News

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator
Jennie Love shows off her new Certified Naturally Grown Certificate
We are thrilled to welcome farmer-florist Jennie Love of Love ‘n Fresh Flowers to the Certified Naturally Grown community! Love ‘n Fresh Flowers is now the only full service florist offering 100% Certified Naturally Grown flowers.
For those uninitiated with this game changer, Jennie Love is known as a true leader and educator in the sustainable flower field. She is the President of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, as well as an instructor at the legendary Longwood Gardens. Jennie is renowned for her stunningly seasonal and often unconventional arrangements, as well as her thorough workshops for both the curious public and seasoned professionals.
Her teaching farm exists on five acres of preserved green space in Philadelphia, showcasing some of the city’s best blooms and most innovative floral design – in an unexpected location. 
All of her groundbreaking work is dedicated to the health of the earth and her community. As Jennie puts it,

This Certificate speaks to our deeper commitment to growing in a truly sustainable manner, focused first on nurturing Nature and second on the production of crops. Turns out if you put Nature first, she helps you grow even better crops!
Jennie Love is building momentum toward a flower industry where passionate farmer-florists grow extraordinary blooms and thriving businesses without the use of synthetic chemicals, and with an unwavering commitment to seasonality for even the pickiest clients.
We are honored that Love ‘n Fresh Flowers is now a dedicated member of the CNG community.
In fact, Jennie was so jazzed about gaining her certification that she published a blog on her website about what joining CNG means to her. In case you missed it during the holiday hubbub, we’ve decided share some highlights of the post with you below.
Do you know a flower farmer who would be a great fit for Certified Naturally Grown? Direct them to CNGfarming.org/flowers
Here’s some of what Jennie Love wrote on her blog on December 18, 2019:
“Christmas came early this week when our farm received its official paperwork for Certified Naturally Grown flowers! I was giddy to get my hands on that Certificate! I’m really delighted to have completed the rigorous certification process for Certified Naturally Grown flowers, joining a thriving community of small farms and apiaries dedicated to growing with Nature, rather than fighting and controlling it.
“So what is Certified Naturally Grown? Certified Naturally Grown provides a much-needed complement to the National Organic Program (NOP) run through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). While the NOP is an important program that primarily serves medium and large-scale agricultural operations, Certified Naturally Grown is instead tailored for direct-market farmers producing food and flowers for their own local communities. Our flower farm has been using organic growing practices from the very start, never relying on synthetic chemicals and other inputs to grow our beautiful blooms. However, we did not pursue becoming Certified Organic through the USDA since the process was just too costly and too bureaucratic to be worthwhile for Love ‘n Fresh Flowers.

“It’s one thing to not spray chemicals, but it’s another entirely to adopt holistic practices such as planting hedgerows for wildlife habitat, maintaining a diverse farm ecosystem, selling your crops locally rather than shipping across the country, committing to water conservation, keeping a close eye on energy consumption, and treating farm workers well, including paying a livable wage. Industrial monoculture farming is not sustainable, no matter how many of the “words” you can put on the label. So, in my mind and heart, getting Certified Organic wasn’t good enough.
“This past summer, when I learned about Certified Naturally Grown, a grassroots movement started in 2002 by small farmers to hold each other accountable to a much higher standard of sustainability on all levels, I knew I’d found my tribe and that getting this certification would mean a lot to me. I wanted to verify that all the practices I’d adopted at our farm were truly in line with Nature. Going entirely no-till in the fields and hoop houses this year was a huge step forward and has been the catalyst for cracking wide-open so many assumptions I had about farming. Through the detailed certification process for Certified Naturally Grown, I learned even more. I now firmly believe small, sustainable, and thoughtful farming can save our planet. (More on that topic sometime this winter when I’ve had enough time to collect my thoughts into a comprehensive essay.)

