Produce Application
Hoot Owl Hollow Organic Blueberries
Owner: David ThomassonFarm Address:
Howards Quarter
Tazewell, TN 37879
Claiborne County
United States
Mailing Address:
2922 Edonia Dr.
Knoxville, TN 37918
United States
daytime phone: 865-2469975
evening phone: 865-2199157
Web site: http://www.hootowlfarmblueberries.com
Application Date: 2009-08-03
Applicant Details
| Please briefly tell us why you are applying to be part of the Certified Naturally Grown program: | We sell to our local food co-op, Three Rivers Market, in Knoxville, TN. They have decided to use you as a certification program. We endorse this and are happy to work with you. |
| Are you currently third party Certified for your produce operation by any other organization (Organic, Biodynamic, etc)? | no |
| Have you ever been certified in the past? | yes |
| If yes, please note which agencies and dates: | We have been around since 1979 and have been doing organics since then, as it is all I know. In fact, I was involved with organic certification criteria before the Feds. or anyone else was involved, at least in TN. We were originally certified by a TN Alternative Growers group, but that was a long time ago. They no longer exist. I don't have a date for that. |
| Have you ever been denied certification? | no |
| How did you hear about Certified Naturally Grown? | Through our local food Co-op, Three Rivers Market. |
General Farm Information
| Farm Acreage you want listed as Certified Naturally GrownTM: | |
| Total Farm Acreage you actually GROW on: | about 3 |
| Number of above acreage that you own: | 3 |
| Number of above acreage that you lease: | 0 |
| Do you have other acreage in "Conventional" Agricultural Systems? | no |
| General Listed Acreage Breakdown | |
| Veg Crops: | 1.5 |
| Fruit Crops: | 1.5 |
| Hay: | 0 |
| Grains/Beans: | 0 |
| Sugarbush: | 0 |
| Other Acreage: | 0 |
| Please check all items you grow and will market as Certified Naturally GrownTM |
Vegetables Herbs Berries Tree Fruits Grapes Grains Beans Hay Flowers Greenhouse Plants Other (please specify below) |
| Please Specify Any Other Items: | Diverse garden veges., herbs, blueberries, and an organic blueberry infused vinegar. |
| Please check all markets you grow for (this will be displayed on your farm profile to help potential buyers find you). |
Farmer's Market Farm Stand Local Restaurants CSA's Coops Health Food Stores Groceries Regional Wholesalers www.LocalHarvest.org Commodities Other (please specify below) |
| Please Specify Other Markets: | We are primarily a u-pick operation. People come to us for blueberries and buy other food at the same time. We wish to expand. |
Farmland Management and Practices
| Primary Tillage System: | Clean till in the garden area. No till/sod cover in the blueberry orchard. |
| Do you use Cover Crops? | yes |
| If yes, please list: | Buckwheat, rye and Sudan grass primarily. |
| Do you use Compost? | yes |
| If yes, please note general sources (on farm, purchased complete, local grass clippings, local dairy, etc.): | Farm grass/leaves/garden/kitchen residue. |
| 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". | two truck loads/year on garden area. |
| Do you use Manure? | no |
| 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. | Rock phosphate, Harmony Org. Fertilizer 5-4-3 (from composted chicken manure), Soluable Kelp, elemental sulphur, fish emulsion. |
| 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 |
| Do you use Professional Soil Testing services? | yes |
| 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. | Blueberry orchard: mow and hand weed, weed eater. Garden hand weed. |
| Describe your primary insect 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. | Blueberries: bird control. Problems are minimal. Garden: minimal problems, only natural controls to date. |
| Describe your primary 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. | None to date. |
| Please list the water source you use for crop irrigation. If source is public river, pond or lake, please note the name: | Natural rainfall supplemented with rainwater collected in cistern and pond. |
| Are there any known contaminants in the irrigation water? | no |
| Are you a maple producer who seeks to certify your sugarbush? | no |
Seeds, Transplants and Buffers
| Do you purchase or grow using any Genetically Modified seeds? | no |
| Do you use any chemically treated seeds in your operation? | no |
| Do you grow your own transplants? | yes |
| Are they grown using Naturally Grown/Organic methods? | yes |
| If they're not grown according to CNG methods, please list them here. This produce may not be sold as Certified Naturally Grown. (If they are, put "N/A") | |
| Do you purchase any transplants from outside sources? | 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 as specific as possible. On all sides, how far is it from your crops to the next closest use (road, conventional crop, residential yard)? Be sure to specify what is grown on neighboring land that is 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 the road, and to the west about 60 feet separates our crops from a field where conventional corn and soybeans are grown. | I am in the head of a valley. We are our own watershed. We are over a mile as the crow flies from any ag. activity, except cattle, which is on the farm adjacent to me. I pass through that farm as I approach my gate and farm. They do nothing potentially harmful to me. |
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 produce not raised in accord with CNG standards is Certified Naturally GrownTM. | |
| I understand that I have to complete at least one (and hopefully more) Certification Inspection(s) of another farm in my area each year, and that the inspection will NOT be of the same farmer that inspected me. | |
| I have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown 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: | |
