Livestock Application

Happy Hooves Organic Farm

Owner: Ted & Della Jastrzab

Farm Address:
13054 Ira Station Rd
Martville, NY 13111
Cayuga County
United States

daytime phone: 315-626-6770
evening phone: same
Web site: http://www.betterbeef4u.com

Application Date: 2008-11-18

Applicant Details

Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program:	We operate an organic grass-fed beef operation (and hope to expand to other meats as well) and want to reach some more customers who appreciate the wholesome food we produce.
Are you currently third party Certified for your livestock operation by any other organization (Organic, Biodynamic, etc)?	yes
If yes, please note which certification and agency:	NOFA-NY certified organic
Have you ever been certified in the past?	no
Have you ever been denied certification?	no
How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown?	grass fed beef group on Yahoo

General Farm Information

Farmland Management and Practices

Primary Tillage System:	disk, shallow till, occasional plow (1 in 5 years), cover crops and use of pigs and chickens to tear things up for us
Do you use Cover Crops?	yes
If yes, please list:	rye, vetch, oats, buckwheat, grass, oats, clover, some times weeds and whatever else we have on hand
Do you use Compost?	yes
Please note general sources (on farm,purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.):	from our own farm
Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies".	about 1 ton per acre
Do you use Manure?	yes
Please note general sources of manure:	from barn bedpack collected throughout winter, and whatever the cows drop in the field through the year.
Please list application rates. Give a specific amount or range (for example: one to two tons per acre, ten wheelbarrow loads per 1,000 square feet, or 1-2 inches deep). Do not answer "varies".	about 1 ton per acre
Please list any other brought in fertility sources that you use (specific rock powders, lime, soybean / alfalfa meal, specific purchased pre-mixes, etc)and how often it's used. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s.	Ground limestone, high calcium lime from Watertown, liquid fish, kelp, soft rock phosphate, Fertrell organic fertilizers, aragonite, compost, according to soil sample results.
Have any chemical fertilizers been applied to the fields you are seeking Certification for in the last three years (36 months)?	no
Have any non-acceptable pesticides and/or herbicides been applied to these fields in the last 3 years?	no
Describe your primary weed problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient(s), what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used.	Weeds get eaten, mowed, cultivated and sometimes even left for ground cover!
Describe your primary plant pest problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used.	I haven't seen any pest I felt necessary to "control", except those pesky corn earworms that I get with oil droppered on silk of each ear, very labor intensive but worth it.
Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name:	Rain water so far. We do have a dedicated well available for this but have not had to use it yet as well as a small pond in the pasture.
Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water?	no

Livestock Management and Practices

Please list all livestock for which you seek certification by type/breed, and indicate how many of each are on the farm today (for example: belted galloways - 20, nubian goats - 5, orpington chickens - 7, frizzle chickens - 3) For animals that have not yet been stocked for the season (e.g. poultry or piglets) please estimate how many you expect to have on farm during the upcoming season. Only list livestock that are (or will be) managed according to CNG standards.	Beef cattle, about 40 of them. Some Angus, some hereford, some shorthorns. Chickens, cornish cross, barred rock, buff orps, rhode island reds, some for meat some for eggs. Turkeys, about 50 this year for Thanksgiving.Pork, about 10 of them this year.
I affirm that all livestock listed on this application are raised according to Certified Naturally Grown standards. I further affirm that I will not represent ANY livestock products as Certified Naturally Grown if they have not been raised according to the standards required by Certified Naturally Grown. Any livestock treated with antibiotics or other prohibited substances will be quarantined and sold separately. All livestock are fed feed grown according to CNG standards - without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and free of any genetically modified grains (GMOs).
Have all the livestock been raised according to CNG standards since the last third of gestation or since hatching?	yes
Give brief details of your rotation practice for each type and/or group of livestock. (E.g. heifers strip grazing behind electric fence moved daily, 28 day rotation, poultry rotated weekly - 3 pens.)	Portable fencing allows us to move them through pasture at intervals determined by the grass height. We move them almost every day to prevent parasite problems, sometimes more frequently when we want to more intensively graze an area. We keep them off areas grazed already for at least 28 days after to control parasites.
Do the animals listed above include cows, goats, sheep or other ruminants?	yes
Do your ruminant livestock obtain at least 30% of their dry matter intake from grazed forage during the growing season?	yes
Do the animals listed above include poultry?	yes
Do your poultry either (a) have a minimum of five square feet per bird of natural, grassy outdoor space or (b) do they have at least two square feet per bird and get moved at least one time per day to fresh new pasture?	yes
Do your livestock spend most of their time on pasture during the growing season?	yes
Is all feed grown according to Certified Naturally Grown standards (without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or post-harvest fungal treatments)?	yes
Do you buy in some feed?	yes
Do you know that your bought-in feed was grown without synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides or gentically modified seeds (as required by CNG standards) AND will you ask your supplier to sign a CNG Feed Declaration stating the feed is grown in this manner? (We will mail it to you) Please note: when the big name brand companies say their feed is "Natural" that does not mean that they are grown according to CNG standards. It probably means they do not add antibiotics (which is a good start) but it is likely that the feed was grown with fertilizers and using genetically modified seeds.	yes
For all livestock you seek to certify, please provide more information about the feed. Is it grown locally for you? Purchased in bulk at a mill? Bagged at the feed store? Is it Certified Organic? What brand, if any?	I purchase feed from Lakeview Organic Grain in Penn Yan, some form our organic dairy neighbors and the rest we grow here, which is most of it.
Describe your primary livestock pest problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the active ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, vaccine, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used.	Flies. We use Ectophyte, fly traps, and pasture rotations. We also depend on our chickens and turkeys to eat lots of fly larva out on the pastures.
Describe your primary livestock disease problems and methods of control. If you indicate a name brand product, please also specify the ingredient/s, what kind of product it is (a soap, microbial, oil, a botanical...), and how often it's used.	We haven't had a disease problem yet. We think sunshine, fresh air and pasture rotation prevents this.
Provide details of all livestock owned by you, or grazed on your land, that are treated and quarantined on your property	none

Seeds and Buffers

Do you purchase or grow using any Genetically Modified seeds?	no
Do you use any chemically treated seeds in your operation?	no
Chemical/Spray Drift and Buffers:
Is there any likelihood of Chemical/Spray drift contamination of your fields?	no
Do you have an adequate buffer to protect yourself from potential contamination?	yes
Please describe your buffer. Be specific. On all sides, how far is it from your livestock pasture to the next closest use (i.e. road, conventional crop, residential yard)? Specify what is grown on neighboring land in agricultural use. For example: To the north and east, a wooded area of at least 100 yards separates us from the neighbor's corn fields, to the south is a fallow field at least 100 yards deep separating us from a blueberry farm, and to the west about 60 feet separates our crops from a field where conventional corn and soybeans are grown.	To the south and west there are some conventioal farm fields. We have "buffer" areas of 50 feet or more that include roads, strips of fields and hedgerows and woods. Our neighbors know we are organic and the "wind" is naturally all in our favor as well the air most always moves from the North-west here.

Agreements

Please indicate your agreement with the following statements by checking the boxes.
I will not label, or in any way lead consumers to believe that livestock not raised in accord with CNG standards is Certified Naturally Grown^TM.
I understand that I have to complete at least one (and hopefully more) Certification Inspection(s) of another ranch or farm in my area each year, and that the inspection will NOT be of the same rancher or farmer that inspected me.
I have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown livestock certification standards, I understand them, and I will abide by them. I understand that if I have any questions I may contact CNG for clarification.
You may use this space to tell us anything else you think we should know about your farm: