Another year is quickly coming to a close. It seems each new year goes by faster than the last .
We are excited about 2010!
In 2009 we hired three new employees for the certification department. With a full compliment of staff, our clients will get faster personalized customer service and prompt certification results. You can find out more about these new employees on page 4.
We’ve also restructured the Customer Care Team into “mini” teams so  there is more availability when you call in. With this restructure, our CCS’s are becoming more specialized in their knowledge in order to better help their portfolio of clients.
We are also working diligently to incorporate some of your suggestions and comments. The service surveys you’ve completed have helped us in determining where we need to improve. We strongly urge you to continue sending these comments and suggestions to us.
Thank you to all of our clients for your continued support and loyalty.
We hope everyone enjoys a safe and wonderful holiday season with friends and family.
We look forward to working with you again in 2010!

REMINDER: The ICS Office is
Closed Dec 24th—Jan 4th.

Below is a list of tradeshows and conferences ICS plans to attend. We will continue to post date and location updates to the calendar and our website as they become available.
If you will be attending any of these shows, or any which aren’t listed, and would like to meet with an ICS representative, please contact our office to see if we’ll be there.

Minnesota Organic Conference      (MNOC); St. Cloud, MN       ; Jan 15-16
Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS) Winter Conference; Watertown, SD; Feb 10-11
NPSAS Summer Symposium; location unknown; July
Organic Farming Conference (OFC); La Crosse, WI; Feb 25-27
Bio Fach; Nuremberg, Germany; Feb 17-20
National Restaurant Association Conference; Chicago, IL; May 22-25
All Things Organic; Chicago, IL; June 16-17
Dakota Fest; Mitchell, SD; Aug 17-19
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Conference; North Carolina; December
Grain Place Farm Tour; Nebraska; July
Mon Dak Ag Open; Dickinson, ND; Aug

What do the weeds on my farm tell me about my soil and water conditions?
Not being a weed scientist or a soil scientist, being able to directly connect weed species on my farm with soil or water conditions would come primarily from observation and experience over time.  So what I say here is not necessarily scientific fact, but observations and synthesis gained from reading scientific literature on the subject.
One of the most obvious relationships of weeds and soil conditions is the appearance of foxtail grasses also known by various names such as giant foxtail, green foxtail, yellow foxtail and pigeon grass.  Early on in my weed management endeavors I was challenged by heavy infestations of these grasses.  Over time, however, I began to equate early seed bed preparation in fields whose soils were not fully warmed up and still on the wet side with eventual severe grass pressure, especially in corn and soybeans. 
            This led me to eventually delay my row crop seed bed preparation and fashion it into a split operation doing an initial pass with the field cultivator on a late April afternoon when the soil temps had climbed above 50 degrees.  The second pass would come just ahead of the corn or soybean planting sometime around the 20th of May.  As a result, these grasses have ceased to be an issue for me.  It indicates to me therefore that soil compaction brings on the grassy weed pressure.
            Broad leaf weeds like lambsquarters, wild sunflower and button weed are a different story.  I make no claims to know their connection to either soil health or soil moisture.  I do not have an issue with the button weed but lambsquarters and wild sunflower are a constant battle.  Their seed can lie in the ground for years and under the right conditions, emerge and fast become an overwhelming problem.  The most important practice in managing their spread is to never let them seed out.  Planting small grains in the rotation and planting row crops later are two effective practices.  Timely use of a rotary hoe or tine weeder can also be effective.  But ultimately walking both the corn and soybeans will need to be done as there are always late comers or ones that cultivation missed.
            Pig weed on the other hand, and giant water hemp, its very close relative, appear to love better soils.  They also appear to be where there is lots of manure spread on the fields.  They generally germinate a bit later than lambsquarters but about the same time as wild sunflower.  Managing them like other broad leaf weeds appears to be the best approach.
            There are lots of other weeds out there, but the last one I want to mention is the persistent Canada Thistle.  It grows almost everywhere but appears to flourish better in wetter soils.  Does it indicate any soil conditions?  I don’t think so as I have seen it in low ph as well as high ph soils.  Compaction appears not to affect it either way.  And the only non chemical management practice I have seen that appears to get it under control is three consecutive years of alfalfa.  It seems that the root competition especially and the constant cutting are too much for its root system and it starves out.
            I don’t think I have made much connection between weeds and soil or water, but there are any number of books and publications one can find just by going on the internet.  In the end what I have found is close observation and note taking on what works and doesn’t work in your individual operations.  Over time you will begin to see a relationship between your various soils, your management practices and your weed pressure.  But write down what you see so you can make use of this valuable information.
            Weeds are not meant to be completely eradicated. Weeds are meant to be managed.  Remember, they have been around a lot longer than we have.  And Mother Nature has a purpose for them as well.   Successful weed management is based on our creative skills first of all and then on the tools we devise to carry out these creative ideas.

