Organic Farm Conversion: On-Air to Online

After last week's interview with Brad Jaeckel, listener Donna Zuba e-mailed with this question:
"Is organic agriculture sustainable for the commercial farmer?"

Here's what Brad had to say:

When you talk about sustainability in any area you really want to address three main issues and that includes:

• Is whatever you're doing sustainable for the environment? 
• Is it sustainable economically?  And,
• Is it sustainable socially? 

So when we try to address the sustainability in organic Ag, those are really the three big areas that we're trying to look at, and largely organic Ag has been addressing environmental sustainability concerns.  But also, we're concerned about farmers receiving fair wages for their work, and farmers do receive a premium for organic fruits and vegetables so, that’s good. 

But also we need to be concerned about wages that laborers are receiving. And is that food staying in the community or is it being transported long distances?  Its really a complex issue, and I think its something you have to take case by case, but really try to address those three key topics when you're looking at a certain issue is going to be important.

John Reganold, Regents Professor of Soil Science, took the conversation further:

Is it possible to replace current farm practices with organic farm practices and make operations financially feasible?  

Yes, it is. But it’s not easy. Farmers converting have to go through a three-year transition period before their land becomes officially certified organic. Plus, if they have never farmed organically before, they can have a steep learning curve; organic farming is more information intensive than conventional farming. Organic farmers don’t have the same arsenal of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that conventional growers have.

Is “going organic” more difficult for dry land farmers? How so?

Probably so, but not always. Dryland agriculture means rainfed agriculture or no irrigation (versus irrigated agriculture). Most of our big grain farms, such as wheat, corn, and soybeans, are dryland farms that depend on large farm equipment for generally thousands of acres of farmland. Weeds tend to be more difficult to control on these large farms with organic management (where a grower has to rely on crop rotations, mechanical controls, biological controls, and more). On the other hand, conventional growers on these dryland farms rely on effective herbicides which they can spray on their fields.

Can you name a success story regarding a farm operation switch to a more eco-friendly operation. How did they proceed?

Most farmers that I know who have been successful in converting from conventional production to organic production or from conventional tillage to no-till operations have done it gradually. This means that they have not bet the whole farm during the transition. Instead, they have tried organic or no-till on maybe 10% of their farmland to see how it works and how they work with the new system of farming. With success on the 10%, they can then slowly convert more acreage as they see fit.

To learn more about John Reganold and download a presentation on sustainable agriculture, click here!