Growing tomatoes : 02

River Cottage's head gardener, Mark Diacono, explains how to grow the perfect crop of tomatoes

Pomodorino tomatoes growing in a West Sussex nursery. Photograph: Richard Saker

Growing tomatoes is a tricky business. We have no idea if we'll have a sweltering summer like 1976 or if rain will come and encourage blight. Or perhaps we'll have an Indian summer to nudge what you thought would never get there into perfect ripeness. Never mind: you can take a few steps to improve your chances of a perfect crop.

• Always grow three or four varieties at least - some will suit your locality better than others, they may be differently susceptible to disease, and you may well prefer the taste of some varieties.

• Good varieties are essential - if you're unsure about what to go for, start with Gardener's Delight (a fabulous cherry tom), San Marzano (plum) and Costoluto Fiorentino (v large).

• Tomatoes are riskier grown outside rather than in a greenhouse or polytunnel - if you're thinking of chancing it then go for cherry tomatoes or Black Krim, both of which ripen more quickly outside than others.

• Grow your tomatoes in a location that has as much direct sun and shelter from winds as you can.

• Early in spring (or as late in winter as you dare), sow seeds into Jiffy 7s and pot them on when the first true leaves develop, before planting them out when 20cm tall.

• Add compost or well-rotted manure to the soil you will be planting them in.

• Companion planting works wonderfully with tomatoes. Sow basil underneath as a sacrificial (white fly is drawn to it rather than your toms) or try garlic, nasturtiums or tagetes to repel aphids.

• Your plants will need support to grow strongly - use canes for tall varieties and/or netting for bushes.

• Water the soil, not the plant - tomato leaves and stems hate getting wet.

• Every week or so from when flowering starts, give your plant a seaweed or comfrey feed - the developing fruit will love the potassium.

• Water little and often - it encourages steady growth and helps to avoid split fruit.

• Sink a pipe vertically into the ground when you plant out. Tomatoes have two sets of roots: some at the surface that feed and lower ones that drink in water. The pipe gets the water down to where it counts quickly.

• Pinch out any shoots that develop between stem and main branches - they take up valuable energy from the developing fruit.

• Cut off the top of plants, certainly of outdoor ones, when six trusses of fruit set - this helps to focus the plant's energies.

• Bring any tomatoes that are still shy of ripeness at the end of the summer indoors and put a banana with them - the ethylene given off by the banana helps them ripen.

• I like to pick leaves off around the tomatoes when they've reached full size but have yet to start changing colour - this gets the sun to the fruit, increases air flow, and minimises disease.

• If you've just got the bug for growing some of your food, or your seedlings have struggled or been munched, you can still catch up by sourcing seedlings from places like Rocket Gardens or Delfland.

• Don't give yourself a hard time if you pick a few and they taste a little disappointing - tomatoes are notoriously sensitive to place and weather. There are hundreds of sugars, acids and volatile chemicals that we perceive when we taste a tomato, many of which are held separately within the structure of the fruit and mingle at ripeness (with its gentle collapse of cell walls). Judging the instant is a matter of trial and error. So pick one that looks right - if it's wonderful then pick the rest at a similar stage.

• I'll whisper this bit in case a real gardener's reading: if the fiddling about sounds like hard work, ignore it. Choosing great varieties and starting them off well in a good spot will get you most of the way to a great harvest. The second year I grew tomatoes I didn't bother with feeding, pinching, chopping the tops off, or companion planting for half of the plants I grew and, although the harvest wasn't as large as with the other half, it was fine.

• The most important thing is to grow some and take your time around harvest. A perfectly ripe homegrown tomato, eaten sun-warm from the bush, really is unrecognisable from the ones you buy in the shops.

Back to natural farming

Anitha Pailoor

Agriculture

B N Nandish, a farmer in Shikaripura taluk’s Churchigundi, has developed his own farming practices based on five basic fundamentals – soil, sunlight, aeration, water and food. Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s ‘One Straw Revolution,’ Nandish took to natural farming, and hasn’t looked back ever since, writes Anitha Pailoor
Rudramuni is a relieved man. Over the past two years, he hasn’t had to wait in a long queue to buy fertiliser. He allows the farm to shape up on its own, a lesson learnt from his fellow farmer Nandish of Churchigundi village in Shikaripura taluk. They have lowered pesticide input by 70 per cent over the last couple of years, according to records maintained by Nandish. Nandish’s agriculture is anchored on five basic principles  - maintain live soil, allow appropriate sunlight and good aeration, then focus on water and food.

