Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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Organic farmers love their land, and they have an affinity for regional
ecology. For all his tough talk and swearing about Florida citrus, Rob hushed
as he pointed out an eagle soaring above us. “Look above you. We don't call
it Eagles'Nest Grove for nothing. This is the largest concentration of nesting
bald eagles in the southeastern United States. They don't bother nothing.”
Ecosystems
Farmers are not apt to use fancy words for things that seem obvious, and
organic farmers are no different. Cliff may be hesitant to use scientific terms,
but his ecological knowledge about the Colorado plains is apparent. “I guess
you call it 'the ecosystem,' don't you? And I think with chemicals you upset it
so bad because when you use the chemical it kills the good bugs along with
the bad bugs. So then you have nothing to combat one another. Organic is
better. You leave the ecosystem alone, in balance. Don't mess it up.”
Joel also expresses complex ideas about ecology, based on his Illinois
experience. He says that once you get off chemical dependence, you “let the
natural flora and all these insects that attack the pests - predator insects -
all come back. You know, chemicals can't distinguish between good and bad
and they will kill everything. That is the sad story. But once the predator
insect is let into the ecosystem again, it bounces right back, too.”
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Rotation
Related to their ecological understanding of balance and the importance of
soil health, organic farmers describe how they use crop rotations to build
their soil and prevent pest outbreaks. In Colorado, Naioma notes that their
crop rotations are complex and determined bymany factors, such as weather
or the appearance of specific weeds. “If wild rye contamination is bad (from
neighbors or from blowing or from some other combine), then we'll plant
millet there, because it kills out the rye and the jointed goat grass. This
drives inspectors crazy! You just can't set a clear pattern in this dry land.
Our rotation indicates that you need a hands-on operation. Somewhere else
maybe you can plan A, B, C, D, then E crops. But here, you can't. What if a
field gets hailed out in our May hailstorms? Then we have to look and see.
We'll pull the wheat out and put millet in.”
Joel described some carefully planned intercropping that has worked well
on his Illinois farm: “What I'll do is with my last cultivation, I will mark
this seeder on the back of the cultivator in the center. It has a little electric
motor on it. And I interseed my corn with red clover and vetch and a little
bit of rye. That way, you take the corn off and the other stuff will take over.
It covers your ground all winter, and it helps erosion. Then in the spring, I
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