Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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we don't spray. They know we are not like other farms.” In Colorado, the
Bensons all know of neighbors and family members who have been hurt
while handling pesticides. Allen says, “I don't want to be messing with that
stuff.” Cliff says, “Farmers are brainwashed into thinking they have to have
it.” In Illinois, Joel and his family attribute his dad's Parkinson's disease,
which claimed his life last year, to his work in pesticide applications. “It's
from the chemical use and exposure to it.”
Science
The scientific justification for organic techniques and the field comparisons
between organic and conventional crops may be questioned in the academic
world, but to organic farmers it is quite clear. In Illinois, Joel describes the
problems with conventional corn crops: “You talk with all the plant genetics
people and all these new genetics are being bred to uptake N, P, and K,
but nothing else. There was a man who took comparisons. He took four
varieties of open pollinated corn for feed analysis, and he took eight varieties
of different Pioneer, De Kalb, blah, blah, blah - supposedly the good silage.
And when he got into the feed quality, he did a gas chromatograph analysis
for all of these. It tells the mineral content. The open pollinated corn, as far
as feed value, I think it beat the conventional varieties by 600 percentasfar
as the nutrient quality.” This affects livestock. “Think of the grain that you
feed them. These conventional varieties - that is why you have to add all of
these feed additives. Because the corn doesn't have it.”
Regarding Florida citrus, Rob says, “Not that organic fruit won't freeze,
but it will take a little bit more cold for a little longer. Conventional fruit
has no mineralizing in it, and it will freeze up real quick. If you have a good
organic program, it will withstand drought, and it will withstand extremes
a little better than the conventional stuff.”Mary says that people have tested
their citrus with “a refractometer, and it runs sugar content and tells you
different things about the fruit,” and theirs is “consistently high quality.”
Based on science and their own experience, farmers chose various tech-
niques for organic production. In his California vegetable production, Phil
says, “We have been putting in more insectory areas throughout the ranch.
We have insectory hedgerows in our orchards. We don't disk, but we leave
some vegetation and do alternate mowing. So all these are more habitat for
beneficial insects. We put in some annual plantings for a beneficial habitat.
We have alfalfa strips. So all these things in very small ways really add to the
amount of predator control we have on pests.” Phil has help with his scien-
tific approach to pest management. “I have a person that walks the fields, in
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