FARMERS PLEDGES

KC Food Circle™ Farmers' Pledges

KC Food Circle™ farmers agree to meet the following production standards. The pledges are very similar to USDA organic with certain differences outlined within them. If you have questions about what is meant by any particular term in a listing, please contact the farmer directly. You can find contact information in the directory.

KC Healthy Kids does not inspect or certify their growing and animal treatment practices or verify any other claims, and cannot guarantee our farmers’ product quality or performance.

KC Food Circle Directory

Plant and Mushroom Farmer's Pledge
Understanding that we must first build and then preserve healthy soil in order to grow healthy fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and mushrooms, we require all our plant and mushroom farmer-members to sign this pledge.

I pledge:

To enhance the health of the land I farm, prevent erosion, and limit losses due to crop diseases through such methods as: the proper application of manure and compost to the soil; planting “green manure” crops and nitrogen-fixing legumes; rotational plantings of complementary crops; drip irrigation; and fallowing
To never use synthetic nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium fertilizers
To reduce losses due to insects through such methods as: crop rotation and diversity; encouraging the presence of animals that prey on insects; and insect predator introduction
To deal with unwanted plants in my fields through such methods as: cover-cropping, mulching, manual removal, tilling, and flame-weeding
To only use fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides (including those used on treated seeds), and other biocides that are on the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program’s “National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances”
To never use genetically engineered seeds
To use potable water when washing produce
To ensure that any fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, mushrooms and/or value-added products I sell or distribute from other local farms were produced in accordance with this pledge

Animal Farmer's Pledge
Understanding that we can only be healthy if the meat, poultry, eggs, and milk we eat come from healthy animals, and believing that farm animals deserve to be allowed to perform behaviors essential to their well-being, we require all our animal farmers to sign this pledge.

I pledge:

To house the animals on my farm in outdoor pastures and/or pens with breed-appropriate shelter and bedding material available (temporary exceptions for medical treatment and breeding are allowed)
To provide living conditions that will support the normal behavior and social interactions of each species on my farm so that the animals will thrive and to reduce the incidence of injury, stress, and disease
To only use antibiotics, parasiticides, and other pharmaceutical drugs therapeutically in response to disease, infestation, or injury
To never use synthetic growth promotants; this includes, but is not limited to, hormone treatments such as rBGH injections in dairy cows and implants in beef cattle as well as subtherapeutic antibiotics and arsenic in feed
To never provide commercial feed that contains domestic animal byproducts; this includes, but is not limited to, animal waste, meat, blood, bones, hair, hooves, and feathers (fishmeal approved for use in organic agriculture is permitted)
To never use conventional herbicides and/or synthetic fertilizers on my pastures and/or hayfields
To ensure that any meats, dairy products, poultry, eggs, fish, and/or value-added products I sell or distribute from other local farms were produced in accordance with this pledge
To never knowingly feed my animals genetically engineered feed

BEEKEEPER'S PLEDGE

Healthy honey comes from properly managed, healthy hives. We require all our honey-selling beekeeper/farmer members to sign this pledge.
In establishing this pledge, we use the guidelines established in the Certified Naturally Grown Apiary Standards (CNGAS) as a general guide.

I pledge:

That the primary purpose of my hives is to collect local pollen and produce honey for local markets, not for mobile application for crop pollination off site
My hives will not be located on conventionally farmed land
My hives will not be placed in low-lying and wet areas;
They will receive a minimum number of hours of sunlight exposure
To avoid using any CNGAS prohibited substances/chemicals to control disease
To not import and use of any hive, harvest and honey processing component that has been in contact with any prohibited substance or may have been used in a biologically contaminated setting elsewhere
To ensure that any honey, honeycomb, or beeswax I sell or distribute from other local farms were produced in accordance with this pledge

KC Food Circle™ Farmers' Pledges​

KC Food Circle™ Farmers' Pledges