Resources

 

 

Organics – What’s the story?

            Organic farming has become a big business. Over the past decade, sales of organic foods have grown double digits hitting $24.6 Billion* in the United States and $52 billion globally ** in 2008. With annual organic food growth rates consistently in the high teens on average vs. non-organic food in the low single digits, organics have been one of the hottest areas in agriculture in recent years.

            A lot of the organic food’s popularity can probably be attributed to the positive public perception of organically grown plants and livestock. Organic food, while priced 10-50% higher then non-organic foods, can offer various benefits including lower environmental impact then non-organic food; higher nutrients (the jury is actually still out on this as there are some conflicting studies); and lower risks of ingesting pesticide residue, hormones or antibiotics.

            However, as a buyer or a farmer, what exactly does the word ‘organic’ on the label mean? How do you know that what you’re buying is really an organic product? And as a farmer, how do you get your operation and products to be certified organic?

            To give a little background, in 1990 the US Congress passed the Organic Food Production Act as part of the Farm Bill. It required the US Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) to develop national standards for organic food products. This bill resulted in a regulatory framework being developed and instituted in 2002 by the USDA. The USDA created a new arm for enforcing the organic regulations called the National Organic Program (“NOP”, http://www.ams.usda.gov). The regulations passed in 2002 mandate that all farmers and food processors must be certified in order to use the word ‘organic’ as part of their labeling (there is one exemption for farmers who sell less than $5,000 worth of products in a year). Processed food must be 95% organic to be able to carry the ‘organic’ label legally.

            The USDA sets the standards for what qualifies something as organic, and the NOP accredits various private and state agencies to carry out the actual certification process. These entities have to meet strict requirements for accreditation. In fact, in August 2008 the USDA announced that 15 of 30 federally accredited organic certifiers had been placed on probation for violating USDA organic standards. Two examples of some of the larger accreditation agencies are California Certified Organic Farmers (“CCOF”, www.ccof.org) for the state of California and the Organic Crop Improvement Association (“OCIA”, www.ocia.org) a national certification organization. Many of the accreditation agencies, like the CCOF, have directories on their sites for viewing certified farmers and handlers. 

            If a farmer or producer would like to become certified organic they must first apply to one of the accredited agencies. They can typically read instructions for applications and download needed documents on the websites of the accrediting entities. If the application is accepted, the farmer or producer will need to set up an inspection, and if they are deemed compliant, pay certain fees as well as submit to additional inspections on an annual basis. Of course the individual requirements for having the application accepted and passing inspections to get certified are much more granular and comprehensive and can be discussed with the accreditation agencies themselves and/or are listed on their websites.

            Keep in mind, just because a farmer is certified organic does not mean there aren’t rogue farmers who occasionally cut corners to save a crop, a sick hog, or perhaps augment an underweight cow with hormones between inspections. This is obviously a violation of their certification and totally against the spirit of being organic. As a commercial or individual purchaser/consumer, sometimes it helps to go visit the farm itself. You can also ask for references and contact some of the farm’s other customers to gauge how high their standards and requirements are of their suppliers.

As an individual consumer of organic foods, another thing to be aware of is that the practice of restaurants offering organic foods can be a little complicated - especially how they are presented on the menu. Keep in mind that restaurants often mix up “locally grown” with “organic” and throw out terms such as “free-range” or “naturally raised” in referring to their meat. This does not mean they are actually organic in the legal sense of the word. They often also fail to update their menus when items are no longer organic, and can tend to mislead their customers about what is organic and what is not.

Consumers can protect themselves from this by asking the restaurant to verify any specific ‘organic’ claims they make and inquire about the ingredients used in a particular dish.*** In addition, they can inquire about their food suppliers for further follow up.

            One additional issue is the difference between ‘organic’ farming and ‘sustainable’ farming. Know a farm can be organic but not sustainable and vice versa. Although a lot of sustainable practices are incorporated into the legal requirements for organic certification, farms can still be certified as organic but not be run or distributed in a ‘sustainable’ manner. For instance, organic foods can be distributed far away from where their grown resulting high fossil fuel consumption, or a dairy farm could have a large operation and not recycle the waste products in a sustainable way. In addition, know that a producer or farmer can be certified organic and include that anywhere in its name that is labeled on all of its products even if a particular product is not organic. This makes it important to look for the USDA certified organic seal (the image next to this article) when purchasing organically certified products.

            Good luck shopping, growing…. and eating organic!!  

 

*Source: 2009 Organic Industry Survey conducted by Lieberman Research Group on behalf of the Organic Trade Association

**Source: "Food: Global Industry Guide". Datamonitor. 2009. http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/18f9c2/food_global_indus. Retrieved 2008-08-28.

***Source: http://www.foresightdesign.org/resources/restaurants.php

Written by American Farm Exchange 12/1/2009          

 

   

Sorting Through the Weeds of No-Till Farming

 

As attention to sustainability in farming as well as appreciation of environmental impact has grown over recent years – the age-old practice of ‘no-till’ farming appears to have made a comeback. Over 41 percent of farms in the US practice some sort of tillage conservation system. In fact, the US currently ranks first in terms of area of no-till farming in the world.

This article will hopefully help get you started in your search for determining if no-till is right for you. Below are some of the pluses and minuses of no-till along with a list of unique online resources that can help plug you into the no-till community. This list is by no means all-inclusive but should help someone gain more than an elementary understanding on the subject. The list is independently reviewed and none of the websites have been in contact with the American Farm Exchange as of the date of this article. This list may be updated periodically as web resources change and/or more become available. First some quick pluses and minuses:

Pluses:

  • No-tilled soil substantially reduces erosion and retains higher nutrient levels. Lower soil erosion seems to anecdotally be the number one factor farmers consider when deciding whether to go no-till.
  • The soil holds water better and aeration is improved.
  • Lower equipment and labor costs from not having to till.
  • Lower fertilizer costs are likely.
  • Yields can actually increase if done correctly.
  • Can encourage increased activity and amount of wildlife (birds nesting for example), improved microbial growth, and an increase of beneficial insects.
  • Can result in grants, awards, and/or tax credits from government conservation programs (US and Canada) now and in the future.
  • May or may not result in less carbon dioxide released into atmosphere from not tilling the soil (research inconclusive here).

Minuses:

  • Increase fungal growth due to greater moisture retention us a possibility
  • Possible new and increased pest activity – possibly hurting yields and/or requiring pesticide use.
  • Yields can decline if not executed correctly.
  • Requires specialized tools and equipment for both the killing of the crop cover plants, weeds, and planting into the crop residue.
  • Issues with weeds can result in more herbicides and/or pesticides needed.
  • May require additional drainage.

Sites:

http://www.notill.org – Non-profit organization providing resources for farmers interested in no-till farming and other sustainable farming practices. Tons of useful links, information about upcoming events related to no-till, and active forums.

http://www.lesspub.com/cgi-bin/site.pl?ntf/index - Home of the No-Till Farmer Newsletter has a forum, supplier guides, editorial content, and online tools to facilitate no-till farming operations.

http://cmeg.psu.edu/video/notill/notill_and_soil_quality.cfm - Penn State Extension site containing multiple instructional video clips on no-till farming.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/main.htm - USDA website for the Agricultural Research Service – using the search box, typing in ‘no-till’ will result in multiple useful research articles and synopses of research being done by the USDA and others.

Source: http://www.maineswcds.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/corn-no-till.jpg

Written by American Farm Exchange 11/25/2009