He feels that most farmers’ problems are rooted in the fact that they concentrate on water and fertiliser, that too feeding an excess of it, and overlook the other three components. As farmers in the village discover the logic behind Nandish’s farming, they have been shifting to a farming practice that requires low external input and is sustainable.
Nandish discontinued his studies after his Pre-University and took charge of his 15-acre paddy field in 1998. In the beginning, he had a one-point agenda, to enhance the productivity of the farm. He continued chemical farming practised by his parents focusing on ‘clean cultivation.’ Irrational use of pesticides and fertilisers enhanced the yield occasionally, but there was a rise in the cost of cultivation, pests and diseases. Consequent crop failures made him rethink about the sustainability of the practice.

It was a newspaper review on natural farmer Masanobu Fukuoka’s ‘One Straw Revolution’ that changed his life. A voracious reader, he soon studied Fukuoka’s three books and other books on organic farming. Fukuoka’s thoughts and experiments in farming influenced him to experiment along the same lines. Ever since, observing and experimenting have become two important tools in his farming.

During the transformation from chemical to organic farming, he introduced various legume varieties in the farm. Nandish adopted Fukuoka’s experiments that are suitable for local agro-climatic conditions. His experiments with legumes and paddy varieties have taken him to hundreds of seed conservers, particularly farmers. He also makes it a point to participate in workshops and seminars on sustainable farming practices. He visited research stations in his quest for carrying out nature-friendly farming.  
Green manuring enriches soil
Over the last one decade, Nandish is known among farmers as a legume farmer. His farm has a range of legumes that maintain the fertility of the soil. He knows that a field requires local plant diversity like wild weeds, shrubs, trees and herbs along with legumes.
He feels that diversity and biomass of the weeds indicate soil fertility. Cover crops help build a balanced ecosystem and develop the right kind of micro-climate for the plants. Cover crops, especially the leguminous ones, restrict the growth of weeds. There are over 100 green manure species in his paddy and areca farm, including some perennials.
About 20 species are used in the paddy field for green manuring during pre-cultivation and post-cultivation periods. The crops include sunhemp (drought resistant), daincha (withstands water logging), horsegram (good biomass, fodder), velvet beans (high nitrogen fixing, good biomass), niger, cocks comb and fodder cowpea.

Every new technology or method that has been introduced has something to offer. After the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method was introduced, Nandish reduced water logging in his paddy field to one month. Every cropping pattern has pests and diseases and multiplies under favourable conditions. Nandish says that even his crops are prone to pest problems and diseases, but the situation has never gone out of control. In a bio-diversity rich farm, a balance is maintained in the eco-system. The harvest also turns out to be above average. His farming system has reduced the labour dependency by 70 per cent. He prefers fine rice varieties suitable for the region. Though he keeps changing the varieties, he has been growing black basmati over the last eight years in one patch.
Rice is sold in the organic market.
Apart from paddy, he has five acres of horticulture plantation. Arecanut, banana, green gram, black gram, turmeric, ginger, coconut and cocoa are other crops. Eighty -dd species in this farm provide food, fodder, timber, fuel-wood, natural dyes and check wind, act as live fence, pest repellents, trap plants etc as they enrich the soil. At the same time, he warns that vigorous growing of perennial creepers like pueraria, mucuna and mimosa invisa have to be avoided in the farm. Green manure has lowered his reliance on external inputs for his farm. Water is the only input, for which he is dependent on outside source.

Though he has a bore well that yielded water at 30 feet depth, he doesn’t want to overuse it. He waits for water to be released from a local dam for paddy cultivation.

Understand your farm
Before executing a farming practice or introducing a new crop, Nandish carefully studies it from different angles. He feels that legumes helped him maintain the yield when he shifted from chemical to organic. An authority in legume culture, he has collected seeds from different sources.