Cindy Schlecht

Cindy Schlecht became part of our Customer Care Team on May 4, 2009. As a Customer Care Specialist (CCS), Cindy has a portfolio of clients whose paperwork she is responsible for. She is the direct contact with the clients in her portfolio, helping make the certification process as painless as possible.
Cindy attended Valley City State University for two years, has 11 years experience as a teacher/teaching assistant, and has spent most of her life on a dairy farm.
During her free time, Cindy enjoys scrapbooking, gardening, yardwork, jigsaw puzzles and riding bike. She and her husband, Bruce, live on their organic grain & livestock farm and have two grown sons, Tyrel and Cedric.

Jami Reister

Jami Reister began working with ICS October 6, 2009 as the Customer Care Team Coordinator. She has a wide array of responsibilities including data entry, customer service, completing reports, and much more in assisting the Customer Care Team.
Jami came to ICS with an Accounting Associates Degree and Medical Administrative Assistant with an emphasis in transcription. She also has several years of computer, data entry and customer service experience. Jami also has first hand     experience with farming. 
With husband, Lance, and their two children, Logan and Brooke, Jami lives on their family cattle farm. During her free time she enjoys reading, cooking, and sewing. She also enjoys spending time with her  family.

Lacey Holen

Lacey Holen began working at ICS on October 26, 2009. She is currently in training to become a reviewer and inspector. Lacey has been involved with agriculture since she was born and has been showing cattle since she was only nine years old. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal and Range Science from NDSU and her extensive hands on experience, Lacey brings a lot of expertise to her job.
Originally from Upham, ND, Lacey graduated from Towner High School in 2004 and NDSU in 2009. She currently lives on a farm outside Streeter, ND.
Her family has a farming/ranching operation which she has had the opportunity to help with since she could walk. When she isn’t in the ICS office working, she’s usually working with the family’s operation, raising and showing Charolais and Charolais influenced cattle. With what spare time she has, Lacey enjoys showing cattle, riding horse, playing sports, and basically any activity dealing with agriculture or that involves the outdoors.

Canada Standards

Due to the Canada Standards being copyrighted, ICS is not able to copy and distribute them to our Canadian clients.  This issue is currently being discussed and we hope it will be resolved soon.  Below are links to view or purchase the standards if you wish to do so.
The Canada Standards can be viewed at the following links.
Please note along with the Canada Standards, there is also an amendment.
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-0.4/SOR-2009-176
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/reg/approe.shtml
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/orgbio/orgbioe.shtml
http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/cgsb/on_the_net/organic/index-e.html

Reducing Follow-up

To help speed up our process, and minimize the amount of follow-up between you, your Customer Care Specialist, and our Certification Team, please be certain to include any of the following information that pertains to your operation when renewing your paperwork for 2010:
Input any responses from previous years’ conditions. This will ensure you do not receive repeat conditions.
Indicate the variety of crop (i.e. hard red spring wheat, winter wheat, white corn, yellow corn, dark hylum soybeans, clear hylum soybeans) on your field history sheet if applicable.
Fill out the Field History Sheets for all fields, including organic, conventional and conversion fields. If you are uncertain what will be planted on a field in 2010, enter what you will most likely plant. The inspector will update the information if needed during the inspection.
Save seed bags to show that it is untreated seed when labels do not indicate that it is untreated.
If you are purchasing non-organic corn, soybeans or alfalfa, obtain a non-GMO statement from your distributor.
For all inputs you wish to use, labels must be submitted and reviewed prior to use. Include these with your production plan.
If you’ve purchased new land, be certain to obtain a land affidavit and map from the previous owner.
Provide updated maps if there have been changes. Original maps are much easier for our reviewers to read.
Be certain to sign and date Module 1 and Module 3 and send in along with your inspection minimum.
Review all questions and your answers in your production plan. If something is no longer relevant, particularly the inputs used, please cross off or delete and add the new information.
Return all necessary paperwork, including your revised production plan and all the information listed above by the deadline provided by your Customer Care Specialist. We do charge a $100 late fee after this deadline.