“Here are the practices we have always been committed to here at Love ‘n Fresh, but are now verified through our Certified Naturally Grown flowers designation:

• Committing to absolutely no use of synthetic chemical pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizers. Ever.
• Employing holistic practices that work with nature to address pest, disease, and nutrient challenges, minimizing use of even approved sprays, treatments and amendments in an effort to always grow with the least amount of human interference.
• Investing in our soil, water, wildlife, and air with ecological practices such as conserving water, planting cover crops rotating crops, preserving hedgerow buffer strips for wildlife, and protecting pollinator habitats.
• Using organically produced seeds whenever possible and never using chemically treated or genetically modified seeds.
• Providing animals with a healthy environment and sufficient room to grow and thrive.
• Striving to enhance the positive environmental impacts of production and minimize any negative impacts, and continually improving the sustainability of the entire farm operation.
  “One of the things I liked most about the certification process for Certified Naturally Grown was that I was asked to come up with and declare new initiatives for the coming growing season to make my farm even more sustainable. So, for the 2020 season, I will work hard to get solar panels installed on the new barn to power our floral coolers and install a water catchment system on the barn as well to collect rainwater for irrigation. I’m so excited for the coming growing season! I can feel the farm coming alive in a whole new way!!
  “Now go find a Certified Naturally Grown farm near you and support them!“

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

Sometimes, even the crops grown in the nourished soil of a Certified Naturally Grown farm need a boost.
Pacific Gro produces liquid fertilizer from fish, shrimp, and crab caught in, of course, the Pacific Ocean. Their bio-active fertilizer uses shrimp and crab shell in the fertilizer to increase yields. Plus, these shells are micronized in a liquid that will not clog fertigation emitters – an innovation unique to Pacific Gro.
We spoke with marketing director Warren Shoemaker to learn how the addition of shells can support soil health along with whole-farm health. Welcome to the CNG Business Allies community, Pacific Gro!
Are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? 
Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did Pacific Gro get started?
Warren Shoemaker (WS): Pacific Gro began making cold-processed fish hydrolysate in 2004 using the scrap from the processors of salmon on the Washington coast. In 2013, founder Jim Brackins began using shell scrap from the crab and shrimp processors because this resource is so plentiful in season, and has no other use. As farmers began using it, we learned that the shell material provides special benefits beyond the organic nitrogen that fish has been known for.
CNG: What are Pacific Gro’s core values?
WS: We are committed to being an important supplier to farmers who transition to inputs that benefit soil health. We believe that organic practices are a vital solution to human health problems, as well as climate change. By working with innovative agronomists and organic crop consultants, we’re helping to build a network that can transition agriculture to ecological practices. 
CNG: How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?
WS: CNG’s farmers demonstrate what’s possible without toxic inputs. Many of our customers grow exceptional quality fruit, measured by high brix and beautifully large produce. Leading-edge growers achieve this by understanding the role of all nutrients.
CNG: What are some exciting developments at Pacific Gro our CNG community can look forward to in the future?
WS: We have a number of field trials in progress this year, and now have an agronomist who’s supporting a lot of large farms. Just recently we demonstrated remarkable success on organic strawberries in California. This follows what we’ve done in blueberries and cane berries, as well as tree fruit. The key is our plant-available calcium that is derived from shell and chelated with amino acids. Chitin from shell and high fish oil content support diverse soil life. And we’ll soon introduce a fish hydrolysate with phosphorous.
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in America?
WS: Farmers should stop using glyphosate and fungicides right away, and adopt practices to maintain balanced nutrition of crops.

…are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? 

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

Hub City Farmers Market, Spartanburg, South Carolina
A highly selective group of farmers markets in this country have made a conscious effort to recognize and prefer the farmer vendors who verify their growing practices with a certification. Certified Naturally Grown is extending our work by actively recognizing and promoting these markets for their role in going the extra mile to help build a more sustainable food system by encouraging ecological practices.
Specifically, we vet these markets to confirm they qualify, and then feature them in our three-tiered Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs).

We’re proud to promote qualified GEMs markets around the country – including these five newly-listed markets in Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Find a listing of all the GEMs markets here!
Does your neighborhood market feature certified vendors? If there’s at least one CNG farmer, let us know! We would be delighted if it qualifies and will happily add it to our GEMs listing.
Just click the button below to #PitchYourMarket!