Tuber crops are also an important component in his areca farm. Constant observation has revealed that each and every plant in nature has something to contribute, and that we should explore it. He suggests that November to February is the right time to collect wild seeds.

In the recent past, he has also learnt that seeds brought by pests, birds, animals have very good germination and grow with vigour than those that are sown manually. He recalls an instance of parrots thinning the seed bed in his paddy nurseries.

Twenty five kilograms of paddy seeds per acre is the norm in the region. Every time hundreds of parrots would attack the paddy sprouts and about 75 per cent of the seedlings would be destroyed. One year, Nandish decided to plant the same amount of seedlings that the parrots had left unattacked. He had made another bed with 75 kg of paddy seedlings ready as an alternative. To everyone’s surprise, the seedlings were in surplus and the yield was good. Nandish analyses this saying that, “the parrots showed us the right amount of seeds needed. We feel that dense planting gives good yield. But it is not true. Now I have reduced the seeds to five kilos per acre.”
Original Post Here

Organic farming :: Manures

MANURES

Manures are plant and animal wastes that are used as sources of plant nutrients. They release nutrients after their decomposition. The art of collecting and using wastes from animal, human and vegetable sources for improving crop productivity is as old as agriculture. Manures are the organic materials derived from animal, human and plant residues which contain plant nutrients in complex organic forms. Naturally occurring or synthetic chemicals containing plant nutrients are called fertilizers. Manures with low nutrient, content per unit quantity have longer residual effect besides improving soil physical properties compared to fertilizer with high nutrient content. Major sources of manures are:

1. Cattle shed wastes-dung, urine and slurry from biogas plants
2. Human habitation wastes-night soil, human urine, town refuse, sewage, sludge and sullage
3. Poultry Jitter, droppings of sheep and goat
4. Slaughterhouse wastes-bone meal, meat meal, blood meal, horn and hoof meal, Fish wastes
5. Byproducts of agro industries-oil cakes, bagasse and press mud, fruit and vegetable processing wastes etc
6. Crop wastes-sugarcane trash, stubbles and other related material
7. Water hyacinth, weeds and tank silt, and
8. Green manure crops and green leaf manuring material

Manures can also be grouped, into bulky organic manures and concentrated organic manures based on concentration of the nutrients.

Bulky organic manures

Bulky organic manures contain small percentage of nutrients and they are applied in large quantities. Farmyard manure (FYM), compost and green-manure are the most important and widely used bulky organic manures. Use of bulky organic manures has several advantages:
(1) They supply plant nutrients including micronutrients
(2)They improve soil physical properties like structure, water holding capacity etc.,
(3) They increase the availability of nutrients
(4) Carbon dioxide released during decomposition acts as a CO2 fertilizer and
(5) Plant parasitic nematodes and fungi are controlled to some extent by altering the balance of microorganisms in the soil.

Farmyard manure

Farmyard manure refers to the decomposed mixture of dung and urine of farm animals along with litter and left over material from roughages or fodder fed to the cattle. On an average well decomposed farmyard manure contains 0.5 per cent N, 0.2 per cent P2O5and .0.5 per cent K2O.The present method of preparing farmyard manure by the farmers is defective. Urine, which is wasted, contains one per cent nitrogen and 1.35 per cent potassium. Nitrogen present in urine is mostly in the form of urea which is subjected to volatilization losses. Even during storage, nutrients are lost due to leaching and volatilization. However, it is practically impossible to avoid losses altogether, but can be reduced by following improved method of preparation of farmyard manure. Trenches of size 6 m to 7.5 m length, 1.5 m to 2.0 m width and 1.0 m deep are dug.

All available litter and refuse is mixed with soil and spread in the shed so as to absorb urine. The next morning, urine soaked refuse along with dung is collected and placed in the trench. A section of the trench from one end should be taken up for filling with daily collection. When the section is filled up to a height of 45 cm to 60 cm above the ground level, the top of the heap is made into a dome and plastered with cow dung earth slurry. The process is continued and when the first trench is completely filled, second trench is prepared.

