Kootenay Organic Growers Society (KOGS) is a not for profit Kootenay-based certifying organization dedicated to the production and promotion of organic agriculture and products. We are committed to supporting and strengthening sustainable agriculture and related businesses in our home region.



We support the goals of Community Food Security, which means that all people have dignified access to food that is safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate, and which has been produced in a manner that is environmentally, and socially sustainable.



As a certifier, we are responsible for ensuring that only farmers and processors that meet the Provincial standard for organic agriculture can market their product as 'BC Certified Organic'. We are one of 14 certifying bodies based in BC that are accredited through the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia (COABC).



The seed of Kootenay Organic Growers Society was nurtured over several years of conversations among farmers in the Slocan Valley in the mid 1990s. Eventually, partly driven by a vision to create a co-operative to grow and sell certified organic echinacea, a plan was developed to establish a local certifying body. The early meetings of 4 or 5 farmers who struggled to have quorum soon expanded as more and more farmers heard about the organization and sought out the services and networking offered. The first certification took place in 1998, based on the Standards developed by Boundary Organic Producers Association.