Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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accredited by the USDA, they have to accept it. I think we are getting a little
benefit from that.”
Certification
Related to the new national standards, certification of organic farms is a
key for most farmers' marketing outlets. The paperwork and rules take
a great deal of time and can seem particularly aggravating, since farmers
need to be outside working in their fields. The national standards may have
createdmore paperwork, but basic certificationwas already paper-intensive,
and some rules seem inappropriate. Allen, in Colorado grain production,
says, “I'm going to stay organic for the time being, but I don't know. The
paperwork. They are getting more and more strict every year, adding five
pages to the stack of rules each year. Half the people making up the rules
haven't ever stepped in a wheat field in their life.” Red tape aside, organic
certification is important to most farmers. That certification allows the
Bensons to sell their wheat for a higher price than noncertified grain.
Another concern with organic certification is whether the rules meet a
high enough standard. According to Mary, “They have a lot of exemptions.
There is a whole list of products that you can get an exemption for, that, as
far as I'm concerned, once you use them you are no longer organic. We've
been calling for years, trying to raise the Florida standards. What is really
sad is that they are letting organics gas [using synthetic ethylene]. Citrus
growers don't need to gas. An orange will turn orange all by itself on the tree.
It naturally turns, like a banana will turn yellow. We've petitioned Florida
Organic Growers to disallow gassing of citrus. And since some people swing
a lot of weight in the business, we were turned down. They accepted gassing.
They said they could not supercede national standards. We've been in con-
tact with other certifiers, and they said they would supercede the standards,
so we're thinking about getting certified by someone who wants to keep the
integrity of the business.”
The problem with minimal adherence to the organic certification stan-
dards is real, but Steve has a logical view, as always. “That is a concern. We
are hoping the standards we are following and the inspections are just as
tough for everybody else.We are worried with things like biotech and pollen
drift, very concerned about that. They are probably more concerned where
all of the corn and soybeans are growing. But we are just hoping people
will continue to pay some kind of premium for organics because if it isn't
profitable it stops being fun real quick.”
As more and more organic food is imported (or grown abroad for U.S.
corporate farms), there are additional concerns. As Terence, the California
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