| Terms |
Definitions |
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Voluntary and Legislated
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What are the two standards of organic farming?
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Natural farming
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- Masanobu Fukuoka
- Reduce natural conditions
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GMOs
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• 1998: IFOAM voted unanimously to exclude
use of genetically modified organisms
• Cross contamination:
- Through pollination
- Reduces crop value.....not organic
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Certifier
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1. State based private _______ that also provides services nationally
2. National private _______ with regional focus
3. State based private
4. Sate based state-run
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Food Contamination/quality
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• Critics say:
- Greater exposure to biological contamination
• Manure can contain human pathogens and mycotoxins
• Others contend:
- Conventional farming uses manure
|
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Certification
|
• Mandated by law vs. Volunteer basis
• Controversial
- Loopholes
- 'Watering down' of standards to facilitate largescale production
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Sustainability
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• Economic sustainability
- Diminishing premiums?
- Large farms
• More inputs, machinery
• Sustainable prac;ces
- Conservation tillage
- Use of manure
|
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Children's health
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• EPA: 50% of lifetime cancer risks experienced
during first two years:
- Organic diet vs. conventional diet
- Organic diet yielded significant reduction in organophosphate pesticide exposure
- Organic baby food trend
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Natural Pest Management
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• Using pests (weeds, insects, or diseases) as indicators:
- Soil pH
- Soil structure
- Soil fertility
- Weak plants (poor crop nutrition) vs. Vigorous plants (well nutrition plants)
• Supporting natural control complex
- Natural enemies, parasites
|
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Green Manure
|
- Oats
- Rye
- Clover
- Mustard
- Lupin
- Winter field beans
|
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Methods of organic farming
|
- Promoting biological processes to provide nutrients
- Pest Control
-Weed Control
|
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Biodynamic agriculture
|
- Rudolf Steiner
- Specific compost and field preparation procedures
- Astrological calender
|
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Intercropping
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• Cultivating two or more crops in the same space and at the same time
- Main crop (of economic importance)
- Added crops
• Different plant species, family, variety, or cultivar
• Goal:
- Increase yield
|
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Companion Crops
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• Aid in the development of primary crop
- Flavor enhancement
- Nitrogen fixation
- Pest suppression
• Trap cropping
- Protective shelter
|
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Manure
|
• Organic maper used to supply nutrition to soil
• Types of manure:
- Animal
- Plant
• Goal:
- Supply nutrients to facilitate plant growth
|
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French techniques
|
- Biointensive
|
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Climate, market conditions, local agriculture regulations
|
What do farmers base their own production system on?
|
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Soil Conservation
|
• Use of artificial fertilizers:
- Does not replace lost organic fraction
• Deteriorates soil structure over time
- Wind and soil erosion
• Use of herbicides
- Indirectly influences soil organic fraction
• Can eliminate soil microflora/fauna needed for decomposition
|
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Composting
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- Decomposed remnants of organic maper
• Plant or animal in origin
- Used in agriculture, gardening, landscaping, and nurseries as a soil amendment
decomposition of organic maper
- Active (uses heat)
- Passive (natural decomposition)
|
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Natural Pesticides
|
1. Herbicides
2. Insecticides
3. Fungicides
4. Nematicides
5. Rodenticides
|
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Integrity
|
• Measures taken to assure consumer he/she 'get what they pay for'
• 100% Organic
- No contamina;on
• Keep detailed records of production
|
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Sustainability
|
• More land needed for support?
- Machinery
- Automation
- Inputs
• Use of manure, pesticides
|
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Nature Farming
|
- Spiritual component
|
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SPIN farming
|
- Small plot intensive farming
|
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Ecological Production and Maintaining organic integrity
|
What are the two commitments for certification?
|
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Environment
|
• Pro‐organic view:
- Conventional agriculture is depleting natural resources and polluting soil, water and air,
• Pro‐conventional view:
- Organic production uses large quantities of
manure for supplying nutrients
- Over‐application of certain elements
- Also, some believe organic production will require more cropland
|
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Natural Plant Nutrition
|
• Building the soil
- Promoting biological processes within the soil to provide nutrients to plants
• Believe soluble, synthetic fertilizers offer limited nutrition, promote weed species, greater risk of leaching
|
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Integration
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-Ties crops and livestock together in efficient way
- Legume forages grown → feed for livestock
- Manure from livestock → replenish soil
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Organic Farming
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- An ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.
- Good farming practices withough using synthetic chemicals.
- Excludes synthetic fertilizer and pesticide usage, plant growth regulators, genetically modified organisms, and feed additives for livestock
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Trap Crop
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Attracts insects away from economically important crops
|
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Pesticide Usage
|
• Standards say:
- No synthetic pesticide usage
- "natural" (or organic) pesticides can be used as a last resort
• Organic pesticides used in organic farming:
- Bt, rotenone
|
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Crop rotation, crop residues, mechanical cultivation, maintain good soil, supply nutrients, and manage pests.
|
What does organic farming rely heavily on?
|
|
Identify a suitable certifier, submit an application, completeness review, on-farm inspection, final review
|
What are the five steps to organic certificaiton?
|
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Biodiversity
|
- Diverse ecosystem:
- Stability
• Many species vs. few species
• Diversity in crops:
- Greater ecosystem support
- Greater diversity in the soil
|
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Farmscaping
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To maximize the populations of beneficial insects for pest management.
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