Ft. Wayne’s Farmers Market

Ft. Wayne, Indiana
We love this market not only because they give preference to produce and livestock farmers who are Certified Naturally Grown, but because they are also the second Exceptional market in the state of Indiana. Plus, their cousin market across the St. Marys River, 3 Rivers Food Co-op Natural Grocery & Deli, is also a Tier 2 GEM. The cherry on top? This market has just been selected by Greater Fort Wayne Inc. as one of the top five small businesses the metro chamber alliance represents!
Waygreen Local Fare Market

Waycross, Georgia
Though Georgia boasts the most CNG farms and GEMs markets than anywhere else in the country, the majority of this concentration is in the northern part of the state. Waygreen Local Fare Market is certainly doing its part to help fill the southern half of Georgia with CNG pride: this market actively assists farmers with the CNG certification process through hands-on paperwork support, as well as a fund dedicated to helping farmers with our annual dues. The market became a GEM just as soon as their first farm became certified, showing an unstoppable enthusiasm for Certified Naturally Grown!
This market is bolstered by Waygreen, a local non-profit whose mission is to improve the health of their community through accessible food and food education.
High Country Food Hub and King Street Farmers’ Market

Boone, North Carolina
These Tier 1 GEMs both operate through Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, but they serve their communities in different ways: High Country Food Hub is a year-round online market offering customized pickup on Wednesday afternoons, while the King Street Farmers’ Market serves as a seasonal farmers market on Tuesday afternoons and evenings. The Food Hub also features vendors from multiple states to showcase a full spectrum of regional flavors.
Homer Farmers Market

Homer, Alaska
Fresh produce? In Alaska? Well, of course!
The Homer Farmers Market is the first Exceptional Market in this big state – though there are two independent grocers listed in our GEMs Directory: Panhandle Produce in Juneau and Salt and Soil Marketplace in Southeast Alaska. It’s especially important to support local growers in this state, given the extremely limited growing season and somewhat remote location. Homer Farmers Market makes it easy – and tasty – for Alaskans to get involved in their local food systems.
Hub City Farmers Market

Spartanburg, South Carolina
Hub City Farmers Market is a non-profit committed to increasing the supply, demand, and access of healthy and local food for all. HCFM is also the very first Exceptional Market in South Carolina! This market offers a weekly producer-only Farmers Market, a Mobile Market, an Urban Farm, a Community Garden, and (believe it or not) much more. Hub City Farmers Market sets a high bar for other GEMs in South Carolina!

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

We’re celebrating 33 newly certified farmers and beekeepers joining the CNG community since early September! Check the list below to see if a farmer you know is among them. Plus, our Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs) is growing!

The Harvest Quarterly is our seasonal newsletter, delivered every few months. Enjoy it while it’s fresh! Not yet subscribed? Sign up here.

Congratulations to These 33 Newly Certified Farmers and Beekeepers

We are delighted to recognize the producers who have completed all the requirements for CNG certification since early September. They are listed below alphabetically by state and province. 
To find a list of all the Certified Naturally Grown producers in your area, visit our searchable map here.
Know someone who should be listed? Send them this link!

Seeds and Soil Farm, AK
Prairiewood Farm, AR
High Energy Agriculture, AZ
Midtown Microgreens II, AZ
Gorski Apiary, CT
Drunken Cabbage Farm LLC, FL
Goat & Thistle Farm, GA
Green Box Mushrooms, GA
Liberty Tree Farms, GA
Lonely Hearts Club Farm, GA
Sustainable Bioresources, LLC, HI
Tribe Country Farms, IL
Dick’s Organics, IN
Grounded Roots Farm, MI
The Farm on Jennings, MI
Lavender Rhapsody, LLC, MO
Spanish Angel Farms, MO
Alali Farm, MS
Killer Bees Honey, NC
Brinks Hill Farm, NY
Full Lotus Farm, NY
Project EATS, NY
Valley Blooms LLC, OR
Montour Farm Fresh CSA, PA
Woodland Jewel Mushrooms, PA
Fresh Greens Farm, TN
West Glow Farm, TN
On the Acre LLC, TX
Wild Creek Farm, TX
Charis farmstead, VA
Swift Creek Berry Farm and Greenhouse, VA
Vintage Prairie Farm, WI
CANADA:
Honey Berry Haven, BC

Nearly 100 Markets Listed in our Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs)

Crescent City Farmers Market in Louisiana, a Tier 2 GEM
We are committed to ongoing efforts that directly support the markets that feature CNG-certified vendors.
Specifically, our Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs) lists the markets, coops, and independent grocery stores that recognize and prefer vendors that verify their ecological practices through certification.
We’re proud to promote so many qualified GEMs markets – and with just FIVE more, we will have identified a whopping 100 markets that have at least one CNG vendor and qualify to be listed in our directory!
Will you help us reach 100 GEMs-listed markets?
If your local market has at least one CNG vendor, please recommend it be added to our roster. The perks are plenty!
Just click the button below to #PitchYourMarket!