Input Labels

To continue certification, a certified operation must annually pay the certification fees and submit the following information, as applicable, to the certifying agent: (4) Other information as deemed necessary by the certifying agent to determine compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part. (§ 205.406 (a(4)))

ICS realizes clients often use the same input products year after year; however, we deem it necessary to review these labels annually to insure compliance. We need to verify the ingredients and/or method of processing haven’t changed in these products.
We want you, as the organic producer or processor, to be able to say without any doubt that your product does indeed meet the requirements of the National Organic Program (and IFOAM standard if applicable).
Please get all inputs approved prior to use. Failure to do so could result in the loss of your organic status in the event the input is not allowed in the organic industry.

Verifying Your Seed

The producer must use organically grown seeds, annual seedlings, and planting stock: Except, That, (1) Nonorganically produced, untreated seeds and planting stock may be used to produce an organic crop when an equivalent organically produced variety is not commercially available...  (§ 205.204  (a (1)))

Planting season is still a while away for many of our clients, but seed purchases are in the process of being made. Keep in mind organic seed is required unless a similar variety is not commercially available. If organic seed is not commercially available, documentation of seed search must be maintained. If you are unable to find organic seed and have made attempts (at a minimum of three) you may use untreated, non-GMO seed.
If you are using a GMO analogous seed, you must submit a non-GMO statement for each variety used.
For purchased seed, keep all tags and/or bags for each variety planted along with an invoice indicating amount of seed purchased. This information must be submitted with the production plan, or submitted to the inspector so he/she may include the information with your production plan.
In an inoculant is used on any seed, the inoculant must be from an approved entity (accredited certification agency or OMRI). If not approved, you must submit a non-GMO statement along with the inoculant label to ICS for review PRIOR TO USE.
Reminder: Seed treatments and inoculants are not the same. If you are unsure of the product you have, please contact your Customer Care Specialist PRIOR TO USE.

Tobacco Transplants

The EEC regulations for organic production have recently changed.  One of these changes was to very specifically define, then prohibit, hydroponic systems.  ICS was not certain how the floatbed system of transplant production would be viewed and if it would be considered allowable under the new EEC regulations (834/2007 and 889/2008) so ICS contacted various organic certification bodies in the European Union for official interpretation. 
The response is that the floatbed system is prohibited.  As this information came to ICS too late to implement in 2009, the floatbed system for tobacco transplant production will be allowed for this year (2009) ONLY.  In 2010, transplants will have to be started in a soil based system, and the Production Plan will have to be adjusted to show what this system will be. 
All tobacco transplant producers requesting certification to the EEC organic regulations will receive a condition in their upcoming files regarding this issue; please do not be alarmed when you see the condition.  We are allowing until 2010 production plan submission for the producer to develop their alternative to the floatbeds and to include the new system in the annual Production Plan update. 
If you do not produce your own transplants and you wish to be certified to the EEC organic regulations, you must request documentation from the supplier regarding the transplant production method to verify a floatbed system is not used. 

 

ICS welcomes the following organizations to our family of certified clients. We’re proud to have you with us.

