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…

The Price of Food

Rising food prices are causing a decrease in conservation practices among farmers, according to this article in the New York Times.

The article focused primarily on agronomic crops such as wheat but mentioned the overall increase in production cost. What’s production cost? Simply put it’s the amount of money a farmer has to spend to grow a crop. Production costs are typically estimated per acre. High fuel prices are a major contributor to increased production cost.

Anyone who has filled up their car or truck with gas recently has noticed the increase in gas prices. Most agricultural machinery in the United States runs on diesel fuel which has also increased in price. Diesel fuel used for agricultural equipment (tractors, combines, etc.) might seem cheaper at first glance but has also has also been subjected to the same skyrocketing prices.

Another important component in agriculture, synthetic fertilizer, has also dramatically increased in price. This coupled with the rising fuel costs means that the cost of production per acre increases also. What it all boils down to is that even though food prices are higher, it doesn’t necessarily mean farmers will be making more money.

For example say I wanted to grow an acre of sweet corn, and make money selling the corn. To figure out what I’d need to charge for that corn some things I’d need to consider cost of: fuel, corn seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor. Other factors such as property taxes, machinery wear, and cost of machinery. This list of costs isn’t comprehensive but hopefully illustrates growing crops isn’t free.

Let’s take the example a bit further. Say you sell your corn crop and get $500.00/acre*. Before you take that money to the bank you’ll need to figure out how much it cost to grow that corn. You look back at your production records and estimate that it cost $200 to grow that acre of corn, so you ended up making $300.00/acre. Alright $300.00/acre profit doesn’t seem too bad but say your production costs were $450.00/acre or $600.00/acre. In these cases you’d be making $50.00 or losing $100.00. Unfortunately costs of production aren’t always reflected 100% in the price of the crop, but that’s a whole different story.

*Note: I made up the price per unit. The actual price per unit (bushel, ton, etc.) would depend on the crop and were it was being sold. A roadside stand might sell sweet corn by the dozen whereas a cannery might buy it by the ton.

Grow Local

Buying fresh veggies (and other items) locally is one option if you're concerned about food borne illness or pesticide residue.

What if you… can't afford to buy everything local, want more exercise, or just like fresh vegetables? Then… start a vegetable garden!

Nothing is quite as local and fresh as produce grown in your own back yard or community garden. Garden activities like soil preparation and pulling weeds provide plenty of exercise and can be a welcome relief after a long day at work.

If you’ve never had a garden before don’t worry its easy to get started. If I had to give one piece of advice it would be to: start simple and plant things that are relatively easy to grow. Certain vegetable crops such as lettuce, tomatoes, peas, and beans are easier to grow than asparagus, watermelons, peppers, and onions.

Where’s a good place to find gardening information? Information for local gardeners can be found through the cooperative extension, books, or on line sources.