Power the Peer Inspection Process!

You know as well as we do that farming is a knowledge-intensive occupation, and insights shared by experienced farmers can significantly boost the odds of success. Helping farmers to connect with their equally busy peers is quite challenging – but it is invaluable.
It’s also central to CNG’s peer review certification model.
Your special gift by December 31st will help grow our new Mentorship program to enhance the ease of connecting hard-working farmers with peers for inspections, and the value of those interactions when they happen. 
GIVE NOW
Plus, a generous donor will match gifts sent by the end of the year!
This means that the very best way to boost farmer success is by becoming a monthly sustainer. Your monthly contribution – of any amount – will also be matched by this generous donor, meaning your first 12 gifts will be doubled!
BECOME A MONTHLY SUSTAINER
By way of thanks, we’ll send new monthly sustainers two hand-drawn CNG bandanas, festooned with seasonal roots, oyster mushrooms, seeds, and crisp greens. (Designed by our own talented Aly Miller, of course!)
Or, please make a one-time donation:
Your $25 Gift – Doubles to $50
Your $50 Gift – Doubles to $100 
Your $100 Gift – Doubles to $200
DOUBLE YOUR ONE-TIME DONATION
There are more than 700 CNG farmers and beekeepers throughout the US and Canada, and these farms touch innumerable communities, plates, ecosystems, brains, bellies, and hearts.
Let’s join together to support as many Certified Naturally Grown farmers as possible.
Do you know someone who would be interested in contributing to this initiative? Invite them to give at CNGfarming.org/peers

The Latest Reads

• Welcome New Board Members of CNG!
• Put a Certification Label On It? Certified Naturally Grown vs. Certified Organic
• 6 Benefits of Getting Listed on the CNG Website
• How Exceptional Markets Can Get Even Better
• 9 Farms That Included a Community Observer in their CNG Inspection
• Hot Off The Press: Our Latest Newsletter About Certified Naturally Grown Farmers
  -⠀Business Ally Blogs:
  • Barn2Door
  • Chelsea Green Publishing
  • Georgia Sea Grill
    Are there any new CNG members near you? Click the image and enter your zip code to find out! 

