FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Farmers around the state are starting to go away from certified organic produce at their farms.
"When they think about farmers' markets, they have the assumption that, like all the farmers, are using organic practices," Heather Friedrich, Director of The Center for Arkansas Farms and Food, said. "Many of them are using organic practices, but not many actually go through the certification process."
Matthew Varoz, the owner of Hatch Farms in Elkins, says one of the main reasons for this is because a different practice exists. It's called certified naturally grown produce. Many farmers believe it is just as healthy and cheaper to verify.
"It also costs more to be certified organic, and there is a ton of paperwork," Varoz said. "Being farmers, we are limited on our time, so certified naturally grown just makes it a lot easier for us to accomplish that."
On top of the cost, becoming certified organic in the state is difficult for Arkansas farmers because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't have a branch in Arkansas, which requires farmers to look out of state.
"We don't have a certifier that's based in Arkansas," Friedrich said. "There's one in Oklahoma, which a lot of farmers will use, but they're limited on the number of farms that they can certify out of state."
Friedrich said the process is difficult for some farmers to understand.
"Farmers that are looking to become certified often have a hard time understanding where they start that process," she said.
However, with the certified naturally grown option, it's given farmers the confidence to continue to grow healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables.
"We go through and we check to make sure it's ripe for our customers," Varoz said.
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