Tillage Equipment in Action

Clink here to see some videos of tillage equipment in action!

The footage was taken at a field day near Le Roy New York last August. As a side note Le Roy happens to be the birthplace of JELL-O^©.

Industrial Organic

Industrial and organic are two terms that don’t seem mesh at first. The term “organic agriculture” often conjures up images of small picturesque family farms. While this pastoral scene might be true for locally produced organic foods, large scale organic production is a different story. Click here to see photographs of a large organic dairy (from the Cornucopia Institute).

If the food isn’t produced and sold locally then where are the profits going? Some very interesting research has been done at Michigan State University by Dr. Philip H. Howard. Take a look at this website which provides a series of diagrams that show who owns the major organic brands.

Silver Buckshot

Can reduced tillage help with the food problems? Many agricultural technologies have been adopted in hopes of reducing or eliminating hunger. Climbing food prices and scarcity of food provides evidence that those technologies may not have been as effective as originally planned.

It isn’t likely that one agricultural invention will act as a ”silver bullet” and solve all our food problems. A better idea might be to look for answers in the form of “silver buckshot” or many small solutions to a larger problem.

How does reduced tillage fit in? I’ve mentioned previously that reduced tillage typically requires fewer tillage passes. Basically this translates into less fuel use. This in turn can decrease the cost of production.

Decreased soil erosion and compaction in reduced tillage systems benefit the surrounding environment. Both these factors also can preserve the quality of farm land.

To Expensive To Eat?

Food, food prices, and food shortages have been a major topic in the news lately. Prices of basic commodities continue to climb. Commodities like rice are in short supply due to drought in countries like Australia. Declining rice acreage has lead to the closure of the largest rice mill in the Southern hemisphere. When fully operational it was estimated that this mill processed enough rice to feed 20 million people. Click here to take a look at the full article.

The price premium for organic food is causing consternation and in many cases causing farmers and consumers to return to conventional eating and farming practices. These higher prices have also coincided with increased production costs. This article in the New York Times has a nice little graphic which compares the prices of some organic and conventional foods.

Food prices and shortages are more dire in other parts of the world. In Egypt the military has been enlisted to help bake bread. In countries like Haiti people have little choice but to eat patties made of mud with oil and sugar mixed in for flavor.

Can science help? Stay tuned for Monday’s post.

Local Food In Wisconsin

Trying to buy local but don’t know where to find local produce? You’re in luck if you live in Wisconsin. An article in The Grower describes a nifty publication that lists local products.

I haven’t been able to find a hard copy of the atlas. There is a website for the project called Wisconsin's Farm Fresh Atlases, where you can look for local foods in several parts of the state.

The search options for the website vary depending on the region. Some regions aren’t searchable yet. Interestingly enough there is no atlas available for the northern part of the state.

Local food information is presented differently depending on the Atlas being used. The Farm Fresh Atlas of Western Wisconsin is the most user friendly. Search results are listed on Google maps. You can then click on the various icons for more information.

I’ve heard of options like this for other states. The Farm Fresh Atlas of Western Wisconsin is the most user friendly local food guide I’ve run across.

Organic Myth Part 2

The first myth of 6 Myths About Organic Food, the phrase “organic farming is only about half as productive as conventional farming, it requires far more land to produce the same amount of food,” is somewhat of a myth itself. Many of the studies comparing organic and conventional yields rely on the conventional varieties grown in organic systems.

Conventional crops have been bred to grow with the aid of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. When grown in an organic system the low yields shouldn’t be surprising since plants were not bred for those conditions. Why is this? Most conventional crops are bred with one major goal, increased yield. Other factors like competitive ability take away from energy the plan can put towards yield. If yield studies were conducted using crops specifically bred for organic systems, and amount of inputs (fertilizer, pesticides) the results might be different.

Organic Myths

Organic food items seem to be popping up all over the place. Lots of grocery and discount stores are adding or expanding their selections of organic items. The organically certified food items available range from potato chips and soda to the more traditional items like vegetables and fruit.

If food item is organic does that mean its better for you and the environment? The answer is maybe. This article "6 Myths About Organic Food” attempts to dispel some common misconceptions about organic food items. Some of the statements like “Myth #4 You don’t have to be as careful about washing it” are accurate. The basic message is that regardless of production practice you still need to wash your food. Food borne pathogens, such as E. coli, don’t discriminate between organic and conventionally grown food.

Myth #6 “It’s better for you” is less related to production but interesting all the same. A common misconception if a food item is labeled “certified organic” or “made with organic ingredients” it is inherently better for you. Really it depends more on what the food item is. Take potatoes for example. By nature a potato is a healthy vegetable. Potato chips on the other hand are not healthy (in large quantities) regardless of how they were grown.

The rational behind the first myth “Organic food is always better for the environment” brings up some interesting points. While it’s true that many pesticides and other chemicals used in conventional farming are harmful to the environment, there are pesticides and chemicals that can be used on organic farms.

To be continued…