NOP Certifications

Abundant Life Farms	Family Farm
Adams, James or Mary Lou	Family Farm
Bass, Steve	Family Farm
Berry Patch Farm	Family Farm
Bifulco's Four Seasons Cold Storage, Inc	Contract Service
Black Brother's and Son Dist.	Contract Service
Blue Ridge Organics	Family Farm
Bontrager, Ezra & Milo	Family Farm
Brightwood Vineyard and Farm, LLC	Cottage Industry
Cohen Farm	Family Farm
Cosmetix West	Processor/Mfg
Cottle Organics	Cottage Industry
Deland Bakery	Processor/Mfg
FRMFP, Inc	Cottage Industry
Gold Knob Farms	Family Farm
Hagopian, Philip	Commercial Farm
Henry Blair Farm	Family Farm
Jack H. Winslow Farms, Inc	Family Farm
Jesse Volk Family Farm	Family Farm
Jubilee Farm	Family Farm
Keidel, Duane	Family Farm
Lively Up Farm	Family Farm
McKenna Labs	Processor/Mfg
Milkco, Inc	Processor/Mfg
Nature's Healthy Harvest LLC	Cottage Industry
NDSU: Carrington Research Ext Center	Commercial Farm
Newly Weds Foods, Horn Lake	Contract Processor
Oakhill Farms	Family Farm
Owl Feather Farm and Vineyard	Cottage Industry
Parker Farms of Pasquotank County,Inc	Family Farm
Port City Java	Processor/Mfg
Raven Rocks Farm	Family Farm
Rio Alta Packing	Family Farm
Roaring Fork Farm	Family Farm
Smith Farms	Family Farm
Spurlock Ranch, LLC	Family Farm
Symrise, Inc.	Processor/Mfg
The Nahualli Company	Processor/Mfg
Törnvik Frö AB	Handler
Tropical Nut & Fruit	Processor/Mfg
Two Sides Farm, LLC	Family Farm
Volk Farms	Family Farm
Zydeco Moon Farm	Family Farm

 

FVO Certifications

Big Ernie McCracken Farms & Trucking LLC	Family Farm
Boulder Creek Canyon Ranch, LLC	Commercial Farm
Christensen David & Julie	Family Farm
Dirksen, Daelyn	Family Farm
Dishwash Farm	Family Farm
Sht'uh Farm	Commercial Farm
Wagner, Richard	Family Farm

 

COR Certifications

Carnegie Farms, Ltd.	Family Farm
Gowan Seeds	Family Farm
Howpark Farms	Family Farm
Wiebe, Alvin	Family Farm

 

Do you want to join our family of certified organic clients? Contact us today: 701-486-3578

In August, ICS sent out a set of questions to all our clients relating to issues shared by many in the organic industry. Often what works for one will work for someone else. Therefore we have started the “What Works for Me” section.
If you didn’t get a chance to answer these questions the first time around, please feel free to send your response to Brandi Eissinger (brandi@ics-intl.com) on any of the five questions below.
Thank you to those who did submit answers.
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Marketing: Finding a market for organic product can be challenging for those just starting out. Please share how you found your market and/or any advice you have for new organic producers and processors. What works for you?

I decided from the get go that my company would be certified organic on day 1.  I have not found any difficulties in marketing my organic coffees.  It has been very important to make sure the consumer is educated on their purchases; and for the most part they know what organic is when they order their coffee from me.  My market found me.  It is the people that are seeking out great healthy products that tend to buy organic. (MoJo Roast)

We work hard to find local distributor to sell our products into the gourmet foods, we have had a lot of challenge but staying positive that our products will be carried at the store for consumers to buy. (Lemur International)

I found most of my markets by talking with other organic producers.  I refuse to be secretive with fellow organic producers and will share info with them at any time.  Also, our local organic chapter has a Yahoo group through which we share such info.  I often pick a category of buyer and do a Google search for my local area.  Then we make a lot of phone calls.  I often refer buyers to a particular grower that has a product they are looking for. (Bernard Fehringer)
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Record Keeping: The National Organic Program requires very thorough record keeping for every aspect of an organic operation, whether grower, processor, handler, etc. This record keeping can be confusing and/or tedious for many. What tips and tricks do you use to make this process easier? What works for you? 

