organic farmers?

[brix]

Have a few acres (4) not doing much with. Wondered if anyone was doing any organic farming and how successful they were with it. Comments?
thanks, Brix

 

[D7E]

On a few acres like that it might work but as a regular farming practice you will soon go broke ,Organic grain farming rareley works (on large scale) we bought 800 acres organic and had been for 25 years , Yeilds were pathetic and weed control was almost impossible without many years of roundup ready crops, soil tests showed decifiencys in all nutrients , It took many years to get farm back into an earlier schedule and maintain acceptable nutrient levels with manufactured fertilizers and chemicals .
Organic grain is worth a little more but low yeilds, Low grain quality and limited market make it too unprofitable .

 

[farmerjim]

organic farming is kind of a pita as most places won't purchase from you unless you are certified organic. which is a royal pain to get certified. is there a big organic customer base in your area? if so it may be worth while, but you will spend a fortune to get certified. you may be better off marketing your product as locally grown or we're not certified organic ,but we do follow organic procedures. the best thing when marketing you products is be honest about them thats what will get the customers as well as word of mouth. imo organic produce isn't as good quality looks wise, to me i want a great looking piece of fruit or veggie.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I have been using organic gardening methods for a number of years now for my own use, and because I'm interested. My plants seem to be pretty healthy, yields are good, and insect damage is minimal. I'm finding out that overtilling the soil is as much of a problem as anything else. Weeds can be a problem if not kept in check early, and if the compost used is not properly prepared....... read finished. I have one pile of finished compost that has been sitting for several months, and there are only a couple of tiny weeds growing on it..... that tells you what will happen in the garden. I think many of the problems that come with organic methods are related to growing large areas of the same crop. I have no experience with that, so I can't comment. I may see what is involved locally in getting certified since there seems to be a demand in this area, but more than likely if I sell any produce I will say that it is grown using organic methods, but not certified organic. I grow way too much for one person, so I'll probably start attending the local farmer's market.

 

[randy41]

i grow veggies for market organically. i am not certified but have been in the past. my sales are under the threshhold required for certification. i have been doing this for about 17 years. it is not my sole source of income. i grow 3 main crops and good years are those that i get good production out of 2 of them. i also grow some things just to have them for sale at the farmers market.
the challenges are insects (cucumber beetles are the worst), weeds, and weather. weather is the bigest factor.
it takes some time to build up the soil.

 

[jbrumberg]

brix:

Welcome to TBN ! IMO organic farming/gardening is very labor intensive. My wife and I used to be totally organic when it came to the garden and gardening prctices, but the last couple of years we started using treated seeds to assist with germination in our cold and wet Spring soil. We still use organic practices as to total insect management (no non-organic "poisons"), alot of manure, rock fertilizers, and mulch, mulch, and more mulch. We still have difficulty maintaining our 27'X40' vegetable garden and our small orchard is a joke all I manage to do is feed the wildlife . Jay

 

[StevenPaul]

Hello one and all!

Ok, organic farming! Don't say "organic" to loud or you'll have the USDA inspectors comin to check you out. It's chemical free! hahaha! How an organization can stake claim to one word is fascinating. But that's a whole nother story. Our experience, or rather the wife's is that, #1, you have to have a passion for it, if you don't forget it, as others have said, it's a lot of work, #2, you have to be extremely patient as opposed to the animals who aren't so patient, #3, research, network, research, network, research, network (I really hate that term, but it works in a pinch). I can't tell you how much doing a lot of research and talking to a lot of people can help. An example, my wife has done so much research on chickens that some of the locals who have had chickens for a very many years sometimes call her up for advice. It's really amazing. But that is a positive side of the internet, there is tons of knowledge out there. We have two 1/2 acre garden plots and we're on our second year and it's actually going pretty good. We hire local high school kids to help out, word of mouth and a little advertising is going a long way, we're still not making any major profit, yet, patience is the key, that and the good Lord leading the way. She has 3 locations right now that she goes to and sells and then theres the "tent and table" on our property. I'm more of just a supporter and repair man that fixes everything she breaks. I love watching it all happen and apart from my job, I do lend a hand when I can. But it is a lot of work. All in all though, if you read a lot of "organic" articles and news stuff, it's a big industry now and gettin in now may pay off, but again and again and again, it's a lot of work, especially for the small farmer. I beleive that the small farmer will flourish again and become as popular and competitive as everything else, despite the Big Boy Names already stakin their claim on the "organic" industry. I always think in times like this of the ol' saying...."the way our grandparents used to do it", or as I tell my wife sometimes, we on our way back to Eden! one step at a time! I could go on and on as this is a passionate subject of mine but duty calls and I'm runnin late.

y'all take care!
Steve

 

[Bill Barrett]

Hi brix I'm thinking about this too. I have a question for everyone can you be certified if you are next to a regular farm? And I do have ground that gets water run off from surrounding farms, is that a deal breaker? There is a market for produce in my area.
Thanks

 

[randy41]

when you get certified you get the area you plant in certified....so if the surrounding farm's runoff is not into your planting area you should be ok. there needs to be a buffer zone between your planting area and any neighboring farms that farm conventionally.

 

[schmism]

i was doing fairly well with the "organic" method for my small garden... that is untill the jap beatles attacked my grean beans Out came the sevin.

Then 2 weeks later they muched off the silks on my corn... again out came the sevin.

(not to mention them munching on the asparagus ferns and the asparagus bettles)

we keep the weeding to the old school mechinal kind, hoe, hand, mantis tiller.

we will put manure on this fall and till in.