That way, when your site down launch, you can promote it to interested parties and when your first crop of mushrooms are available, it is quick and easy to get the word out.
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So if a business is only a year old, and this is their first crop, then it really won't be recognised by those obsessed with and in the know, as organic.
Um - garlic not mushrooms
True regarding "organic" - perhaps I should clarify as "organically grown".
Many members of the Garlic Association have looked into being certified as they grow organically, and we had a speaker from an organic registration group discuss at length at our last conference, only to learn that organic registration is a very lengthy, annually time consuming, stringent and expensive process - with the registration company representative admitting there is no protection of the paid organic status from those that "claim" organic. A toothless tiger.
Several association members who were previously certified elected to let their certification lapse as they found there was no benefit to them, in terms of price and sales, in exchange for the annual expense, documentation and auditing onus.
After much research, and discussion with small growers and certifiers, the consensus is that, unless you are exporting, or selling in large quantities to the supermarket chains, or have a large and diverse property/income where the entire property is certified, there is no point in spending the many thousands of dollars, and paperwork hours, a year on certification.
It has been found that most consumers are happy to know where the garlic came from and that it has been organically grown ... this comes from trust of the grower, a direct link from the farmer to their market, and constant communication to buyers from growers.
If we grow to such a commercial size that it is beneficial - or a requirement - to be certified then we most certainly will go down that path.
In the meantime - we are happy to be known as "organically grown" - with every stage of our crop on full view of buyers either personally or via facebook/website ... but thanks for the heads up as I have changed a comment on the page from "organic" to "organically grown" to save confusion.