I created a very user friendly data base that has significantly reduced the hours spent at inspection and has complete tracability and transparency.  I'm planning on marketing the program by mid summer 2010. (MoJo Roast)

Delegate certain parts of the documentation and insist on updating everyday, to be compiled at end of the month to ensure all documentations are synced and clear.   (Lemur International)

I maintain a diary of daily activity which shows field work and even includes harvest data including date of harvest, which bin the crop went into and the approximate amount.  I use [a] Bin Log form to track all inventory in and out.  This form shows the field of origin and tracks the Bill of Lading and Lot Number on the way out.  I typed a copy of the standard commercial bill of lading form available at any truck stop into Microsoft Word.  I can then fill in the blanks for each load and print it.  I incorporated a clean truck statement in the form also.  I print the buyers copy on white, my copy on blue and the trucker’s copy on yellow paper.  That way it is easy for anyone to know which copy to give to whom.  I have a separate folder for each crop and use different colored folders for each year.  Five color folder assortments are available from the major office supply stores – it takes 5 years to rotate through the colors so I don’t get files mixed up.  I also have a continuous sales log which shows every load that goes out regardless of commodity.  That way I have no trouble tracking the BOL and certificate numbers. (Bernard Fehringer)
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Weed Control: Making the transition to organic production is a good decision, but is not without its trials – weed control being one of the top issues we hear about. Please share how you control weeds on your farm. What works for you?

Half summer-fallow and half crop (Les Freeman)

Rotation between fall planted and spring planted crops has greatly improved my weed control.  I had a severe problem with wild rye and cheat grass.  This rotation has eliminated the problem.  Another problem weed is Canada Thistle.  If we get a spot, we don’t farm it and mow the thistle several times a year, basically starving the plants to death.  (Bernard Fehringer)
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Soil Fertility: Fertile soil is very important for the best crop and yield. How do you keep your soil as fertile as possible? What works for you?

Plant sweet clover with the crop and work into the soil next year along with the growth on the summer-fallow later on. (Les Freeman)

We incorporate as much crop residue as possible.  Some of the residue is used for our animal operations and all the manure is returned to the soil, particularly in areas that really need it like hill tops.  We are experimenting with interseeding winter peas with either winter triticale or winter wheat.  We did a small plot two years ago and found a nice benefit carried over into the following millet crop.  Last year, we did a circle of triticale for hay and a circle of white wheat.  We just finished putting up the hay so we don’t know the yield yet.  I can tell you that the heads in the part we left for seed were enormous and yielded about 60 bpa of mixed seed, even after a hail storm.  The peas suffered very little damage in the harvesting process.  We will use our rotary screen cleaner to separate the two.  We are just about to start harvesting the wheat so don’t know the yield.  A side benefit appears that the pea vines helped support the wheat when it was hailed. (Bernard Fehringer)
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Pest Control: Whether you’re a producer, processor, or handler, pests of all sizes can become an issue. Please share how you deal with these pests and any advice you have for others in the organic industry. What works for you?  

We currently use Ecolab for our pest control program, we have to insist on being disciplined to keep facility clean at all times, from production area, cleaning room, break room, lab, outside area and office area. (Lemur International)

Our biggest problem is wheat weevil in stored wheat.  We add Diatomaceous Earth to the wheat when it went in the bin.  Also, cleaning the bins very well to remove any hosts from the year before and putting a liberal amount of DE in the bottom of the bin plus around the areas of likely infestation such as the doors has pretty well controlled the problem. (Bernard Fehringer)