The manure becomes ready for use in about four to five months after plastering. If urine is not collected in the bedding, it can be collected along with washings of the cattle shed in a cemented pit from which it is later added to the farmyard manure pit. Chemical preservatives can also be used to reduce losses and enrich farmyard manure. The commonly used chemicals are gypsum and superphosphate. Gypsum is spread in the cattle shed which absorbs urine and prevents volatilization loss of urea present in the urine and also adds calcium and sulphur. Superphosphate also acts similarly in reducing losses and also increases phosphorus content.

Partially rotten farmyard manure has to be applied three to four weeks before sowing while well rotten manure can be applied immediately before sowing. Generally 10 to 20 t/ha is applied, but more than 20 t/ha is applied to fodder grasses and vegetables. In such cases farmyard manure should be applied at least 15 days in advance to avoid immobilization of nitrogen. The existing practice of leaving manure in small heaps scattered in the field for a very long period leads toloss of nutrients. These losses can be reduced by spreading the manure and incorporating by ploughing immediately after application.

Vegetable crops like potato, tomato, sweet-potato, carrot, raddish, onion etc., respond well to the farmyard manure. The other responsive crops are sugarcane, rice, napier grass and orchard crops like oranges, banana, mango and plantation crop like coconut.

The entire amount of nutrients present in farmyard manure is not available immediately. About 30 per cent of nitrogen, 60 to 70 per cent of phosphorus and 70 per cent of potassium are available to the first crop.

      Farm yard manure

Sheep and Goat Manure

The droppings of sheep and goats contain higher nutrients than farmyard manure and compost. On an average, the manure contains 3 per cent N, 1 per cent P2O5 and 2 per cent K2O.It is applied to the field in two ways. The sweeping of sheep or goat sheds are placed in pits for decomposition and it is applied later to the field. The nutrients present in the urine are wasted in this method. The second method is sheep penning, wherein sheep and goats are kept overnight in the field and urine and fecal matter added to the soil is incorporated to a shallow depth by working blade harrow or cultivator or cultivator.

Poultry Manure

The excreta of birds ferment very quickly. If left exposed, 50 percent of its nitrogen is lost within 30 days. Poultry manure contains higher nitrogen and phosphorus compared to other bulky organic manures. The average nutrient content is 3.03 per cent N; 2.63 per cent P2O5 and 1.4 per cent K2O.

Concentrated organic manures

Concentrated organic manures have higher nutrient content than bulky organic manure. The important concentrated organic manures are oilcakes, blood meal, fish manure etc. These are also known as organic nitrogen fertilizer. Before their organic nitrogen is used by the crops, it is converted through bacterial action into readily usable ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen. These organic fertilizers are, therefore, relatively slow acting, but they supply available nitrogen for a longer period.

Oil cakes

After oil is extracted from oilseeds, the remaining solid portion is dried as cake which can, be used as manure. The oil cakes are of two types:

1. Edible oil cakes which can be safely fed to livestock; e.g.: Groundnut cake, Coconut cake etc., and
2. Non edible oil cakes which are not fit for feeding livestock; e.g.: Castor cake, Neem cake, Mahua cake etc.,
Both edible and non-edible oil cakes can be used as manures. However, edible oil cakes are fed to cattle and non-edible oil cakes are used as manures especially for horticultural crops. Nutrients present in oil cakes, after mineralization, are made available to crops 7 to 10 days after application. Oilcakes need to be well powdered before application for even distribution and quicker decomposition.

The average nutrient content of different oil-cakes is presented in the following table.

Average nutrient content of oil cakes

Oil-cakes	Nutrient content (%)
	N	P2O5	K2O
Non edible oil-cakes
Castor cake	4.3	1.8	1.3
Cotton seed cake (undecorticated)	3.9	1.8	1.6
Karanj cake	3.9	0.9	1.2
Mahua cake	2.5	0.8	1.2
Safflower cake (undecorticated)	4.9	1.4	1.2
Edible oil-cakes
Coconut cake	3.0	1.9	1.8
Cotton seed cake (decorticated)	6.4	2.9	2.2
Groundnut cake	7.3	1.5	1.3
Linseed cake	4.9	1.4	1.3
Niger cake	4.7	1.8	1.3
Rape seed cake	5.2	1.8	1.2
Safflower cake (decorticated)	7.9	2.2	1.9
Sesamum cake	6.2	2.0	1.2

Other Concentrated Organic Manures

Blood meal when dried and powdered can be used as manure. The meat of dead animals is dried and converted into meat meal which is a good source of nitrogen.  Average nutrient content of animal based concentrated organic manures is given as follows.