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

Welcome Leonard Githinji, Katie Gourley, Kim Karris, and Jasmine Nielsen!
We are thrilled to welcome four new board members to our grassroots group! They bring with them a true breadth of experience from different fields within the food system and all around the country. These new members hail from Virginia, Oregon, Georgia, and New York, and join the Certified Naturally Grown Board of Directors for a three-year term.
But before we introduce them, we’d like to offer deep thanks to our two outgoing board members: Jonathan Duffy, former board Chair, and Elizabeth Weller, former board Secretary, for their dedication and contributions over the past three and six (!) years, respectively. We look forward to staying connected with them both in their continuing roles as beekeeper (Jonathan) and farmer (Elizabeth). 
Thank you Jonathan Duffy and Elizabeth Weller!
Read on to meet the new folks joining our returning board members: Andrew Linker, board Chair and Ross Margulies. Welcome Leonard Githinji, Katie Gourley, Kim Karris, and Jasmine Nielsen!
Leonard Githinji
Virginia State University
Virginia
Dr. Leonard Githinji serves as an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist of Sustainable and Urban Agriculture at Virginia State University, with prior experience as a Horticulture Specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and in a similar capacity at Tuskegee University in Alabama. He has a Ph.D. in Agronomy and Soils, an MS in Physical Land Resources, and a BS in Agriculture with more than 10 years of related experience across three continents. His research interests include sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture, enhancing the viability of limited-resource farmers, urban food systems, and integrated crop-livestock production systems. He has published over 30 research and Extension articles focusing on sustainable agricultural practices. He has taught several courses including soil science, vegetable crops production, soil morphology, soil physics, and Geographic Information System. Leonard has been awarded multiple grants as a project investigator and has received several professional awards including the Showcasing Scholarship; a Showcase of Excellence Award; Faculty Performance Award; Academic Excellence Award, and the A.L. Smith Award.
Katie Gourley
Culinary Breeding Network
PDX Whole Grain Bakers Guild
Oregon
Born and raised in Portland, OR, Katie Gourley has experience working as a community organizer, advocate, educator, and practitioner of sustainable food systems. She is currently a professional baker operating a community supported bakery to combine a lifelong passion for feeding others with an interest in biodiversity, ecological sustainability, and social justice. Katie is actively involved in movements to revitalize heritage grain economies as a member of the PDX Whole Grain Bakers Guild. She also works as a creative consultant for the Culinary Breeding Network. In Spring 2019, Katie graduated with her Masters in Urban Planning from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her thesis on community seed libraries and local seed sovereignty movements was the recipient of the Harvard Urban Planning and Design Thesis Prize. Her academic background is in urban planning, regional food systems, and movements for food sovereignty.
Kim Karris
Food Well Alliance
Georgia
Kim Karris joined Food Well Alliance in 2015 as a member of its founding team. As Executive Director, Karris leads the organization’s mission to mobilize a regional coalition that works together to build viable, thriving urban farms and community gardens across metro Atlanta. She was instrumental in developing the organization’s formative grantmaking and capacity building program, which has invested more than $4 million into a diverse network of more than 150 grantee-partners that includes gardens, farms, markets and community food organizations. In 2019, under Karris’ leadership, Food Well Alliance launched metro Atlanta’s first City Agriculture Planning process with the Atlanta Regional Commission. Prior to Food Well Alliance, Karris launched the first U.S office of global NGO HelpAge International. She has lived, farmed, and worked directly with agricultural communities in Hawaii, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua. Karris is a graduate of Agnes Scott College and received a Masters Degree in Sustainable Food Systems from the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica.
Jasmine Nielsen
Julep Consulting
New York University
New York
Jasmine Nielsen draws on two decades of experience leading New York City nonprofit organizations to provide strategic advisement, coaching, and training to boards of directors, executive directors, and senior management. A trained facilitator, Jasmine is adept at guiding groups through challenging conversations. Her holistic approach to organizational development encompasses strategic planning, governance, fundraising, communications, and fiscal and operating systems. Jasmine consults with nonprofit organizations working in food, social justice, arts and culture, urbanism and open space, and the environment. Jasmine is an Adjunct Instructor in the Food Studies program at New York University and Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Equity Advocates. From 2014 to 2016, she was the Executive Director of Just Food. Prior to that, Jasmine spent 16 years as the Executive Director of Love Heals (now an initiative of GMHC). Jasmine has a BA from Vassar College and an MA in Food Studies from New York University.
 

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.

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

There’s a very strong chance that you have at least one book from Chelsea Green Publishing on your shelf. There’s an even better chance that that book or those books are dog-eared, underlined, collaged with sticky notes, and all but falling apart after years of reference and careful study.
The 100% employee-owned company has long produced essential books on ecological agriculture, publishing for both the practice and the politics of sustainability since its founding in 1984. From Eliot Coleman’s classics to Leah Penniman’s guide from her Certified Naturally Grown farm, Chelsea Green has made a big impact on CNG farmers and the public alike.
This publisher’s books are deeply practical, and always put forth with the goal of cultural change.
We are truly thrilled to welcome this pioneering company to the CNG Business Ally community.
To learn more about the rich history and mission of this Vermont-based organization, you won’t want to miss our interview with Marketing Director Sean Maher!
Are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? 
Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did Chelsea Green Publishing get started?
Sean Maher, Marketing Director (SM): Margo Baldwin started Chelsea Green with her husband, Ian, in 1984. At first, it was based out of their home in Chelsea, VT—a town with two greens, hence the name Chelsea Green.
In the first year of operation, Margo and Ian published the first trade edition of an eco-fable called The Man Who Planted Trees, by Jean Giono. The book reflected, as Margo put it, “the initial vision and impetus” behind the company. Still in print, it is one of Chelsea Green’s most successful books to date. Another early success story was Eliot Coleman’s New Organic Grower, a seminal manual of innovative gardening methods that helped inspire the organic movement in the U.S. Coleman is still one of our best-selling authors. In 1994, Chelsea Green published The Straw Bale House, a renewable building technique that was energy efficient, durable, affordable, beautiful, and totally unheard of at that time.
Chelsea Green is a founding member of the Green Press Initiative, committed to using recycled papers and non-toxic inks since 1985. We print in North America only and not overseas, except when we are printing for our UK operations.
CNG: What are Chelsea Green Publishing’s core values?
SM: The company’s unique vision and purpose states, “Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for effecting cultural change. Our purpose is to reverse the destruction of the natural world by challenging the beliefs and practices that are enabling this destruction and by providing inspirational and practical alternatives that promote sustainable living.”
To achieve this, we publish for both the practice and the politics of sustainability. In other words, we publish informational texts about hard-won organic stewardship of all kinds while also publishing motivating treatises and guidebooks on citizenship, political resistance, and activism. We aim to empower our readers to reduce their personal ecological impact while participating in the restoration of both healthy human communities and thriving natural systems.
We are committed to remaining fully independent because we believe in the critical role independent publishing can play in creating real social change. A 100% employee owned company, we aim to foster a culture of ownership, in our workplace and individually as citizens of the world. We know our books are needed, that the ideas behind the books are important and necessary, so we invest a great deal in sharing them with communities of people who will carry the lessons forward and farther.
CNG: How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?

