Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Whatever the physical and financial problems of transition to organic agriculture may be,
possibly one of the most difficult to overcome are the misconceptions about whether organic
agriculture could work, and if it does, how. Lack of information about what changes are needed,
and how to implement those changes, has always been mentioned as a major problem. Manage-
rial ability, being able to manage the farm in a way appropriate to the system (e.g. handling
different varieties, changing seeding dates to beat pests, recognising problems before they cause
great damage, and having knowledge about solutions) is an important first requirement.
In the first years of moving towards organic management, most farmers have some special
physical problems that they are unlikely to experience once the system is established. A biolog-
ical change towards a different equilibrium in soil biota is one conversion aspect that may take
time. Soil microorganisms essential for organic management need to become established. For
example, Australian organic grain farmers reported that as they did not burn straw under the
organic system, they experienced problems during transition with planting and germination
of seed due to the straw blocking up the machinery, necessitating adaptation of their planting
machinery. However, after those first few years the straw did break down considerably faster,
presumably as a result of build-up of fungi over time. The absence of specific biological activity
may also be part of the cause of yield reductions reported by some farmers in early years
compared with yield levels further into the conversion period.
A change in farm layout is often advisable when changing management systems, and would
require resources. For example, changes in rotations and livestock use within the rotation may
require extra capital expenditure for fencing and livestock purchase. However, on farms where
livestock require concentrates that are sourced off-farm, the change may mean some form of
decrease in stocking rate.
Extra farm storage to cope with a change in marketing strategy can be another reason why
more investments are needed. Buyers of farm produce may not have separate storage space for
organic products, although this problem may decrease over time.
At the same time as the issues of change need attention and action, farmers can usually not
count on premiums for the products. In the first phase of organic management, a farmer can
be certified only as being in conversion. This means that during this time, premiums are less
certain than at a later stage when the farm is certified as fully organic. The length of this
period differs between countries, but is typically between one and three years.
Whatever problems arise, the farmer needs to plan well ahead, and analyse possible scenar-
ios under conversion that encompass changes, including the use of existing resources, the need
for investments, possible changes in yields and total productivity, availability of labour and
machinery, accessibility to markets and likely output prices and cash f flow.
Risk and uncertainty
Changing from conventional to organic agriculture means taking risks and facing different
uncertainties. The risk during conversion is made up of the factors just discussed (see
Conver-
sion challenges
), changes to the soil biota resulting from farming system changes, a steep
learning curve for farmers regarding general organic farm management with particular
emphasis on the characteristics of each particular farm, and a possible need for more invest-
ments in machinery, fencing, livestock and storage while outputs and marketing may be in
f flux. These risks can be expected to decrease over time as the physical processes settle down
and the farmer learns more about the management system requirements.
However, differences in production variability may be a more permanent feature of the two
management systems. Yields on organic farms that are closer to the average in extreme years
are mentioned in the early literature (e.g. Klepper
et al
. 1977), but not always found (Padel and
Lampkin 1994, p. 216). One study that did find a correlation between organic management
and decreased variability of wheat yields was carried out in Australia (Wynen 1994), where
