By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator
One of the main reasons farmers join Certified Naturally Grown is to highlight a commitment to producing food for the local community without synthetic chemicals or GMOs.
And one of the main ways we help them do that is by giving each CNG producer a free profile on our website!
Once farmers get certified, they instantly gain a profile on our searchable map!
1. Highlight Your Transparency
Everything we do is guided by accountability. This means that important certification documents are publicly posted on CNG farmers and beekeepers’ profiles, including Inspection Reports, Application(s), and Declaration. We know that CNG certified producers are proud to showcase their certification, and what better way to do that than to make the core certification documents accessible to anyone who would like to view them!
This radical transparency boosts trust among customers, market managers, fellow farmers, and other valuable stakeholders.
To see this in action, check out Dances with Bees’ profile, fully populated since Jay and Patti Parsons earned certification in 2012:
Say, that’s a lot of inspection reports!
2. Gain Customers
Our map of Certified Naturally Grown farmers makes it easy for eaters to find the CNG farms near them! The customizable search function is user-friendly and comprehensive, so customers can search for farmer profiles in their area by both distance and certification type.
Our map with farm listings is easy to find and remember: just type CNGfarming.org/map
Plus, when customers pair our map with our Guide to Exceptional Markets, they can also find the markets, coops, and independent grocery stores where CNG farmers and beekeepers are vendors.
3. Connect With Farmers and Beekeepers In Your Community
Of course, our map isn’t just for customer use: it’s a key tool for fellow farmers to connect to conduct each others’ inspections, solve problems, and build community!
Once farmers are logged in on our website, our map transforms with another layer of information: icons become visible that indicate which farms are due to conduct an inspection, and which are due to receive an inspection. These images make it simple to connect – especially since each profile lists multiple ways to get in touch!
See the icons in action on our map of CNG certified farms in Florida:
4. Build Your Web Presence
Certified Naturally Grown profiles are fully customizable and can be filled to the brim with information, photos, stories, news, and links. In many cases, it serves as the primary web presence for farms across the country whose farmers may be too busy, y’know, farming to keep up a separate web presence.
Plus, this perk comes FREE with certification!
A Certified Naturally Grown profile also helps drive traffic to your page from Google, which could very well be the starting point for customers to learn about your farm.
Check out Spruill Farm Conservation Project‘s profile below to see just how much you can pack into your complimentary CNG profile:
5. Showcase Your CNG Credential
We offer oodles of ways to show off your CNG status in person with things like your certificate, tag stickers, twist ties, bumper stickers, and flag. Consider the website listing as the virtual version of all this CNG swag! Getting listed on our site makes it clear that you are proudly certified by a grassroots organization that works for farmers, not corporate conglomerates.
6. Access an International Community
Did you know that Certified Naturally Grown offers certification to farmers and beekeepers in Canada? In fact, at the time of this publication, there are over 20 CNG operations in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Ontario!
When you get certified, you not only join a close-knit group of farmers in your community, but you expand your network well beyond state and even country lines!
Not yet certified, but want to get listed on our site? Click the green apply button below:
You can also learn more about joining CNG here.