April 1998
The interest has been strong during the recruiting campaign of the last month. Response has been favourable to the advertising and especially the booth at the Ottawa Farm Show. A few years ago, people asked for the definition of the term "organic"; this year, everyone is familiar with the concept and many are asking serious questions about the qualifications, the production methods and the financial indicators.
The most frequent question can be summarized as one farmer said: "How do you break the cycle (of conventional farming)?"
Stated otherwise: "How do you break the dependence on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and develop a cycle of self sufficiency?" "How do you build up natural fertility, weed control and pest control without external inputs?"
One way to understand it is to think about how the cycle started in the first place. Apparently inexpensive inputs promised, and generally delivered, good short term results. The drive for short term profit motivated more inputs, mono-cropping and the elimination of wildlife both above and below the soil surface. The move to intensive cash crops reduced the amount of carbon in the ground. Pests appreciated the stable environment of mono-cropping. With insufficient carbon and no microbial life, the soil became dependant on external inputs. Fertile soil should have about 5% humus by weight; the North American average is now around 2.5% after 40 years of modern agriculture.
The first step to breaking the cycle is the firm decision to do so: a farmer is organic primarily out of conviction. That conviction creates a mindset that quickly learns and implements methods mastered over centuries and it refuses to consider a chemical quick fix knowing that other solutions work well. An organic farmer is a producer of food, not a consumer of outside resources. Organic farming is NOT a one-year trial; it is a long term build-up of soil health.
The second step is to recognize that the most important plant inputs (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen) are free thanks to an ample supply of air and water. The other elements are only required in very small quantities and are usually readily available in a fertile soil. Organic production will set the stage for the natural processes that make these nutrients available.
Crop rotation is the king of organic agriculture, both in the field and in the garden. A new crop each year disturbs the weed’s preferred conditions, consumes nutrients that the previous crop made available, brings forth other nutrients for the next crop, plays hide-and-seek with pests looking for a stable food source. Cover crops compete with weeds and avoid erosion during the fall, winter and spring.
Organic matter is the door to fertility and microbial activity is the key to unlock its full potential. It is true that farmers are mining the earth, but it is the rate of extraction that makes the difference between sustainability and dependence on external inputs. An organic farmer ideally has livestock as a source of composted manure to recycle those nutrients. An organic cash cropper keeps the straw in the field and leaves that second cut of hay for a plow-down as an investment in soil fertility.
The organic matter also provides an ideal soil texture to introduce oxygen for the microbes, to hold humidity for a dry day, to withstand erosion from rain fall, to reduce that horsepower needed to pull the usual implements.
Microbial activity, otherwise destroyed by pesticides, releases the nutrients in the decaying organic matter for the next crop, provides carbon dioxide to the growing plants above the soil, provides predators for unwanted pests. Likewise, the wildlife above the soil is important to prey on dangerous insects. An organic farmer will maintain the natural habitat for birds and predator insects thanks to tree and fence lines, wet lands, and fallow areas.
Tillage is important both in method and timing. Conservation tillage will reduce erosion to protect the investment in soil fertility; the occasional use of the traditional plow will deal with the hardpan. Pre-emergence blind harrowing targets the early weed sprouts and post-emergence finger weeding does a good job on late weed sprouts. Soybeans are planted in rows to permit cultivating until a canopy is formed.
There is a miss-conception that organic farming is a more work. While there is not necessary more physical labour involved, organic methods are definitely knowledge intensive and require more management attention, but that is the pride of organic farming.
If anyone thinks that organic agriculture is a fad, then just look around: (notes taken from "Bio-bulle", Centre d’agriculture biologique de la Pocatière, Québec, February 1998.)
A contribution by Tom Manley
President of Homestead Organics