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October 26, 2000 Organic
farmers in Iowa await Seth
Harrington DES MOINES, Iowa-- Does it bother you that your salad may have been doused in fertilizer and sprayed with insecticide? When some people go to the supermarket, they look for produce grown without being touched by chemicals. This food has been raised by a hands-on and unconventional process involving yearly rotations that actually enrich the soil and sprays made from garlic, manure and other things found around the farm. "They understand that they're going to pay a bit more, but they think it is a healthier choice," said Maury Wills, program administrator of the organic section of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The world of organic agriculture is awaiting federal regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture--expected to come out in November. "Once this law is in place," Wills said, "if you want to use the word organic, you have to comply with certain standards and pass inspection." The inspection is done by either the state's department of agriculture or a recognized independent agency and financed by the farmer applying for organic status. It's Wills' job to make sure there are people to inspect and certify farmers. Iowa has had regulations similar to the proposed federal ones in place since November 1999, but many states, such as Missouri, never have. Federal regulations were proposed 10 years ago and then delayed until now, said Wills, who has an organic orchard that he works on in his spare time. As a result, a lot of states decided they needed their own certification programs. "Somewhere, buyers decided they needed some assurance that what they were buying was really what it said it was," Wills said. Wills said there is little chance of products falsely labeled "organic" being sold in Iowa supermarkets, because stores usually demand to see a certificate before buying out-of-state products. However,"There are places where people are using the word organic loosely," Wills said. "There needs to be education." The growth of organic farming's national market share in the last four years has disappointed those in the business. In 1996, organically produced foods accounted for 1 percent of food products sold in the United States. At the time, it was estimated that by 2000 they would account for 10 percent. However, Todd Thompson, production director of the Organic Alliance, said organic products currently account for 1 to 2 percent of all the food sold in the United States. Wills said that is partly because 90 percent of the U.S. organic soy crop goes to Japan, where it ends up in dishes like tofu. "The percentage for produce may be higher," Thompson said, "because produce is the highest-selling of organic products. I don't think organic meat has even one-tenth of 1 percent of all the meat sold over-the-counter, because it was only last January that you could first buy meat that was labeled organic." According to Iowa State's School of Agriculture Web site, farmers who decide to "go organic" have a hard time finding markets while in the transitional phase. Consequently, few farmers are willing to take the step. Another reason the organic market hasn't grown is that the products are expensive. "A farmer gets $2 for a conventional bushel of corn," said Wills. "An organic farmer will charge the local elevator (where crops are stored before going to market) $4 a bushel. Conventional soy is $12-14 a bushel. Organic soy can be as high as $20 a bushel. Almost all of what you see in the supermarket is conventional." As a result, the consumer who wants organic products will have to pay more than the one who settles for conventional products, unless the store averages out the prices. "I know of one store that tries not to pass the higher cost along to customers," said Wills, "even though they're shouldering the burden of the higher prices then." Wills would not give the name of the store. The organic market is growing slowly, to be sure, but it is growing. A study done by the Department of Agriculture shows 193 organic producers in Iowa, over a third of whom raise livestock. Some farmers cite the higher prices in the organic market as evidence that the switch makes sense economically as well as nutritionally and environmentally. Half of the organic operations in Iowa report a monthly gross of at least $5,000 and 10 percent report at least $50,000. While many organic farms tend to be smaller than average, there are some that are as large as 500 or 1,000 acres. "As we get more into organic farming, I think more people will start to warm up to organic products," Wills said. "A lot of people today have a vague notion of 'Oh, organic farming, that's supposed to be good for the environment.' But of course, it's expensive. In the future I think we'll see more organic producers, and that will lower the prices." Not using chemicals means organic farmers have to do some creative things. "There's more effort to use green manure crops and legumes," Wills said. "Those kinds of plants capture nitrogen out of the air and fix it under the soil." Oats leave organic matter in the soil that fertilizes it, as do animal manure and compost. Organic farmers also rotate their crops. That way material left behind by one crop nourishes the next year's crop, and a plot of land gets a rest every five years. "On a conventional farm, it's corn then beans, then corn, then beans, forever and always," Wills said. "The soil never gets to rest." To keep the bugs off their crops, organic farmers use garlic sprays, pepper sprays, BT and other "natural" sprays. Most of these sprays are only effective for a few days after being sprayed, and so are sprayed at certain times of the year, when farmers know certain kinds of larva are beginning to feed. A minority of farmers and legislators is trying to change the world of farming in ways that will expose consumers and nature to fewer harsh chemicals. The going is rough, but they've made a start. |