Costs /Obligations

• The cost of certification with a registered organic body such as Organic Farmers and Growers or the Soil Association
• Paperwork, but not anything more than you would need for farm assurance purposes
• Livestock may have to be bought in if it cannot be converted
• Annual inspection, and annual registration fees

Benefits

• Can market produce as organic after two years, thus selling at a premium
• Can join organic buying and marketing groups, thus accessing more markets
• For the first two years in grassland conversion you receive an extra £175 per ha per year
• Your ELS payments are increased to £60 per ha
• Overheads are reduced

See:

www.soilassociation.org. or www.organicfarmers.org.uk