Average nutrient content of animal based concentrated organic manures

Organic manures	Nutrient content (%)
	N	P2O5	K2O
Blood meal	10 - 12	1 - 2	1.0
Meat meal	10.5	2.5	0.5
Fish meal	4 - 10	3 - 9	0.3 - 1.5
Horn and Hoof meal	13	-	-
Raw bone meal	3 - 4	20 - 25	-
Steamed bone meal	1 - 2	25 - 30	-

Source

1. Reddy, S.R.2005. Principles of Agronomy. Kalyani Publisher, Ludhiana.
2. http://swastikbone.com/images/products/large/bonegrist.jpg
3. http://swastikbone.com/images/products/large/horns.jpg
4. http://swastikbone.com/images/products/large/hoofs.jpg
5. http://swastikbone.com/images/products/large/crushedbone.jpg
6. http://swastikbone.com/images/products/large/Bone-Meal.jpg
7. http://www.komitkompost.co.uk/images/pile321241.jpg
8. http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/337-9/f0026-03.jpg

Top 12 Reasons to Go Organic

. Organic Is the Only Alternative Delivering Meaningful Health Results.
It is hard to miss the problems arising in the wake of the conventional food system – toxic exposures, birth defects, learning disabilities, obesity, water pollution, unacceptable suffering by farm animals, to name a few. While dozens of labels promise often undefined and unverified benefits, the certified organic label stands apart in consistently delivering what people care most deeply about – more nutritious food, grown using methods that minimize the use of toxins, while building soil quality and protecting water quality. A growing, dynamic organic food sector will stimulate valuable changes benefiting all of agriculture, as well as everyone dependent on the American farmer for three square meals a day.
2. Reduce Your Exposure to Harmful Synthetic Pesticides.
Conventional farmers apply 2-12+ synthetic pesticides to their crops. The average serving of conventionally grown leafy greens, peppers, tree fruits, berries, and grapes contains three to four pesticide residues. Residues of some widely used pesticides can trigger subtle changes in a child's development, and may lead to a wide range of health problems including ADHD, autism, obesity, and certain forms of cancer.
3. Boost the Nutritional Quality of Your Food.
Organic crops are grown in healthier, biologically active soils. While crops on organic farms tend to yield somewhat less per acre and often take longer to grow than crops on conventional farms, plants nurtured by soil on organic farms produce crops that contain higher levels of important antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.
4. Steer Clear of Unknown Genetically Engineered Food Risks.
Most of today's genetically engineered (GE) foods were approved over 15 years ago during a period when the government was aggressively promoting biotechnology. The prevailing "wisdom" was that GE foods were "substantially equivalent" to conventional foods. We have since learned that even small differences in the genetic makeup of food can lead to unexpected human health risks. Because organic farmers cannot plant GE seeds, nor use GE crop inputs, choosing organic is the only sure way to avoid GE food risks.
5. Decrease Your Intake of Unnecessary Hormones and Antibiotics.
Most conventional livestock farmers use a combination of growth hormones, drugs, feed supplements, and high-grain diets to push their animals to grow faster, get bigger, and produce more milk and eggs per day. In fact, animals on conventional farms are often pushed so hard that they experience serious reproductive and/or other health problems leading to heavy antibiotic use. The National Organic Program (NOP) rule prohibits the use of virtually all synthetic animal drugs. At the end of the day, healthy animals produce healthier meat, milk and dairy products, and eggs.
6. Give Farm Animals a Healthy Measure of Respect.
A significant share of the livestock raised on conventional farms live in crowded, stressful conditions that erode animal health, increase drug dependency, and take away any chance of carrying out natural behaviors. However, the NOP rule states that organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors, including pasture, and ample space to carry out natural behaviors.
7. Preserve Local Crop Varieties for Future Generations.
Today, 50% of all food eaten worldwide comes from four plant species and three animal species. A handful of multi-national corporations own and control over 50% of the world's seed market. Small organic farms often preserve heirloom and rare seed varieties for future generations to experience and enjoy.
8. Improve Water Quality and the Safety of Drinking Water.
Rainfall landing on a field of crops will carry a certain amount of soil, nutrients, and chemicals downstream or into underground aquifers. The more chemicals applied per acre, the greater the challenge in preserving water quality. The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is the most graphic example of the enormous harm caused when farm chemicals flowing off of millions of acres congregate in the mighty Mississippi.
9. Promote Biodiversity and Beauty in Rural Landscapes.
Organic farmers not only encourage biodiversity, they depend on it – both above and below the ground. Experienced organic farmers have learned over many decades that combining multiple crops with livestock and other animals is the best way to promote soil health and fully utilize the rainfall and sunlight that falls on an acre in any given year.
10. Maintain Healthy Soil.
Healthy soil is the bedrock of all successful organic farms. Hundreds of studies conducted on multiple continents over the last 50 years have compared soil quality on organic versus nearby conventional farms, and virtually everyone has concluded that organic management substantially enhances soil quality.
11. Organic Food Delivers More Intense Flavors.
Organic fruits and vegetables more often than not have higher levels of flavor-enhancing nutrients, coupled with lower concentrations of water and sugars. The end result – typically more intense and complex flavors. Plus, no artificial food colors or preservatives are added to any organic foods.
12. Create Healthier Working Environments for Farmworkers and Rural Neighbors.

