What You'll Learn
- What organic recordkeeping actually requires and why most of it is just good business practice.
- How to build a system that fits your operation.
- Where to find help getting started.
- How to choose a platform based on your size and growth.
Watch Time: 16:20
Recordkeeping is the part of organic certification that intimidates handlers most, but this video demonstrates that it is manageable and, in many ways, just good business. The core requirement is straightforward: you have to demonstrate that the ingredients you bought were organic, that you maintained organic status while the product was in your possession, and that organic integrity held all the way out the door. Most of these are records any business should keep anyway: what came in, how much, how many units you made and sold. The only difference with organic is that the records are required.
There’s no single prescribed system, and the speakers stress building one that fits your operation rather than the reverse. You can use a spiral notebook, a spreadsheet, or dedicated software, whatever you’ll actually use. Certifiers are a good starting point, since most offer free templates and training materials, and a third-party consultant early on can be a worthwhile investment as long as they teach you to eventually run the system yourself. The repeated warning from experienced handlers is against overcomplication. Complexity does not equal compliance. If you build a complicated system, you then have to comply with that complexity. Expect the process to take a few years to dial in, and don’t treat the first attempt as the final one.
Paper and digital are both allowed and fully compliant, as long as they can be audited. Some handlers swear by paper for its reliability during power outages and its immunity to app distractions; others move to spreadsheets or ERP software as they grow, cutting mock-recall times from hours to minutes and moving more product with the same staff. The right choice depends on your size and how fast you’re growing, and it’s fine to switch systems as your needs change. Keep records where they’ll actually be used and findable, and stay on top of them daily rather than scrambling before an inspection.
Recordkeeping only holds up if everyone who touches ingredients, production, or finished product is trained to write down what they do and understands why it matters. The most effective handlers make recordkeeping part of the company’s culture, ask nicely when a log goes unfilled, and even celebrate a clean inspection with the whole team.
About the Featured Operations
Janie’s Mill
- Organic Stone-milled Flour
- Ashkum, IL
- 28 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2017
A stone mill producing flours from grain grown on partner farms and its own fields, with quality as its stated first priority. It sells wholesale to bakeries and retail to home bakers. The operation grew from a farming family’s interest in connecting good growers, careful milling, and bakers who value the resulting product.
Sauk Farm LLC
- Organic Fruit Grower, Packer, & Aggregator
- Concrete, WA
- Certified Organic since 2016
A family farm growing organic apples and plums and processing them into juice, dried fruit, and fruit powders. Its philosophy is to do the work in the field and let the fruit speak for itself, avoiding additives and preservatives. It also custom-processes and co-packs for other farms and food businesses, valuing the diversification that brings.
Organically Grown Company
- Organic Produce Wholesaler & Distributor
- Portland, OR
- 260 Employees
- Certified Organic since 1998
An organic produce wholesaler and distributor sourcing certified organic fruits and vegetables domestically and internationally for retailers, restaurants, buying clubs, and processors. At its core a logistics operation, it also sorts, repacks, co-packs, and private-labels. Founded to support local organic growers, it is now purpose-trust owned, serving a mission rather than profit and committed to advancing organic.
Giant Jones Brewing Company
- Organic Brewery
- Madison, WI
- 4 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2019
A certified organic brewery run by women, specializing in strong beer styles such as barley wines and Belgian tripels, sold in returnable bottles. The focus on big beers lets it absorb the cost of organic ingredients. Its motivation is rooted in community, sustainability, and a belief in organic agriculture’s benefits for soil, water, and wildlife.
Raven’s Brew
- Coffee Roaster, Wholesale & Retail
- Tumwater, WA
- Certified Organic since 2002
A small family-owned coffee roaster producing organic and conventional blends, serving grocery stores, cafes, service organizations, and direct-to-consumer customers online. It grew customer by customer from a small operation into a roastery that emphasizes strong relationships with its importers and green-coffee suppliers.
Nana Joes Granola
- Organic Granola Manufacturer
- San Francisco, CA
- 9 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2018
A manufacturer of organic granola and granola bars, founded by a trained pastry chef who built the business around all-organic ingredients from the start. It has favored steady, sustainable growth over growth at any cost, emphasizing product integrity and a consistent team, and treats supplier relationships as partnerships rather than transactions.
Traditional Medicinals
- Organic Herbal Teas
- Rohnert Park, CA
- Certified Organic since 1995
An herbal tea company and early organic adopter, deeply committed to its source communities and organic teas. It sources organic botanicals from grower communities worldwide, treating those relationships as essential to its work, and advocates for organic on a broader scale beyond its own products.
Clarkson Grain
- Organic Grain Aggregator and Distributor
- Cerro Gordo, IL
- Certified Organic since 2002
A food-grade specialty grain company that connects farmers who will raise something specific with the buyers who need it: makers of food, ingredients, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. It handles soybeans prized for tofu, miso, and tempeh, corn for milling, and lecithin standardized to a client’s specifications, shortening the supply chain between grower and end user.
Sailer’s Food Market & Meat Processing
- Meat Processor & Butcher
- Elmwood, WI
- 28 Employees
- Certified Organic since 2016
A meat operation offering both slaughter and processing services for organic and conventional product. It handles animals from intake through cutting, cooking, and packaging, and also hauls livestock for customers who lack their own transport, caring for animals in its possession as they would be on the farm.
TCHO Chocolate
- Organic Chocolate Maker
- Berkeley, CA
- Certified Organic since 2009
An organic chocolate maker focused on flavor and sustainability, built on the philosophy that better beans make a better bar. It works directly with cacao-farming communities in Ghana, Ecuador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Madagascar, co-creating higher quality, and at times helping growers reach organic status, all without compromising on flavor.
Prairie Gold Eggs
- Organic Egg Aggregator & Distributor
- Oconomowoc, WI
- Certified Organic since 2024
A solar-powered farm producing certified organic, pasture-raised eggs, packing its own eggs alongside eggs from partner farms under its own brand. It has grown by bringing on additional farms and building a recognizable brand around its pasture-raised, organic offering.
The Good Acre
- Nonprofit Food Hub & Produce Aggregator
- Falcon Heights, MN
- Certified Organic since 2016
A nonprofit food hub that aggregates produce from more than two hundred vendors and distributes to schools, campuses, hunger-relief programs, and CSA members. What distinguishes it is a grower-support wing that helps farmers, including those facing language or land-access barriers, move up into wholesale sales.
Cedar Grove Cheese
- Organic Cheese Maker
- Plain, WI
- 28 Employees
- Certified Organic since 1995
A family-owned cheese manufacturer producing both conventional and organic cheeses, including cow, sheep, and goat varieties. Small enough to design productions directly to a customer’s specifications, it makes specialty cheeses and produces in bulk for other companies to label and market.