Open your certification body’s current standards route. For IOA, use the official standards page. The PDF linked when reviewed is marked Edition 2.03, dated 2 October 2023; its age is a reason to read the accompanying updates, rather than treating the PDF alone as the whole current input list.
Describe the crop problem first
Prepare the crop, variety, growing system and field or structure reference. Describe the pest, disease or weed and who identified it. Include photographs or the adviser’s diagnosis where available.
Explain what preventive measures were used and what was observed afterwards. Combine rotation, resistant varieties, physical barriers and support for natural predators in organic crop protection. Use the relevant measures as questions for the crop plan.
Keep a decision not to treat visible in the field history. Record the observation and follow-up plan in ordinary language. A list of products purchased does not explain why a treatment was considered or rejected.
Identify the complete formulation
Obtain the marketed name, manufacturer, formulation description and supplied composition. Ask the supplier for the product label and safety information that apply to the offer, and keep them attached to the exact quotation.
Where the proposal concerns a plant protection product, locate it through DAFM’s product database. The official search offers product-name, active-substance and function/crop routes.
Compare the product name across the merchant’s offer, the DAFM entry and the document you send to the certifier. Resolve different suffixes, concentrations or country editions before you buy. An active-substance name alone does not identify the container you are purchasing.
If the mixture includes an adjuvant, wetter or other addition, give the certifier the complete mixture, not one ingredient. For a microorganism product, keep the species and strain exactly as supplied; “microbial”, “botanical” or “biological” is not a complete identity. If the merchant offers a replacement, compare formulation, concentration, manufacturer and instructions with the reviewed item before accepting delivery.
Ask the certification body a precise question
Send the product identity, crop problem, intended use and preventive history. Ask which current standard or permission applies and whether the body needs anything more before it can answer.
Save the reply together with your question, and note which product and uses it covers. If the product, crop or purpose changes, ask again about the revised plan.
Check both the organic permission and the Irish conditions of use for the product, and keep each in the working file. The label and SDS guide helps you sort the product documents without mixing up their roles.
Read the current legislation route alongside the standard
Open the European Commission's organic legislation through the certifier's standards page. Use those links when the certification body refers to a legal list or amendment.
Save the reference you used for the decision. Note the edition date of the standard, the date of the certifier’s reply and the date you intend to treat.
If a retailer calls a product “organic”, ask for its technical basis and send that to your certification body. A marketing badge on the label is not the answer to your own farm’s certification question.
Read the crop sections by their actual subject
Find fertilisers and soil conditioners in section 2.11, weed management in 2.12, pest management in 2.13 and disease management in 2.14. Use those headings to find the relevant question.
Describe the problem in the terms of the section. For a weed, give the species, growth stage, distribution and previous cultivation. For an insect, tell the damaging organism from the beneficial insects nearby. For a suspected disease, supply the affected plant parts and any diagnostic results. A product sold as a fertiliser is not a disease treatment just because its advertising mentions plant health.
Write one line on what the material is for: nutrition, crop protection, cleaning equipment or something else. Send it with the supplier’s own claims and directions, and let the certifier and your adviser settle the classification before you choose an approval route.
Show why prevention has not answered the problem
For organic pest control, record why an input was needed alongside the actual application details. That makes the observed problem and preventive history relevant to the enquiry, rather than optional background.
Ask the body what evidence it expects for your crop and measure.
List the rotation, planting material, variety, physical protection and biological measures you already considered. Name any practical limit: a barrier that blocks pollinators, a buyer who requires a particular variety, a crop already close to harvest.
Show what the adviser found and when. Mention untreated spots if they help explain how the damage is spread. Separate a confirmed diagnosis from your own suspicion, and if a laboratory result is pending, say so and ask whether to wait for it.
Be specific about prevention. “Rotation used” explains nothing; give the sequence of crops and how it relates to the organism. If a preventive measure was planned but not carried out, say why.
Make the decision usable at the point of application
Put the field or structure, crop, target and timing into the enquiry, and ask the body to name the products and uses its reply covers. Have your adviser turn any conditions into a work instruction without changing their meaning.
Before the work, compare that instruction with the Irish product-use information: crop, maximum number of applications, timing and other restrictions. Confirm both the Irish conditions of use and the certifier’s acceptance.
If a contractor applies it, give them the reviewed product and the exact crop area. Agree who checks that the container on the machine matches the instruction and who may approve a change if the product is unavailable. Ask for the completed application details back.
If only part of the holding is involved, mark its boundaries and the neighbouring crops, stores and equipment, and ask the body which precautions it wants.
Close the purchase and use trail
When the delivery arrives, match it to the reviewed product. Keep the invoice and consignment details with the decision, and tell your adviser about any substitution before it enters the crop plan.
Record the completed work against the field or crop, linking the enquiry, the order and the treatment. Mark any proposal that was not carried out.
For crop-specific questions, see the organic potato and organic strawberry guides.
Check whether it worked
Before you treat, agree with your adviser what you will compare (symptoms, pest counts, crop measures), when you will inspect and where the reference spots are, so it does not depend on one person’s memory.
If the treatment fails, go back to the diagnosis and the application conditions before ordering another input: was the organism identified correctly, and did the product reach it? Give the adviser the real operation details, not only the original recommendation.
At the planning review, sort the agreed changes into those for before planting (seed health, variety, rotation, barriers) and those for crop monitoring (beneficial organisms, access for mechanical work), and give each to a named person.
Copper sulphate in organic farming, natural pesticides and organic herbicides
Biological pest control in organic farming is checked against the pest management section of the standards, 2.13. Copper sulfate or copper sulphate in organic farming is a product question, not a general yes or no. The EU list of products and substances authorised in organic production is updated from time to time (Commission Implementing Regulation EU/2021/1165). Check the exact formulation against that list and against the Irish Organic Association standards for your crop, then ask your certification body before you buy.
The same route applies to natural pesticides for agriculture, organic pesticides for farming and organic farming herbicides: a natural origin is not an approval. Find the product in the Irish register and check it against the organic list.
Next step
Obtain certification-body confirmation for the exact input and compare its Irish product identity.
