For Farmers, New State Certification Has Its Pros And Cons

More New York produce might make it onto grocery store shelves, thanks to more than a million dollars worth of funding for farmers announced by the governor’s office in November.Aimed at helping smaller farmers, the capital will help growers implement plans that promote the sustainability of natural resources and eco-friendly farm practices. It will also reimburse them for some costs related to food safety certifications, as part of the New York State Grown and Certified program. The program was announced this August and is a voluntary certification that helps ensure food standards and helps protect the environment.

“I am able to sell my product anywhere in the world. I can sell to Mexico, to Canada,” said Brendan Davison of Good Water Farms, which recently moved from East Hampton to Bridgehampton. His microgreen farm is already organic and Good Agricultural Practices, or GAP, certified, enabling Mr. Davison to sell his pea tendrils and red mustard microgreens to Whole Foods, among others.

“Smaller farms can’t do that because they don’t have these certifications,” he said.

Most of the processes for GAP certification, which is required for the New York State Grown and Certified program, are common sense, like properly washing lettuce. Setting up an initial plan can take a significant amount of time, however, and so can documenting each process to meet certification requirements. Since the program is voluntary, the cost might be too much for a small farmer to bear.

“Upstate, you can’t sell to Wegmans unless you are GAP certified. If that is the grower’s only outlet, that is the only way they can sell their product,” said Sandy Menasha, potato and vegetable specialist at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

Thanks to stands and farmers markets, many Long Island farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers. Although most grow their produce in clean and healthy ways, going through the GAP third-party audit can seem like an unnecessary expense, especially for farmers with multiple crops, as each crop requires its own audit.

However, some Long Island farmers have benefited from additional certification, like Good Water Farms, and Satur Farms on the North Fork. Specializing in greens like wild arugula and baby spinach, they’ve built their businesses on selling to stores like Whole Foods and Fresh Direct, and they now qualify for the New York State Grown and Certified program.

When they started, the GAP certification was a way to expand their business outside of selling wholesale to restaurants on the North Fork. Paulette Satur recalled. “It’s one thing to have your name on a restaurant or on a blackboard, but then consumers wanted to get our greens too.”

“The big picture in the end of this is the conscious consumer. The consumer makes the decision if they are going to buy your product or not,” said Mr. Davison, who believes that labeling and transparency are essential for farmers today. “Whether I go into Whole Foods, Provisions, King Kullen, I see people reading.”

Many see this new program as a marketing tool for New York farmers. As slow and local foods have become more popular, labeling becomes increasingly important.

“There has become a lot of confusion on the stores’ shelves about what is going on,” said Ms. Satur. “I think if you are saying you are New York State Grown and Certified, that is the absolute truth.”

However, the third-party annual audit, which is a requirement for the certification, can cost thousands of dollars, depending on how many crops and practices will be examined.

“When you’re dealing with someone growing beets, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, each of those have to have a GAP plan done and an audit … you’re running into thousands of dollars,” said Robert Carpenter, administrative director at the Long Island Farm Bureau. “They aren’t going to give $5 more a box because it is New York State Grown and Certified.”

Although the program is voluntary, Mr. Carpenter worries that it could be detrimental to smaller Long Island farmers, who, without certification, will be pushed out of certain distributors. This summer, Peapod dropped a few Long Island growers from its local farm boxes program, due to their lack of certification.

However, Mr. Carpenter is heartened by the financial incentive for farmers and hopes that the program will be further tailored to more diverse types of farmers.

“It is a lot. But quite frankly, if we had to review, we think it makes you a better operator all in all,” said Ms. Satur, who believes that her farm’s certifications contribute to its success.

“Now that there is smaller farmland on the East End, especially on the South Fork, it should be heavily regulated,” said Mr. Davison, who sees himself as a “black sheep” in the South Fork agricultural community for his interest in food labeling, “for the public well-being, for the groundwater, for the shellfish.

“In the beginning it is a lot of money to put up to do that,” he said, “but in the long run, it is literally pennies on the dollar.”