Stone Circle Livery is an organic livery yard. Our Land and Forage is certified and regulated by the Soil Association as organic. Technically a horse can not be classed as organic as there are no standards or regulations governing them for organic status in the UK. To use the ‘organic’ term in the sale of any product the business that is using it must be certified by a registered UK Organic licensing body in their own right. If the product or service is not certified in it’s own right then it can not be classed as organic. It is that simple, even if part of the product or service is certified by others and there are components that are regulated.
If you are looking at any organic product or service for your horse make sure you get to see the ‘Organic Certificate and License’ relating to it. We proudly display the Soil Association Certificate that relates to our organic Land and Forage on the entrance wall to the day rooms for everyone to see. Also, make sure the certificate is current as they are renewed on an annual basis. There is a big difference between being environmentally aware and friendly (green) to being fully organic.
Certified organic land & forage gives horse owners the peace of mind in knowing that their horse is grazing on regulated land and forage which is monitored to the highest standards and is subject to independent inspections ensuring that the highest standards are maintained.
Organic standards are the rules and regulations that define how an organic product must be made. Organic standards are laid down in European Union (EU) law. Anything labelled 'organic' must meet these standards as a minimum. The standards cover all aspects of food production, for example, animal welfare and wildlife conservation, and banning unnecessary and harmful food additives in organic processed foods.
Organic farming and processing are legally defined. Any product sold as organic must comply with strict rules set at UK, European and international levels. These rules ensure that consumers can be certain that they are buying a genuine organic product.
Soil Association Certification Limited (SA Certification) is one of only a very few of these bodies that have chosen to set standards higher than the EU minimum in areas of animal welfare and nature conservation.
Soil Association Certification UK5
When you are buying organic products look for the Soil Association's symbol or code UK5. The Soil Association (SA) organic standards are among the highest in the world.
Nature Conservation
The Soil Association was the first certification body to develop standards that ensured the environment on the farm was being carefully managed. A number of these standards have now been incorporated into the way that non-organic farmers must manage their farm to receive their subsidies.
ENSURING THE STANDARDS ARE MET
It is the certifiers' responsibility to check that organic standards are being met. SA Certification has very rigorous procedures in place and only uses highly-skilled inspectors. SA Certification is accredited by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, which has stricter criteria than those laid down by the UK government.
The certification body must make at least one inspection a year of every organic farm that it certifies. They must also carry out a number of spot inspections. These are unannounced inspections and are sometimes carried out randomly.
What will a Soil Association inspector look out for?
We will check all of the farming and/or processing activities and ensure they meet our standards. This means looking at records as well as the crops plants (Hay) and livestock animals. Our inspectors remain on the look out for indications of not meeting our standards as well as evidence of best practice. All inspectors have been trained to undertake animal welfare assessments. These are output based and look at objective evidence.
Need more info?
You can contact the Organic Team at Stone Circle Livery for help with any information you may need on converting the Land & Forage for your horse to organic status.
info@stonecirclelivery.com
www.stonecrclelivery.com
To visit the Soil Association please go to www.whyorganic.org
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