SM: Our relationship with CNG began with Leah Penniman’s book, Farming While Black. The themes of food justice, farmer activism, and locally supported food systems run deep at both Chelsea Green and CNG.
When we find an organization committed to legitimizing natural growing practices with high standards and high ideals, we get excited and want to learn more. Chelsea Green understands the power of grassroots initiatives that change our food systems for the better, one grower at a time. 
CNG: How does Certified Naturally Grown support Chelsea Green Publishing’s customers?
SM: Chelsea Green has very loyal, impassioned audiences who take their particular agricultural and environmental missions seriously. That’s the benefit of this kind of publishing. In these dedicated, change-maker circles, cutting edge ideas spread quickly because people are always pushing the boundaries and thinking about what comes next. Those same reader-activist-farmer-steward-paradigm-shifters understand the importance of certification as a means to legitimacy in the consumer marketplace. 
To quote Margo, Chelsea Green’s President and Publisher, “In terms of our place in the agricultural movement, we want to maintain that we’re at the leading edge of new ideas and new experiments and new ways of thinking about agriculture.”
CNG: What are some exciting developments at Chelsea Green Publishing our CNG community can look forward to in the future?
SM: A batch of exciting, freshly-released titles! Including Dancing with Bees by Brigit Strawbridge Howard, whose dedication to “the plight of pollinators,” including little known species that could have a big impact on our landscapes, is a total joy to read. And Farming on the Wild Side by Nancy and John Hayden, who have spent the last quarter century transforming their land in Northern Vermont into an agroecological, regenerative, biodiverse fruit farm, nursery, and pollinator sanctuary. 
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in America?

SM: When I asked this question to some of our staff, Senior Editor Fern Bradley gave a wonderful response: “How powerful is the wand?Powerful enough to turn back the clock to the pre-Roundup/GMO crops era and outlaw the development of herbicide-resistant crops? That would be one way to help. Another would be to give every farmer a no-cost mentor who would help them transition away from dependence on synthetic chemicals, as fast as possible.” 

Channeling our author Gabe Brown (Dirt to Soil), he might say: Wave the wand to instantly cover all exposed agricultural soils in America with growing crops, and keep them covered from then on, because building soil health is the best way to improve farm systems.
CNG: Is there anything else CNG farmers and beekeepers should know?
SM: The simple answer: that Chelsea Green has always been and will continue to be a fiercely independent publisher of the ideas, practices, and belief systems that support the resilience and relevance of sustainable agriculture of all kinds. And that we are not afraid of being the first to step into uncharted territory. Trailblazing is in our blood, and we’ve had a lot of success with it over the years. 
…are you interested in featuring your like-minded company on our blog? 

