Primary Goal: To Build Genetically Superior Grass-Fed Animals that are Chemical Free and Do Not Need Significant Human Assistance to Survive.
Secondary Goal: To Make Chemical Free Certification Practical for the Small or Beginning Farmer.
What is Prohibited for Basic Certification:
Vaccines, Antibiotics, De-wormers, Hormones.
100% Grain diets with no access to grass in a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO).
Providing large amounts of non-organic grain for "Grain Finishing" or other reasons.
Spraying your pastures with herbicides and pesticides.
Using bio-solids or sewage sludge for pasture fertilizer.
What is Acceptable for Basic Certification:
Herbal Remedies,
Salt, Mineral, and Vitamin Blocks that are not rated as organic..
Small amounts of non-organic grain to entice the animals into the barn for sorting purposes.
Using Municipal water containing Chlorine and Fluoride for livestock watering troughs.
Using Chemical Fertilizers and Agricultural Lime on your hayfields.
What is Prohibited for Higher Certification:
Using any amount of non-organic grain exposed to herbicides and pesticides.
Restricting access to grass and providing large amounts of organic grain through the lifetime of the animal (except for Grain Finishing before harvesting).
Providing Water containing Chlorine or Fluoride.
All chemical medications for livestock are prohibited, including the synthetic chemicals allowed in the USDA Organic Certification specification -
§ 205.603 Synthetic substances allowed for use in organic livestock production,
What is Encouraged for Higher Certification:
Using organic fertilizer and natural limestone for pastures.
Weed control using mechanical means (mowing, cutting, digging).
Using Organic Salt, Organic Mineral Blocks and Organic Vitamin blocks for livestock.
Culling unfit animals to prevent breeding animals with bad traits (that need assistance lambing, mothering/not bonding with young on pasture).
Achieving Higher Certification is produced by reporting your current status on how well you can meet these higher certification standards. If you "have a problem" one year and can't meet these higher standards, just report it on your Certification Documents. This is how we have "Truth In Agriculture", by reporting our farming practices on how we progress "towards" the goal of being chemical free.
Only Natural fertilizers are allowed like Cottonseed meal, greensand, phosphate rock, manure from chemical free animals, organic compost.
Mulches: No plastic mulches are allowed, it must be wood chips, hay, or other natural mulches without chemicals.
Irrigation must be from rainwater, springwater. No chlorinated/fluoridated water used to grow crops.
We may create a "purity scale" with a higher score for rainwater irrigation and natural mulches and lower scores for Chemical Free Agriculture using for man-made solutions such as plastic mulches and water with chlorine/fluoride.
We need a "working discussion group" to set up the correct standards, based on real world experiences and not unrealistic "only 100% chemical free" expectations.
"Chemical Free" is a goal and a journey, and we don't want to remove the lower rungs on the ladder for everyone to get there.
If you live in the city with a backyard garden that you want to be chemical free, you can only do so much. Just "Tell the Truth" on your Online Chemical Free Certification Forms, that is the solution.
No herbicides or pesticides used on pastures for producing the grass or feed for the cows, goats, or sheep that produce the milk.
There is no "3 year wait", you can switch over immediately, just record the last time your pasture was sprayed with chemicals on your Online Certification Forms.
No chemicals can ever be used on milking animals. Sick animals that need chemical treatments to survive, and the milk they produce, are to be separated from the chemical free animals.
Only allow the breeding of milk animals that can survive without chemicals.
The milk can be raw or pasteurized, but it has to be stored/served in glass or chemical free containers.
No chemicals or insecticides can be used as medications or to prevent Varroa and other infestations. Smoke canisters for handling purposes are acceptable.
Encourage breeding chemical free bees with Varroa sensitive hygiene such as the Buckfast Bee and the parasite resistant Russian Honey Bee.