We support a referendum ending the certification process. When we visit the farms more than the inspectors do, there is something gone awry with the process. We feel that the coffee companies that have benefitted the most from this certification are the same companies which created the need for certification in the first place. Don't believe the hype, get to know the face. Labels cannot tell the whole story that deserves to be told. 
While we agree strongly with the principles of organic, namely growing coffee or other produce without the use of harmful pesticides, we do not agree with the terms and costs associated with organic certification. We do not believe that the farmers we work with should have to pay upwards of two thousand dollars to have a German inspecting company come to their farm and tell them they are doing everything the way that they have been doing it for four generations, you dig? Just because we as Americans have infiltrated the world with our pesticides, doesn't mean we need to be snobby about making them now pay to say they are not using them. This is where direct relationships with farmers really begins to make sense. We know the farmers we buy from, we know what they are using on their land. We know how they value their healthy natural soil more than you do, sorry to break the news to you, but it's true. We don't purchase or sell any coffee that has been grown using harmful agents to increase the yield. 