By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator

Kevin Prather of SCG Market Garden inspects Urban Roots Farm in Springfield, MO
We are thrilled to announce the first nine CNG inspections conducted with Community Observers!
Community Observers are those who participate in the CNG certification process by witnessing a farm’s annual inspection. Just about anyone can serve as a Community Observer! From farmers market managers to school crossing guards, postmasters to pitmasters: if they want to have a healthier and more resilient local food system, they’re a good candidate.
Community Observers all over the country are starting to join the CNG movement, connecting on a deeper level to their local food system and those who help it thrive.
Farmers are benefiting by developing stronger ties with local community members, while some gain flexibility around our “No repeat inspectors” rule.
Read on to hear from the pioneering cohort of growers welcoming Community Observers to their Certified Naturally Grown farms!
Want to get involved? Click the green button to register your interest.

Farm: First Light Farm in Carnation, Washington
Inspector: Jeremy Houston, Green Raven Farm in Duvall, Washington
Observer: Natalie Quist, Manager at Carnation Farmers Market
“It was great. In fact, I’d like even more community involvement so farmers in our area can learn more about our community’s needs. I teach at a community college, and there we’re really big about peer assessment. Farmer-to-farmer is great, but it’s important to involve someone from the community. It just seemed like a natural fit to bring them into the conversation to learn about the farm, and to ask questions farmers might not ask of each other!
“This was a pretty seamless process – even in the pouring rain on inspection day. We will definitely include a Community Observer again! Without a doubt. Perhaps we’ll link up with the wonderful senior center nearby, or maybe somebody from the local food bank.”
– Farmer Jane Reis, First Light Farm
Farm: Ward Vegetables in Big Rapids, Michigan
Inspector: Liz Visser, Blandford Nature Center Farm in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Observer: Dylan Perkins, local chef

“I really liked having a third party involved, especially a person who is invested in the farm in question. They’ll know exactly the kinds of growing practices the farmer uses, and their goals for future sustainability.”
– Inspector Liz Visser, Blandford Nature Center Farm
Farm: Lavender Rhapsody in Bland, Missouri
Inspector: Sam Wiseman, Sunflower Savannah in Beaufort, Missouri
Observer: Job Green, WWOOF Volunteer

“We were so fortunate to have not only Sam Wiseman from Sunflower Savannah Farm conduct our CNG inspection, but she brought a WWOOF-USA volunteer, Job Green, as well. Sam asked if she could bring Job as it would be a great experience for him to have while exchanging at her farm – and we were thrilled with the idea. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting both Sam and Job. Job was very interested in the components of the CNG inspection (I made a copy of the inspection forms for him as well to follow along during our inspection). It was interesting to hear more about the WWOOF-USA program and the farms Job has had the opportunity to exchange with.”
– Farmer Cathy Smith, Lavender Rhapsody
Farm: 3 Porch Farm in Comer, Georgia
Inspector: Brent Jenkins, Wild Dream Produce in Tignall, Georgia
Observer: Dan Jackson, local reporter

Farm: Bittersweet Farm in Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Inspector: Tom Kalal, University of Connecticut Master Gardener
Observers: Two customers

Farm: Rainbow Beavers in Hominy, Oklahoma
Inspector: Edna Sappington of Sappington Common Wealth in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Observer: Brandy Swanson, customer
Farm: Dances with Bees in Cornelia, Georgia
Inspector: Andrew Linker of Humble Vine Farm in Cleveland, Georgia
Observer: Susan, local natural beekeeper
Farm: Present Moment Farm in Hakalau, Hawaii
Inspector: Eric Weinert of Pure KNF in Papaikou, Hawaii
Observer: Susannah V. Gudmundson, local farmer, locavore, and healthcare practitioner
Farm: Dunton Family Farm / Victory Seed Company in Molalla, Oregon
Inspector: Linda Taylor of Little Brown House Herbary in Boring, Oregon
Observer: Brenda Nicholson, locavore

This fall we’re calling on farmers markets and grocers to Level Up and get a higher ranking in our three-tier Guide to Exceptional Markets (GEMs).
Tier 1 market managers are encouraged to raise the bar for growing practices at your market and take steps to prefer vendors who hold a certification. You’ll boost customer confidence when you encourage vendors to get certified and verify their claims about production practices.
Your market will get a boost too, by receiving a visibly higher ranking in our Guide to Exceptional Markets and all the standard perks awarded to Tier 2 markets:

• free banner design,
• free press release,
• free temporary tattoos of the Exceptional Market badge, and
• priority assistance involving your community stakeholders in CNG farm inspections as Observers.
  Take the first step to level up and register here today. 

