Tag: integrity

You are special and everybody knows it!

Yes, if you are certified organic you are special and yes, everybody knows it or can know it! I have many, many opportunities to speak to groups about organic every year. I do my best to tell people that really don’t know about organic, what is involved in being certified organic, and then to describe the people who grow, process and sell organic products. Most of the groups I speak to, have no clue that you as a certified organic entity have your business name, your address, your email, your phone and more in a database for all the world to see – did you as a certified organic farmer or processor know that?

Well, it is true! For instance, do you know about this farm?

This is the Kirov Farm called Peresvet. You are looking at a portion of their organic certificate that I downloaded from the Organic Integrity Database (OID). But there is more:

In this picture you can see that Sun Xun grows Maize (corn), Soybeans and Wheat. I can call Mr. Xun on the phone if I want to make an international call because he lives in the Kirov District of the Russian Federation. Or I can email him and ask a quick question about maybe buying his wheat crop.

Based on this certificate, I now know pretty much everything about this organic operation I need to know to make contact and begin a discussion about his crops and a possible purchase or even a collaboration to expand our markets. This is exactly how I am able to send you a newsletter by email or mail since I can get both off of the OID website!

I asked Chat GPT to give me more information about this place and here is what it said:

The listing you shared is for an organic operation certified in the Russian Federation, specifically in Primorsky Krai within the Kirov District.

  • Primorsky Krai is a region in the Russian Far East, bordering China and North Korea, and stretching to the Pacific Ocean.
  • The Kirov District is one of the administrative divisions inside Primorsky Krai.
  • The crops listed (maize, soybeans, wheat) are fairly typical for the region, which has a mix of fertile plains and a temperate climate suitable for grains and legumes.

So, the only thing I am missing is a physical address so I could look up the farm on Google Earth but we are getting pretty close! I asked Chat GPT to do more searching and here is the result:

  • In QIMA’s “Supplier Details / Food Certifications Database,” “Peresvet” LLC (Kirov Farm) is listed with registry RU007-1, address in Kirov District, Primorsky Krai, and products: soybean, wheat, maize. ibd.com.br
  • In IBD’s certified operator list, LLC “Peresvet” (Kirov Farm) is listed under organic certification (CA23319/24), with the same RU007-1 ID. ibd.com.br
  • In Russian corporate registry data (via “saby.ru”), there is a company ООО Пересвет (Peresvet LLC) registered in Primorsky Krai / Ussuriysk with INN 7720493313, with a general director named Трачук Дарья Сергеевна (Trachuk Darya Sergeevna). Saby
  • That same registry listing shows that “wholesale grain trade” is its main business (among many activity codes) and that the authorized capital is quite small (50,000 ₽) compared to the vast acreage declared in OID. Saby
  • The registry also indicates the business was registered on 16 January 2020. Saby
  • In “spark-interfax.ru” (an information aggregator), ООО Пересвет has 119 (or 106 in other listings) registered types of business activities (OKVED codes), and the head or sole owner is the same Darya Trachuk. spark-interfax.ru

Okay, Okay I know I have proved my point!!

There is a lot that the OID can tell us about organic throughout the world, and you are a part of that world. I like to think that you are part of a large “family” since you all share both the benefits and rules of being in that organic family. We know that Mr. Xun yearly gets inspected and so do you!

Now that you know that information is in the database is there more information out there? Yes, there is a lot of information out there and it can be used a multitude of ways! First, you already know one way and that is for a mailing list like the one I use to send out email or mailed newsletters every month. I just go to the webpage https:// organic.ams.usda.gov/integrity/Home and then I do an advanced search. This allows me to sort the database on several criteria but for me, I want to know all the organic entities in Texas. I simply list Texas as the state and then search. In seconds I see the screen filled with all the Certified Texas Organic Entities, which includes both growers and handlers. I can then download that list to an Excel Spreadsheet (it has a place to click to download) which allows me to look at the data very in-depth.

Above is just a small screenshot of the Excel Spreadsheet I downloaded of all certified organic entities in Texas. If you want a closer look at the information, just click here: OID Certification for Texas

I can also find out if we grow any organic cotton in Texas and who grows it. I can find out who buys organic cotton in Texas and even who is making products from organic cotton in Texas. I can look up organic acres, find phone numbers, locate certifiers, I can see if you have a website, in fact there are many other places for you to tell the world about your business or advertise your business!

So, that leads me to ask why aren’t you using this as a business tool? If you are in the organic world then you can only buy or sell in the organic world and here is a free opportunity to advertise to that world. Unfortunately, I find so many mistakes in the database that I wonder if you are even paying attention! Wrong addresses, no addresses, bad emails, wrong crops, wrong products, misspelled names, no zip code, no company name. One of my pet peeves is to have your consultants name or their phone number and email as the contact person in the database. That just signals to folks that you don’t want to be contacted by anyone!

Here is my Call to Action: Claim Your Space

I have some thoughts – the database already tells the world you’re certified organic. Why not make it work for you?

  • Look up your entry. It is easy and I hope you now know how!
  • Make sure your contact information is correct. Call your certifier.
  • Make sure your products are listed correctly. Call your certifier.
  • Share the link with buyers: “You can find us in the USDA Organic Integrity Database.” That link can be a link to your Organic information like this:
  • Click this link! or like this Click this link!

Because you are special—and yes, everybody really does know it.