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Certification resources: organic farming and growing
Guidance, templates and resources to help farmers and growers understand organic certification requirements, prepare for organic conversion and inspections, and stay compliant.
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Guide
Organic conversion guide: land and crops
Published 27 May 2026
Before you can market your land or produce as organic, you must manage your land (and any animals) according to the organic standards for the required period of time.
Guide
Organic conversion guide: livestock and poultry
Published 27 May 2026
Before you can market your land or produce as organic, you must manage your land and animals according to the organic standards for the required period of time.
Preparing for your organic inspection
Whether this is your first organic farm inspection or you're already certified, learn everything you need to prepare.
Record-keeping templates
During the inspection, there are certain records, documents and processes that the inspector will need to see. To help you keep track of this, we have provided templates on the page below.
Crop production templates
Livestock production templates
Derogations and permissions
In some cases, when organic inputs are not available, you can request derogation or permission before using non-organic ones. Download template forms below to request derogations or permissions for non-organic seeds, livestock or poultry.
Non-organic seeds
When organic seeds and vegetative propagating materials (such as rhizomes, bulbs, cuttings) are not available, a derogation to use non-organic seeds and vegetative propagating materials can be requested. This can be done before placing an order, by submitting the form below to the office for review.
The availability of organic seeds can be checked on the Organic X Seeds database. There is no login required. You can search for a crop and check the list of available varieties and suppliers.
70% of organic grass and forage seed mixes do not require approval before use, but need to be declared at your renewal inspection through your annual questionnaire within the seed mixes breakdown.
When applying for permission to use non-organic transplants (bare root, blocks, modules, trees, bushes), they need to have been grown to organic standards by a certified organic producer. Non-organic transplants will need to go through a 3 year conversion period once planted.
If you do not have organic transplants, get in touch with the certification team to provide details of the non-organic transplants you intend to use before purchasing them.
Form
Application to use non-organic seed (Word)
Published 01 Feb 2026
Use this form if you wish to request derogation or permission before using non-organic seeds.
Form
Application to use non-organic seed (Excel)
Published 01 Feb 2026
Use this form if you wish to request derogation or permission before using non-organic seeds.
Non-organic livestock
Where organic animals are not available, you can apply for a herd expansion to bring in non-organic nulliparous animals for breeding purposes.
A permission to bring in up to 10% for cattle and 20% for sheep and pigs of your current breeding stock can be approved by us. You must show that there is no suitable converted or organic stock available. If you have less than 10 bovines or 5 pigs or sheep, only one non-organic animal can be brought in.
A permission to bring in up to 40% of your current breeding stock can be granted by your competent authority, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) or Northern Ireland Competent Authority (NICA).
This only applies where:
you've undertaken a major farm extension
a breed is changed
a new livestock specialisation is initiated
a breed is rare or at risk of being lost to farming
Please contact our certification team before purchasing any non-organic animals.
Non-organic poultry
You can apply for derogation to bring in non-organic poultry, provided that organic poultry are not available in sufficient numbers. Submit a request to the certification team using the form below which will be sent to the competent authority on your behalf. If you wish to bring in part-organic pullets, which are non-organic chicks reared by a non-certified operator to organic standards from 3 days old, then you will also need to complete and return the vet and feed declaration form below.
If you wish to bring in non-organic pullets, please complete and return the vet and feed declaration form below.
As part of your application, you must provide evidence that you have contacted any organic poultry suppliers that are within delivery distance of your farm. Please refer to our organic poultry supplier list below. If you are not within delivery distance of an organic supplier, you must show evidence of having listed the need for the required birds on a recognised organic marketplace for at least five working days.
Management plans
After we approve your application and receive the payment for the application fee, we look at your planned organic management system. You will be expected to produce a management plan when you apply and this should be kept up to date throughout your certification.
If it's your first inspection, a member of our certification team will conduct a welcome call with you to discuss your organic systems and how to meet the certification requirements. Before your call, we will ask you to complete either a crop or livestock management plan.
Organic land extension
You will need a land extension form if you are planning to add any new fields to your organic farm. The form needs to be submitted to the certification team in conjunction with field details (reference number, name, hectarage, crop, date of last prohibited input), a map and land rental agreement if required.
Learn more about organic certification
Find out all you need to know about certification for farmers and growers.