Quarter Acre Farm is certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers, CCOF. All CCOF certified members based in California belong to a chapter based on their regional location. For my farm the region is considered the North Coast which includes Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties. Unfortunately years ago the chapter was dissolved because of lack of interests.
This spring along with the help of other owners and managers of CCOF certified operations I started the work of re-establishing the North Coast chapter. This involved a bit of paperwork and a lot of event planning.
Yesterday we had our first meeting or as I like to think of it, our first party. The attendees were a diverse group of operations wineries, vegetable farms, a meat processor, a coffee roaster, vineyard managements and even an ice cream producer.
Everyone expressed a need for a regional organization, of certified organic operations. A space to network among peers, a place for continuing education, the opportunity for public outreach and marketing, a way to have a unified voice on national policy, and the ability to provide grants to farmers in need.
Photo courtesy of Kari Flores
It was empowering to be a in room surrounded by others who are dedicated to growing, and processing certified organic food which is produced without using harmful or toxic pesticides, sewage sludge, petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers, GMOs, bioengineering, antibiotics or growth hormones. I’m looking forward to being involved with this group of dedicated individuals as they revitalize CCOF’s North Coast chapter.
Thank you for the fantastic post, Andrea! I think you captured it perfectly!