Farming is second only to mining on the list of the most hazardous occupations. Unless great care is exercised, exposures to toxic pesticides, caustic fertilizers, and other chemicals will pose risks for many people working on or living near farms. Organic farmers simply do not use high-risk chemical materials and so workers, and rural neighbors, have one less health risk to worry about.

Sales of organic products have skyrocketed in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. People associate organic food with better health, local growers, lower pesticide levels, humane treatment of animals and sounder environmental practices."

Ways Organic Farms Outperform Conventional Farms

Sustainable, organic farming practices are the best way to feed the future…!!!!

It is a testament to human ingenuity that the mechanics of farming has managed to keep pace with an ever-expanding demand even as the number of farms has declined. Farm machinery has become larger, more efficient and more productive. New crop varieties have been developed which resist common pests and diseases while producing larger yields. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have become increasingly effective, allowing farmers to produce larger crops without the need for additional human labor.

Farmlands have become increasingly dependent on chemical fertilizers which have short-term benefits but contribute to soil depletion over time.

But while today’s large scale food producers continue to profit and consumers see supermarket shelves overflowing with farm products, the unseen costs of our dependence on agribusiness exert a mounting toll. Farmlands have become increasingly dependent on chemical fertilizers which have short-term benefits but contribute to soil depletion over time. Water retention is diminished in non-organic farmland, resulting in erosion of topsoil with chemical residues entering watersheds. We consumers have quietly accepted these changes in farming practices as the cost of feeding a growing nation, and because there seem to be no practical alternatives.
Recent experiments in small organic farming practices, and the release of a 30-year side-by-side farming study by the Rodale Institute, have shown this reasoning to be fundamentally flawed. Organic farming, both large and small scale, is more productive than ‘conventional’ chemical-dependent farming. Organic farming is not only the best way to feed the world – it is the only way to feed the world in a sustainable way.
Organic farms, contrary to conventional wisdom, outperform conventional farms in these ways:

1. Organic farms are more profitable than conventional farms

The bottom line for farmers, regardless of the practices used, is income. The 30-year side-by-side Rodale study showed that organic systems were almost three times as profitable as conventional systems. The average net return for the organic systems was $558/acre/ year versus just $190/acre/year for the conventional systems. This figure is skewed because of the higher price organic farmers receive for their produce and meat, but the higher food costs alone cannot account for the difference in profitability. Lower input costs for organic farm systems are credited with significant cost savings for the farmer.

