Why does certified organic food tend to come from megafarms and other large, corporate food producers, rather than small-scale operations that serve a local clientele

Answer: Small-scale farmers usually have a harder time affording and maintaining USDA certification

Explanation: The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) organic certification is the certification process for producers of organic food and other agricultural products. The USDA regulates all organic agricultural products certified to their standards and verifies that farms or handling facilities comply with the organic regulations. This allows producers to label, present their products and sell them as organic.

The cost of certification itself is little (between $200-$1500) depending on the size of the farm but the required recordkeeping can be unmanageable for a small-scale farm. Although farmers are only inspected by the USDA once a year, but they are required to keep daily records of everything, from how often they irrigate to total hours spent weeding. Farmers with diverse crops find it extremely difficult to keep up and most small farms just don't think it's worth the trouble.

The small-scale farmers are finding alternative methods to assure their clientele that their products are pristine.