Why take this step?

There’s increasing customer demand for local food that’s produced without harmful synthetic chemicals or GMOs. Not all local farms meet these standards, but it’s difficult for customers to distinguish the more ecologically minded farmers, without visible signs of certification. Self-descriptions by farmers are not reliable indicators of actual farming practices. By giving preference to vendors who take the extra steps to obtain certification, the market will have higher quality vendors, and better serve their customers. Over time, this will benefit the market in a number of ways:

• Greater loyalty and enthusiasm from customers who want farmers to meet high standards that are verified
• Ease of communicating which vendors are farming sustainably; and
• Greater market recognition and perks from a Tier 2 GEMs listing

How to Level Up to Tier 2

In short, the market must demonstrate they have a preference for vendors who hold a certification, and include Certified Naturally Grown as one of the options. (They must continue to have at least one CNG vendor participating in the market, as is required for Tier 1 status). 
Markets can demonstrate this commitment in a variety of ways. Here’s how current Tier 2 participants are signifying their preference for CNG producers. 
Option A: State on the vendor application that you prefer vendors hold a certification, ask them to indicate their certification, and list Certified Naturally Grown as one option.  

• “We place priority on vendors who hold at least one of the following certifications: Certified Naturally Grown, certified organic or humane certified. Please indicate if you hold a certification, and provide a copy of your most recent certificate with your application.”
• –Crescent City Farmer’s Market, New Orleans, Louisianna
  Option B. State prominently on your website that you prefer vendors with certification, including Certified Naturally Grown as one option. 
• “Preference is given to farmers and vendors who are Certified Naturally Grown.”

– -Norcross Farmer’s Market, Norcross, GA

• “The market standard incorporates the principles embodied under the Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) guidelines. Farmers that have received their CNG certification or USDA Organic certification will be given preference as well as those located in Forsyth County and within a 50 mile radius of Vickery Village.”
• -Vickery Village Farmers Market, Cumming, GA
• “We place priority on growers and farmers who hold one of the following certifications: Certified Naturally Grown, certified Organic or Humane certified.”
• -The Oregon City Year-Round Farmer’s Market states at the top of their Vendors page
  Option C. Create a Rating System of your Local Growers
  Dawson’s Market in Rockville, MD has a three-tier scale of Local-Good, Local-Better, Local-Best. Below is a screenshot of their website where this scale is posted, and the description of “Local-Best”. 
  -⠀“LOCAL – BEST  This refers to family-owned farms located withing 100 miles of our store that are USDA Certified Organic or Certified Naturally Grown.” 

Checklist: Level Up & Qualify for Extra Perks

1.⠀Register your interest here by November 1st. We’ll keep you posted with tips for success and new perks to be announced. 

2. Choose which approach above best fits your market – whether Option A, and/or B and/or C and make the necessary changes. 
3. Contact Abbe [abbe at naturallygrown.org] with proof of your updated policy by January 30, 2020*
   Once these steps are completed, we’ll start promoting your new status as a Tier 2 GEMs market, and send you all the Tier 2 perks!
   * Markets can qualify for Tier 2 at any time of year, but those who meet this timeline are eligible for extra social media promotion as participants in our Level Up campaign. 

Background Explanation of GEMs Tiers

When a market publicly recognizes CNG producers, they qualify for Tier 1 in the Guide to Exceptional Markets. This might look like an online list of vendors and their certifications on the market website, a map that labels where CNG vendors are, or a sign at the market info tent or produce aisle. At grocery stores and food co-ops, for example, Certified Naturally Grown products might be labeled as such. When food co-ops, grocers, and farmers markets affirm their CNG producers that take the extra steps to highlight and verify their practices, they build trust and transparency in our local food system.
Tier 2 Markets build on this by preferring to work with farms and producers who are certified, listing CNG as a certification which they prioritize. These markets have a clearly stated and publicly visible policy, found on their website or vendor application. 
Tier 3 Markets go the greatest distance. They require all their farmer vendors to hold a certification. 
Our Tier Guide provides detailed information about the GEMs Tiers and the increased benefits of qualifying for a higher Tier. Print and share with market managers you know. 
Ready to get started? Register your interest here by November 1st.