Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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Rob says, “The bigger the operation, the lesser the quality on the whole. I
also know there are people in this state who are unscrupulous and will cheat
all day long and we have already had one guy get busted, but the one that
needs to get busted . . . well, for some reason he is in good with the law.”
There is a real problem, according to theMitchells, with“organic by default,”
which is when groves are neglected, not sprayed, and thus somewhat organic,
except that there are no positive actions taking place. Rob says, “These guys
had groves that weren't making money, they weren't taking care of them,
and they looked like shit. So it was very easy for them to get it certified
organic, and that is most of the organic state. If you are just in the juice
business, production fruit, you can let them go. But if you look inside my
trees, they are clean, no intergrowth. If it's a jungle in there, it harbors all
kind of vermin. For all these other people, it will come around again. What
goes around, comes around.”
Mary describes the current trends in organic production: “A lot of people
are in it strictly for the money. They have no integrity. But when you get
found out, you won't be in the ballgame long. People are leery of organics,
and I don't blame them, because I know a lot of things that go on. There
are a lot of things you can get by with, and people aren't going to know it.
But when you do get caught, you are done, decertified for life. And it is also
a felony in Florida. Every time I ship anything out of state, I have to sign a
piece of paper that states the statute and the law. It's a felony punishable by
fine and or prison term.”
Rob questions the certification rules and national standards. “I'm all for
organics, but there is a lot of rules that have been written that sure makes
it a lot easier for the Big Shots to get into it. They will ruin it.” Mary adds,
“And I'll tell you one thing. I do not like the certification groups. They
don't stay on top of their growers, they don't check their trip tickets, and
they don't check their records at all. So what I've been telling them to do is
surprise inspections. They said, 'Well, we can't afford this.We are a nonprofit
organization.' I said, 'I don't care. Charge it off to the grower. Have them
sign a piece of paper. Somuch an hour. Surprise inspection. I want someone
coming in knocking on my back door that I don't know is coming. They
need to come through here and go through your records, billing, invoices.”
The certifying agencies need to do more. “None of them check back. None
of them. There is a lack of enforcement there. You get checked once a year
and you are done, you're free to do whatever you want to do.” Finally, she
hits the nail on the head. “Well, you see a couple of the big ones get busted
and people hear about it. And that gives us all a bad name.”
During the busy season, their lives revolve around picking, packing, and
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