Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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they were getting a lot of calls on it. I am hoping they get more and more. If
they are going to do that, then the organic community ought to unite and
let the word get out on the people who are not feeding 100 percent, and the
consumers can boycott it.”There are many avenues for agribusiness tomake
inroads into organics; farmers and consumers must act to block each one.
Crops
Two economic aspects of crop production are often discussed by these
farmers: they produce high quality products, and they depend on organic
price premiums. These are both crucial to their economic success.
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Quality
Organic crops of today are a far cry from the small, wormy veggies of days
long past. Now farmers are proud of, and depend on, the high quality of
their crops and livestock for maintaining their sales. According to them, it is
not enough to simply produce by organic methods. Rather, their success is
based on the fact that their products are excellent. Regarding their Florida
citrus, Mary states this clearly: “We're marketed as superior quality, and I'm
very picky about my quality. And I don't worry about competition. I'm not
going to worry about the guy next door, because if you sell quality you will
stay in business for a long time. It's that simple.” Rob proudly notes that
major natural food stores across the United States stock their citrus. “Mary
stopped in one of the stores in Atlanta and met one of the Big Shots. She
said as soon as you walked in the store, there were our Orlando tangelos.
They said they were the best-looking pieces of fruit in the whole store, and
they were right when you walk in the doors. The produce guy said, 'Nothing
beats these things - for looks or taste.' ”
Because he is not one to brag, it was hard to pull a statement fromPhil on
the quality of his vegetables. In fact, it is a given; otherwise, they wouldn't
sell. Finally, after much conversation, he mentioned his recent addition of
apples to their diverse California organic farm: “We have some red delicious.
And everyone moans and groans about red delicious. A lot of times they
are picked early so they can get on the market, or they are picked to store so
they aren't picked with high sugar content. But if you let a red delicious get
a nice sugar content to it and sell it that way, they are a really nice apple.”
For their NewYork CSA, Steve can judge quality by the returningmembers
year after year. He stays current with the members' needs through feedback
from a year-end letter and a survey. This helps him decide what crops are
best and what changes need to be made. For example, he has decided to
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