A CSA is quite unlike any other kind of business.  Firstly, the name, Community Supported Agriculture, indicates this is not just a business venture but some kind of relationship.  And, indeed, the early CSAs of the 1980s were less like a business venture than a social experiment. The economic needs of a farmer, generally a vegetable farmer, would be completely met by a group of people who would share the entirety of the farmer’s harvest. By growing a wide variety of produce from early spring through fall, most of all the fresh vegetable needs of the supporting families would be met. They would eat as if from their own large garden, adjusting their meals with the seasons. Some farms even included what an old fashioned homestead might raise; meat, milk, eggs, dried grains and tree fruit, in addition to vegetables.
Twenty years on, as different kinds of farmers and different kinds of communities got involved, CSA has morphed into a wide array of businesses. A few ideals unique to the original CSAs tie them together. Customers, who often are called members, pay ahead for an agreed upon amount of food, receive deliveries or pick up the product as it becomes available, and, at least in theory, accept that, as in all farming, there is a certain risk of not receiving exactly what was planned. In Minneapolis, people can buy shares in meat, egg or cheese CSAs, CSAs that provide flowers, vegetables, and even fruits and coffee from outside the region. You get the idea, anything agricultural can be sold through a CSA type model.
As with any business, if you want to begin a CSA, write a business plan. Many financial and emotional missteps can be avoided with a sound business plan. But, beyond that, here are some considerations I will share based on more than 15 years of involvement in community supported agriculture.
Be skilled at what you do before you start marketing your ag product through CSA. CSA marketing is NOT a way to “earn and learn” on your customer’s dime.
Consider your CSA commitments to be legal contracts you confidently have the ability to fulfill. For example, if you sell egg shares, know how large your flock must be and know that you have the skills and facilities required for that amount of production. There is more latitude selling at a farmers market or even to a grocer. If you have a crop failure the market shoppers or grocer have other options. Your CSA members prepaid and are counting on you!
CSA turns a solitary occupation into one filled with people. You will have many customers and they will have expectations unlike those of wholesale buyers or market shoppers. They are more likely to expect greater amounts of personal service, information about your product, how to use it, and how you produce it. Members may expect to visit your farm or even help out with certain tasks. Many CSA farms are organized in such a way as to welcome visitors, rely on volunteers and educate members through regular newsletters. Whether it is your intent to work that way or not, you will find some members have those expectations.
The most successful CSA farmers seem to have (or hire) the following talents:
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
The ability to manage their own time and that of others and meet deadlines.
Top notch organizational skills.
A love of the product they produce and the ability to express that enthusiasm to others.
Accurate and detailed record keeping and bookkeeping.
Comfort sharing your farm facilities and farm philosophy with members.
Direct marketing of any kind is more complex than other kinds of marketing. You can move 12 pallets of product to a wholesale distributor with one phone call, one semi driver and one invoice.  To sell that much product through a CSA requires infinitely more bookkeeping, delivery scheduling, and organization. Imagine how you would handle the communication to hundreds of members planning on picking up their “share” if something should happen to that load in transit.  I hope with that one example you begin to grasp the complexity of managing a CSA.
The numbers of new CSA operations has increased at an amazing pace in the last five years. The benefits of managing a CSA, if not the challenges, are not lost on farmers of all sizes, looking to make their business more stable and more profitable. While CSA customers expect to get their money’s worth, once a farmer has a track record of providing the kind and quality of product the member wants, it is remarkable the kinds of losses and disappointments they will tolerate while continuing to support a farm.  Many of you may remember the devastating floods of 2007. Several CSA vegetable farmers saw their fall production completely wiped out. Yet members not only signed up for the next year, some of them made financial contributions to defray the costs of flood clean up and repair.
As you can imagine, building that kind of relationship with ones customers is not automatic when one hangs up the CSA shingle. It takes exactly what it takes to run any business involving sales; consistency, follow-through, high quality, reliability, professionalism, and attention to detail.
If you are considering starting a CSA I encourage you to do some research. Talk with current CSA producers, read books and/or on-line reports, consider becoming a member of a CSA farm, perhaps with a product line you do not produce, and, above all, give yourself at least a year to plan, market and put the logistics in place.

Resources:
On Line:
www.nal.usda.gov  On this website, the National Agricultural Library of the USDA, search for Community Supported Agriculture. Lots of downloadable reports and a bibliography rich in resources.
In Print:
Sharing the Harvest, Elizabeth Henderson, 2007.

Ever since the internet has become so widespread, International Certification Services, Inc has looked for an easy way to make their client base searchable. We knew the ability would help our clients market their products, as well as help bring other people into the organic industry.
Thanks to Ecert, ICS’ comprehensive database, these benefits are no longer dreams and wishes.
On the ICS website (http://www.ics-intl.com) we now have a  web certificate search ability. This public access online search allows for easy searching of all ICS clients and their products. One can search by specific crop/livestock/product, or by a broader category of each of these areas. Name, location, status, service and client ID number are also all searchable.
The details provided by the search include: contact information, the standards to which the client is certified and which crops, livestock and/or products fit under each standard. It also lists the current organic status of each crop, livestock and/or product.
Because the information provided by the search is retrieved directly from ICS’ Ecert database, searchers will receive the most current data at all times.
The web certificate online search is compliant with Canadian and EU website requirements, and will help us meet the needs of our clients.