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California Certified Organic Farmers, or CCOF is a membership organization formed in 1973, to promote organic farming and small-scale agriculture. It began as a group of 54 farmers mutually certifying each other's adherence to its own published, publicly available standards for defining organic agriculture. It is based in Santa Cruz, California.

The standards outlined soil building, and pest control strategies as well as specifying materials and practices that were forbidden to organic farmers. Standards have evolved significantly over the years.

CCOF was one of the first U.S.-based organizations to certify organic farmers. It was partially responsible for the passage of the California legal definition of organic agriculture the first state law defining organic agriculture. It also played an important role in the creation of US national organic standards.

As of 2008 it has more than 1,800 members, certifies over 1,000 organic products and crops based on national standards, and certifies more than half a million acres (4,000 km²) in 29 states and five foreign countries (including Mexico), including nearly 80% of the organic farmland in California.

History

After being founded in 1973, it grew, and gained new members, growing from California's Central Coast across the whole state. In 1979 the California Organic Food Act of 1979 was passed, based upon CCOF's standards. However, it contained no state enforcement provisions, requiring private groups such as CCOF to pursue enforcement. The first big case was in 1988, against Pacific Organics.