A grower or maker who sells $5,000 or less a year of organic products can call them organic without being certified. That's the USDA's small-operation exemption, and it comes with three strings. First, the exemption is from the paperwork, not the farming: an exempt operation still follows the organic production, handling and labeling rules, no prohibited fertilizers or sprays, the same as a certified farm. Second, the label can say "organic" but can't show the USDA organic seal or a certifier's seal, and the products can't be sold as certified organic to anyone, or as organic ingredients in someone else's product. Third, the operation keeps records that show the products were grown or made organically and how much was sold, for three years. Go over $5,000 in organic sales and certification is required. In the example below, an Arkansas market garden tracks its season against the limit.
The short version
- Organic sales of $5,000 or less a year: organic without certification.
- The organic growing and handling rules still apply.
- No USDA organic seal, and no "certified organic".
- Not sold as an organic ingredient for another maker's product.
- Keep records of organic production and sales for three years.
- Over $5,000 a year, get certified.
- TaroStack keeps every sale with its customer and date, and each harvest as a lot. More below.
What an exempt operation can and can't do
| Can | Can't |
|---|---|
| Call its products organic | Show the USDA organic seal or a certifier's seal |
| Sell them at markets, stands and to shops as organic | Sell them as certified organic |
| Use its own organic produce in its own products | Sell them as organic ingredients for another maker |
| Skip the certification and organic system plan | Skip the organic production rules |
Certified organic labeling is in organic labeling requirements, and the records a certified operation keeps in organic certification record keeping.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| The exemption | Organic sales of $5,000 or less a year; exempt from certification and an organic system plan; production, handling and labeling rules still apply (7 CFR 205.101(a)) |
| Records | Showing organic production and handling and quantities received and sold, kept at least 3 years (205.101(i)) |
| Labels | No USDA or certifier seal; not represented as certified; not organic in products processed by others (7 CFR 205.310) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a season of organic sales
Little Sugar Creek Garden, a made-up market garden in Bentonville, Arkansas, grows vegetables on half an acre without synthetic fertilizers or sprays and sells at a Saturday market. Its sign says "organically grown", and it tracks the season:
| Month | Organic sales | Year so far |
|---|---|---|
| May | $450 | $450 |
| June | $820 | $1,270 |
| July | $1,150 | $2,420 |
| August | $1,260 | $3,680 |
| September | $830 | $4,510 |
| October | $340 | $4,850 |
The year closed at $4,850, $150 under the limit. A natural foods store asked to buy tomatoes as "certified organic"; the garden can sell them as organic, but not as certified, so the store took them labeled "organic, not certified". A salsa maker asked for tomatoes as an organic ingredient for its own jars, which the exemption doesn't allow. With next year's plan adding a second market, the garden budgeted for certification. Selling at a market is in farmers market vendor permit.
Get the tracker
Download the organic exemption tracker. Two sheets. Organic sales: each month's organic sales; the year so far and what's left under $5,000 fill in. Records and labels: what an exempt operation keeps for three years and what its labels can't say. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The limit is a running total of a season's sales, at markets, from the stand and to shops. Added up from a cash box and a notebook, it's a number you find out in December.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps every sale with its customer and date, and each harvest as a lot.
Sales by customer. Each sale is recorded with its customer and date, at the market or to a shop.
Lots by harvest. Each harvest is received as a lot with its date, so what was sold traces back to when it was picked.
Records on file. Seed and input purchases are received with their supplier and lot, part of the records the exemption asks you to keep.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Organic sales so far this year | Added from receipts | Every sale recorded with its date |
| What a shop bought | A receipt book | Orders by customer |
| Seed and inputs bought | A folder | Receiving by supplier and lot |
Sales, lots and receiving are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.