Mio cultivation criteria
How food is grown on the farms listed on mio.farm, and how Mio checks what farms tell us.
Please read this first
The Mio criteria are not an organic certification. They are Mio’s own published standard, declared by each farm and reviewed by Mio.
Mio does not call a farm “organic”, “økologisk” or “lífrænt” unless that farm holds a valid organic certification.
Why these criteria exist
People join a farm on Mio because they want to know how their food is grown. Mio publishes one clear standard for what may and may not be used when growing food on a listed farm. Every farm declares what it does, Mio reviews the declaration before the farm is listed, and members can read both the standard and the result.
What the criteria cover
The criteria cover how plants are grown: vegetables, herbs, berries, fruit, grain, flowers and mushrooms. They do not cover livestock, eggs, dairy, meat or honey. If a farm offers such products, the criteria do not apply to them and Mio’s review does not assess them.
What may and may not be used
Inputs are described by class, not by brand. If you are not sure which class a product belongs to, ask Mio before you use it.
Not allowed
- Synthetic or industrially manufactured mineral fertilisers, for example compound NPK granules.
- Chemical-synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
- Genetically modified organisms (GMO), including seed and plants.
Allowed
- Compost.
- Manure.
- Green manure and cover crops.
- Crop rotation and mulching.
- Mechanical weed control, such as hoeing and hand weeding.
- Mechanical and biological pest control, such as nets, traps and beneficial insects.
- Other inputs that are approved for use in certified organic production in the farm’s country.
What the farm declares
Each farm makes a written self-declaration. It says what the farm uses to feed the soil and to protect its plants (or that it uses nothing), on which crops or areas, and when. It also says where seed and young plants come from. If something changes during the season, the farm updates the declaration.
The farm is responsible for the declaration being true and complete, and for complying with the laws that apply to it.
The detailed declaration is seen by the farm and by Mio’s reviewer. It is not published.
Mio reviews before a farm is listed
A farm appears on the map only after Mio has reviewed its declaration.
A farm’s self-declaration alone is never shown as a confirmation by Mio.
In the review, Mio reads the declaration, may ask follow-up questions or ask for documentation such as receipts for inputs, and decides whether the criteria are met.
Mio’s review is a review of the information the farm provides. It is not an inspection or certification by an accredited body and does not replace one.
What members see
When a farm has passed the review, its page shows:
If the farm holds an organic certification, it is shown separately from the Mio criteria and is never merged with them. A farm without a certification shows none.
A farm may also describe its own practices, for example “Without synthetic fertiliser & chemical pesticides (self-declared)”. Such a line is the farm’s own statement. It is labelled self-declared and is not a confirmation by Mio.
Once a year
Each farm renews its declaration every twelve months, and Mio reviews it again. If a farm does not renew in time, or a review finds a deviation, the Mio criteria mark is withdrawn until the farm has been reviewed again.
The review date is always shown, so members can see how current it is.
If something does not match
A farm that is about to use something outside these criteria must tell Mio first. Anyone, whether a member, a neighbour or another farmer, can report a suspected deviation to post@mio.farm. Mio looks into it, gives the farm the chance to respond, and may withdraw the mark while it does.
What we call a farm, and what we do not
The words “organic”, “økologisk” and “lífrænt” are protected by law in Norway and Iceland. Mio uses them only for farms that hold a valid organic certification, and farms must not describe themselves as organic on Mio, or use the Mio mark to suggest it, without one.
Certification is optional. Many good farms do not have it. These criteria exist so that those farms can still say, openly and checkably, how they grow.
Dishes and other prepared food
A farm that sells prepared food, such as ready meals or dishes, must be a registered food business: with Mattilsynet in Norway, or with MAST (Matvælastofnun) in Iceland. The farm declares this separately from the cultivation criteria.
A farm that has declared it is a registered food business shows “Registered food business” on its page. The cultivation criteria say nothing about food premises, and Mio does not inspect them.