The relatively poor showing of GM crops in the Rodale study echoed a study from the University of Minnesota that found farmers who cultivated GM varieties earned less money over a 14-year period than those who continued to grow non-GM crops.

2. Organic yields equal or surpass conventional and GM yields

The Rodale 30-year study found that after a three-year transition period, organic yields equalled conventional yields. Contrary to fears that there are insufficient quantities of organically acceptable fertilizers, the data suggest that leguminous cover crops could fix enough nitrogen to replace the amount of synthetic fertilizer currently in use.
In a review of 286 projects in 57 countries, farmers were found to have increased agricultural productivity by an average of 79%, by adopting “resource-conserving” or ecological agriculture (Pretty et al., 2006).

3. Organic crops are more resilient than conventionally grown and GM crops

Organic corn yields were 31 per cent higher than conventional yields in years of drought. These drought yields are remarkable when compared to genetically modified (GM) “drought tolerant” varieties, which showed increases of only 6.7 per cent to 13.3 per cent over conventional (non-drought resistant) varieties.
The effects of climate change bring more uncertainty to farming, with increased drought predicted for some parts of the country. It has become obvious that weather patterns are changing, and looking to the future, food crops will need the resilience to adapt.

4. Organic farming is more efficient than conventional farming

Conventional agriculture requires large amounts of oil to produce, transport and apply fertilizers and pesticides. Nitrogen fertilizer is the single biggest energy cost for conventional farming, representing 41% of overall energy costs. Organic systems used 45% less energy overall than conventional systems. Production efficiency was 28% higher in the organic systems, with the conventional no-till system being the least efficient in terms of energy usage.
The extra energy required for fertilizer production and farm fuel use in conventional systems also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Conventional systems emit almost 40% more GHG per pound of crop production in comparison to the organic systems.

5. Organic farming builds healthier soil

While short-term benefits are realized with the use of chemical fertilizers and mechanized production methods, every gardener knows that soil health cannot be compromised in the long term. Eventually, soil-depleting practices take their toll as soil structure weakens, microbial life declines and erosion removes valuable topsoil from farmland.
The Rodale study found that overall soil health is maintained with conventional systems, but soil health is improved when using organic farming practices. Organic farming practices improve moisture retention which creates water ‘stores’ which plants can draw on during times of stress due to drought and high winds.
According to the Environmental Working Group and soil scientists at Iowa State University, America’s “Corn Belt” is losing precious topsoil up to 12 times faster than government estimates.

6. Organic farming keeps toxic chemicals out of the environment

Conventional systems rely heavily on pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides) many of which are toxic to humans and animals. With more than 17,000 pesticide products (agricultural and non-agricultural) on the market today, the EPA is unable to keep up with adequate safety testing. In fact, the EPA has required testing of less than 1% of chemicals in commerce today.
Many studies link low level exposure of pesticides to human health problems, and chemical residue from pesticides used in farming can be commonly found in air and water samples as well as in the food we eat.
Inactive ingredients in pesticide and herbicide formulations have been found to be as toxic as active ingredients, but are not tested for human health impacts.

7. Organic farming creates more jobs

Industrial agriculture has replaced human hands with machines and chemical inputs. According to the EPA, in the last century agricultural labor efficiency increased from 27.5 acres/worker to 740 acres/worker. Joel Salatin, organic farmer and author of best-selling books on sustainable farming, views these statistics as another reason for us to return to our farming roots. “People say our system can’t feed the world, but they’re absolutely wrong,” he says, “Yes, it will take more hands, but we’ve got plenty of them around.”
One important aspect to consumer support of conventional farming practices is the cost of food. Organic produce and meat is higher priced than non-organic counterparts. But, according to Joel Salatin, we get what we pay for. “We spend around 10% of our income on food and some 16% on health care, and it used to be the reverse.”
Our current food production system is in need of repair. We need to promote organic systems which respect the integrity of soil health and sustainable systems. Until recently it was thought that our national and global food needs were too big to be met with natural, organic food production systems. Recent studies confirm, however, that organic farming is the way of the future. We need, both collectively and as individuals, to support the organic food movement to enable the process to move forward with the research, seed development and farming practices needed to feed a hungry world.