Thanks for visiting Certified Naturally Grown, a non-profit alternative certification program tailored for small-scale, direct-market organic farmers.

Nearly 500 farmers from 47 states are enrolled to use the Certified Naturally Grown label.

When USDA's Organic program was implemented in 2002, organic farms earning more than $5,000 per year were forced to make a choice that for many was difficult: either pay high certification fees and complete mounds of paperwork to become Certified Organic, or else give up using the word "organic" to describe their produce and/or livestock.

Believing that neither choice was very attractive, some farmers created Certified Naturally Grown to provide an alternative way to assure their customers that they observed strict organic growing practices. CNG strives to strengthen the organic movement by preserving high organic standards and removing financial barriers that tend to exclude smaller farms that sell locally and directly to their customers.