Once a Producer is ready to market their product, they should contact
the County Department of Agriculture (County) to arrange for an on-site
inspection of the growing grounds. The crops must be growing in the ground before
the inspection will be conducted. This inspection will verify that the products listed on
the CPC are in fact grown by the Producer. Follow up
inspections may need to be conducted for late season crops, as well as additional site
inspections by County inspectors to verify compliance with the Direct Marketing Program
throughout the growing season.
You will need to submit a list of your crops grown that includes amount planted,
harvest season and estimated harvest amounts. A
Certified Producer Worksheet is available below.
In addition, you can submit your completed CPC through the California Department
of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) website. Upon submission, the CPC will be
transmitted to the County for review and issuance. CDFA's website is below.
If you are leasing the property upon which you are growing the items listed on your CPC, you will need a valid,
notarized, lease which provides control of the property prior to planting and/or bloom, and
throughout the growing season. A
Form Lease can be found below.
You will also need to review and sign the
County CPC Forms, which acknowledge understanding of
the Direct Marketing Rules, as well as submission of all appropriate documentation needed to
obtain a CPC.
If you will be selling for another Certified Producer, or another Certified Producer will
be selling for you, You must include the producer name, certificate number and date declared
on your CPC. In addition, you must complete either a
Grant of Authorization form
and/or an
Acknowledgement and Acceptance of Authorization form.
The other certified producer must also have your name, certificate number and date declared
listed on their CPC as well.
The County will issue embossed copies of the CPC after the
inspection. An embossed CPC is required to be displayed at the CFM sales
location. CPCs issued by the County are valid for twelve
months and must be renewed annually. CPC are valid for participation in all
CFM's throughout California.
It is the responsibility of the Producer to contact the appropriate
CFM operator(s) and apply for membership to sell at their markets.
Currently there is one CFM operating in Sutter County. Contact information
for this market is included at the end of this handout. Producers may also
wish to visit the California Department
of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) website
to obtain information on additional CFM locations and contact information.
The majority of produce is sold by weight. It is the responsibility of the Producer
to obtain a scale that is certified for this specific commercial use. Scales must be registered and
sealed annually by the County. The current registration fee for a
Producer-owned scale brought into the County office is $20 each.
If any product sold at a CFM is pre-packaged in bags or other containers, it must
be properly labeled with the Identity of the product, the contact information of
the person who has Responsibility for the product, and the Quantity
of product in the container. This is known by the acronym-IRQ.
If a Producer plans to produce and sell nursery stock, they will need to obtain a
License to Sell Nursery Stock. There are two options for a License to Sell Nursery Stock: the
Fee Exempt License for those selling under $1,000 of nursery
products annually or the regular
License to Sell Nursery Stock
which has a minimum annual fee of $150.00. Nursery license information is available at the link below.
CFM's are governed by State regulations which are enforced by the
County. The respective CFM Boards of Directors have also developed
rules to govern the members of their particular markets. It is the responsibility of the
Producer to comply with all State and CFM Board rules. A copy of the
current Direct Marketing regulations is available below.
Herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides are all different types of pesticides.
Producers who use any type of pesticide (including organic pesticides) must
obtain a Pesticide Operator Identification Number from the County prior to the
purchase and application of pesticides. Use of all agricultural pesticides must be reported to
the County by the 10th of the month following use.
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