Organic?

Are We Organic?

Yes, during our first season in 2011, we were certified organic.  We leased land from a larger organic farm; reported all inputs to them and were claimed under their certifying tilth organization.  This is how we learned how to farm; Organically, by the book and also in spirit.  Still on Sauvie Island, still a mere seven easy miles from where the majority of our produce is sold, we have since changed our location but not our practices.

The Decision to Move:

The “organic” farm we leased from made some land management decisions we felt could jeopardize the health and quality of our produce.  We investigated our concerns and learned some disappointing truths about what is “okay” while practicing “organic” farming.

The “organic” farm we leased land from converted a large portion of their land to non-organic and planted several acres of Round Up Ready corn a mere >50 yards from our acre.  All the toxins used on that corn would eventually work their way into the subsoil and leach into the drainage ditch that watered the entire farm.  Without naming names, we voiced our concerns to Oregon Tilth who informed us this was a satisfactory practice under their guidelines.  Well that wasn’t satisfactory to us and more importantly, not good enough for the food we provide you and your family.

We were lucky enough to find a new piece of land on the island where some friends of ours just finished up a year of organic* farming.  This season we could not afford both one (1) year of organic certification (which runs around $900), and a greenhouse, so we went with the latter.  And knowing what we know now, we may never choose to purchase a label for ourselves that allows for such disappointing practices.

So, to wrap things up, we will be providing you with produce that is not only organically* grown, but in our humble opinion; safer to grow, healthier to eat, pure and simply superior to some produce labeled organic, which could have been exposed to similar unfortunate circumstances.  But as the governing bodies would have it, we can not label or tell you that our produce is “organic”.

Split River Growers uses:

All Organic Seed

All Organic Fertilizers

All Organic Weed & Pest Control Methods

Certified Organic? No, Not Good Enough!

* Note, intended meaning of the word “organic” derived from definition 1 & 4 of the Oxford English Dictionary and not intended to be associated with any Organic Certification governing entities or affiliates.