will be needed, ask your certification agency.
4. Provide a place where you and the inspector can review records. Remember your inspection could take a while, so make the space comfortable. Another thing to consider is that many inspectors are now working off of laptops; so if possible, provide space for that as well.
5. Be sure to have everything needed to give access to all areas of your operation. This includes keys to gates, sheds, and other buildings, access to all fields, etc. If you have multiple sites needing to be inspected (or multiple fields), let the inspector know so that sufficient time is allotted for your inspection.
6. Have enough gas in your vehicle to be able to reach all the fields and facilities of your operation.

To find out more of how to prepare for your inspection download Inspection Season, written by organic inspector, Amy Griner Stafford.