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Certifier Choice Overview
Certification Principals
Case Studies
General Case Comparison
Who Does What
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Certifier Choice Overview

This certifier comparison project was funded by RIRDC (Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation) and TM Organics. The project was designed to help alleviate the confusion surrounding grower choice of an organic certifier and the difficulty of comparing the various services offered by Australia’s certification bodies and the charges they apply.

You will also find basic information on the process of applying for and obtaining organic and bio-dynamic certification.

The "Find a Certifier" function can be accessed via the button below. It can be used to help to refine your choice of certifier. There are 3 basic questions about what type of certification you would prefer; Organic or bio-dynamic Do you wish to export your produce and where, or will your produce be included in an exportable product, and Are you are a small grower and looking for a certifier that takes that into account. Once you have been offered a certifier, or perhaps more than one, then go to the pages that offer further information on that certifier.

Certification Principals

The National Standard for Organic and BioDynamic Produce requires a conversion period of at least three consecutive years of organic farming. That means there is a period of at least three years of growing according to the organic standards before the Organic label can be attached to produce.

One or two years of organic conversion may, in some circumstances, be completed before joining the certification program. The Certifier will usually demand that growers remain at ‘Conversion’ level for at least two years, unless they have very good documented evidence of their previous farming practices.

In any case, the first year of membership of the certification program is called pre-certification (or pre-cert) and during this year the grower may not use any certification label. The grower will receive at least two farm inspections during pre-cert. Inspections include looking at records of purchase and use of all inputs such as fertilizers, permitted pesticides and cleaning products. After a twelve-month pre-cert period the grower may use a ‘Conversion to Organic' label.

The 'Organic’ label may not be applied until the growing system has shown compliance with the Standards for at least 36 months.

Case Studies

This area of the web site investigates, analyses and compares organic certification services for new entrants into the organic production marketplace. It produces three case studies showing costs or services for three different examples

(a) producers under $20,000 annual revenue

(b) producers under $80,000 annual revenue

(c) producers under $250,000 annual revenue.

Case study pre-certification

Costs for the first year or pre-certification year. Choose the value below that best describes your operation;

•  Less than $20,000 worth of gross organic annual sales (39.58 kB)
•  Between $20,000 and $80,000 worth of gross organic annual sales (54.95 kB)
•  Between $80,000 and $250,000 worth of gross organic annual sales (40.35 kB)

Case Study Certified Organic

Costs for Certified Organic
Less than $20,000, Less than $80,000 and up to $250,000. Choose an annual sales size below that best suits your operation;

•  Less than $20,000 worth of gross organic sales annually (42.5 kB)
•  Between $20,000 & $80,000 worth of gross organic sales annually (55.23 kB)
•  Between $80,000 & $250,000 worth of gross organic sales annually (47.59 kB)

NB: This information is current as of August 2008. Please be aware that individual certifiers may change pricing with out notice.

General comparison of certifiers costs.

The below documents give an indication of the cost of certification with each certifier for the first 4 years of certification.

•  Year 1 - Pre-certification (35.97 kB)
•  Year 2 - Conversion (41.16 kB)
•  Year 3 - Conversion (47.09 kB)
•  Year 4 - Organic (108.99 kB)

NB: This information is current as of August 2008. Please be aware that individual certifiers may change pricing with out notice.

Who Does What

Services offered in Australian Certification

To help you get an overall idea of which services are offered by which certifier you should download the Matrix table below.

 Matrix of Services Offered in Australian Certification (37.92 kB)