1010: Certified Naturally Grown: Building Community, Trust, and a Better Food System

with Jennifer Miller & Erin Torgerson In this Episode - What if small farmers could build trust with their customers without taking on the cost and paperwork of USDA Organic certification? That’s the idea behind Certified Naturally Grown (CNG), a grassroots organization helping farmers show customers how they grow their food. In this episode, Greg Peterson sits down with Jennifer Miller and Erin Torgerson from CNG to talk about how peer inspections, transparency, and a strong farming community help make that possible. Along the way, they explore the importance of local food, saving seeds, sharing knowledge, and making good food more accessible to everyone. Our Guests: Jennifer is the interim executive director of Certified Naturally Grown. From working on farms around the world to running her own farm and directing two food hubs, Jennifer's hands-on experience proves one thing, food is her love language. Erin is the communications and certification coordinator of Certified Naturally Grown. While filming a student documentary about a local farm-to-table restaurant, Erin caught her first glimpse of a biodiverse small-scale farm and hasn't looked back. Certified Naturally Grown is an organization that offers peer review certification to farmers and beekeepers producing food, flowers, and fiber for their local communities by working in harmony with nature without relying on synthetic chemicals or GMOs. Key Topics Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): A farmer-led certification program built around trust, transparency, and community. CNG and USDA Organic: How CNG offers an alternative for farmers who find USDA Organic certification too expensive or complicated. Peer inspections: Farmers visit and review one another’s operations, creating opportunities to learn as well as verify growing practices. Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS): A community-based approach to building confidence in how food is produced. Making farming work financially: The challenges small-scale farmers face when balancing good growing practices with the realities of running a business. Five CNG certification programs: Produce and flowers, livestock, apiaries, mushrooms, and aquaponics. Transparency for consumers: How customers can learn more about participating farms and review inspection information. Local food systems: Why connecting farmers, consumers, and communities matters. Food hubs and distribution: The challenges of getting locally grown food to the people who want it. Natural beekeeping: Approaches to raising bees with attention to their health and well-being. Aquaponics: Growing food through a system that combines fish and plants. Seed saving: Preserving seed varieties and helping farmers maintain greater control over their growing systems. Farmer education and mentorship: How sharing experience can help new and established growers succeed. Understanding the food system: Why building a better food future involves more than just how we grow food. Key Questions Answered Why was Certified Naturally Grown created? CNG was developed to help smaller farmers demonstrate their growing practices and build customer confidence without the expense and administrative burden that can come with USDA Organic certification. How is CNG different from USDA Organic? CNG uses standards based on the USDA National Organic Program, but it operates as a separate, community-based certification program. It is not the same as USDA Organic certification. How does the certification process work? Farmers apply to the program and participate in peer inspections. These visits help verify growing practices while giving farmers a chance to exchange ideas and learn from one another. Is CNG affordable for small farmers? The organization uses a sliding-scale dues structure, with options intended to make participation more accessible to farms of different sizes and circumstances. How can consumers learn more about a CNG farm? Consumers can visit the CNG website to find participating farms and review available application and inspection information. What do farmers gain beyond certification? They become part of a community where growers can share knowledge, build relationships, and learn from people facing many of the same challenges. Why does seed saving matter? Saving seeds helps preserve varieties and gives growers a more active role in maintaining the plants they depend on. What makes building a local food system challenging? Growing food is only one part of the picture. Farmers also need ways to distribute their harvest, reach customers, and make their businesses financially viable. What advice emerges for farmers who want to grow differently? Look for ways to build trust with customers, connect with other growers, and learn from a community of people working toward similar goals. Episode Highlights Jennifer Miller and Erin Torgerson explain how Certified Naturally Grown helps farmers demonstrate their growing practices and earn customer trust. Learn why some small farms look for an alternative to the cost and paperwork associated with USDA Organic certification. Discover how peer inspections turn certification into an opportunity for farmers to learn from one another. Explore CNG’s five certification areas, from produce and flowers to livestock, beekeeping, mushrooms, and aquaponics. Find out how transparency helps consumers learn more about the farms producing their food. Hear why local food distribution, food hubs, and the economics of small-scale farming matter. Explore the role of seed saving in protecting agricultural diversity and helping growers become more self-reliant. Learn how community, mentorship, and sharing practical knowledge can help build a stronger food system. Calls to Action & Resources Certified Naturally Grown: https://www.naturallygrown.org/ Learn about the program, explore the farm directory, and find out how certification works. Contact Jennifer Miller: [email protected] Contact Erin Torgerson: [email protected] CNG Farm School: Explore educational resources for farmers. CNG Field Notes: Listen to the organization’s podcast. Book recommendation — The Seed Farmer by Dan Brisebois: A resource for anyone interested in seed production and seed saving. Book recommendation — The Grapes of Wrath: Jennifer’s recommended read. Seed Chat: https://seedchat.org/ — Continue exploring conversations about seeds and their role in our food system. Visit https://urbanfarm.org/certifiednaturallygrown for the show notes on this episode, and access to our full podcast library! 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