Farms - Salmon-Safe

The Salmon-Safe farm certification program is focused on management practices in six primary areas: riparian area management, water use management, erosion and sediment control, integrated pest management and water quality protection, animal management, and biodiversity conservation.

Our standards were initially developed over a three-year period with biologists, agronomists, and farmers, and have been tested in the field since the late 1990s at more than 900 farms in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and British Columbia across a variety of crops.

In April 2024, a draft of v3.0 of the Farm Standards was released, which elevates soil health and climate resiliency, among other updates. This version will be finalized and fully rolled out starting in 2025.

For growers certified by other leading farm certification organizations, Salmon-Safe partners with Oregon Tilth and GLOBALG.A.P. to conduct Salmon-Safe assessment as an efficient and cost-effective overlay that delivers two labels in a single inspection visit.

Download Farm Standards (2.5 MB)

Qualifying Candidates

+ Farms across the West Coast including northern California, British Columbia, and the interior Columbia Basin
+ Farms utilizing integrated pest management (IPM), biodynamic, GLOBALG.A.P. or organic practices
+ Specialty crops, ranching, commodity crops, dairy
+ Farms located on rivers as well as upland sites where impacts are primarily downstream

Certification Process

Salmon-Safe's independent expert assessors conduct farm assessments. If you are currently certified through one of our partners like Oregon Tilth or GLOBALG.A.P., you may be able to achieve Salmon-Safe certification through an efficient and cost effective overlay assessment by your existing certifier that delivers multiple labels in a single inspection visit.

Salmon-Safe's peer reviewed standards focus on watershed impacts from farm operations, recognizing farms for “going above and beyond” regulatory mandates by doing their part to protect water quality and wildlife habitat.

Farms that achieve certification are promoted with the Salmon-Safe label. Salmon-Safe farm certification is valid for 3 years, subject to annual verification of satisfactory progress toward meeting any certification conditions.