[Market-farming] Dennis Avery article

Brigette Leach avalonfarmshomegrown at earthlink.net
Sun Sep 9 18:59:14 EDT 2007


Thanks for sharing the text of the opinion, even with the blatant copy 
and paste. Jim Riddle deserves credit for taking the time to write and 
submit the piece. I hope others on the list do likewise when appropriate 
and in an appropriate manner. Many of you obviously have excellent 
written communication skills.

Submitting a well written letter to the editor or a guest opinion, our 
local paper calls it a viewpoint, is far more effective at telling the 
real story about what has happened in Wisconsin and Minnesota this 
summer than getting on this list and once again disputing Dennis Avery's 
words and denigrating his reputation. This list has been over that 
plenty of times. He isn't likely to quit what he's doing and you're not 
likely to quit what you do to support yourself either. If you all really 
want to help educate the non-farm public, draft a letter explaining what 
has happened, especially if you were personally impacted, and send it to 
your local paper. It doesn't need to be an attack on Avery or even a 
direct response. Probably better if it isn't so that your credibility 
isn't in question. Explain the circumstances and then how you plan to 
recover. Is there a group or individual who has been especially helpful 
during the experience that could be thanked in the opinion piece? Comes 
off a ton better than just disputing Avery.

Expressing opinions in a public forum ( more public than a listserve), 
such as a newspaper, allows us to communicate with a population who 
really doesn't know who Avery is, or much care. The majority of them 
don't understand, or much care, why there is such a divide between 
factions of agriculture. They will, however, understand your personal 
commitment to being an organic grower, how you have been impacted by bad 
weather and what it will take to recover. Putting yourself in print also 
forces one to choose words and positions carefully. Obviously, Mr. Avery 
is comfortable with his position and words.

Expressing ourselves on the list can be a therapeutic release, but does 
little to open the lines of communication between groups with differing 
perspectives. At some point, the conventional and organic communities 
need to start talking to each other with respect for the others 
position. This all or none, line in the sand stuff, from both sides, is 
growing old. The fact that Avery gets paid for his writings is little 
different to me than anyone else who gets paid for their writing or 
speaking engagements, regardless of their position or who pays them. It 
doesn't automatically mean he has horns and a tail anymore than an 
organic proponent has a halo. Other people believe in what they are 
doing and how they are doing it just as you do.

It isn't necessary to denigrate one side to elevate the other. Mr. Avery 
clearly needs to consider this, too, so don't think I'm giving him a 
pass on bad behavior. The ability to discuss issues and differing 
positions with civility seems to be a lost art in this country today.

Brigette Leach
Avalon Farms Homegrown
Share of the Farm
www.avalonfarmshomegrown.com

Sean Albiston wrote:

>The below opinion was submitted to the StarTrib and the Sustag list ,
>sorry for the=20's and the blatant copy and paste.  I had to dig it out of
>the archives      sean
>------------------------------------------------------
>
>  
>
>>I'll try to take apart Avery again at some point when I'm not getting
>>    
>>
>ready for a market the next morning. Several things in his article are,
>as usual, sheer nonsense.
>  
>
>>-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
>>    
>>
>
>
>
>
>Jim's Guest Opinion
>
>Organic Practices Conserve Soil and Protect Water Quality
>
>By Jim Riddle
>
>Dennis Avery has used the tragic floods in western Wisconsin and=20
>southeastern Minnesota to advance his own cause in the Star-Tribune=20
>through his Sept. 6 guest column, "The consequences of organic=20
>farming."=A0=A0
>
>Readers would be well-informed to know that Mr. Avery represents a=20
>non-profit backed by some of the nation's largest manufacturers of=20
>synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and GMOs. Mr. Avery and his son,=20
>Alex, are employed to seek to discredit organic farming practices. He=20
>has used these events as an opportunity to advance his and his
>backers'=20=
>
>agenda.
>
>I live in Winona County. We received over 17 inches of rain in 24=20
>hours. Valley fields in the area suffered flooding, organic and=20
>conventional. Mr. Avery=92s assertion that organic farming practices=20
>accelerated the damage is incorrect and insensitive.=A0
>
>Grassed hillsides that have not been farmed in over 30 years gave way.=20=
>
>Wooded hillsides that have never been farmed collapsed. The massive=20
>erosion that occurred had nothing to do with organic practices.
>
>As a matter of fact, the Federal organic regulation requires that=20
>organic farmers =93must select and implement=A0tillage and cultivation=20=
>
>practices that maintain or improve the condition of the soil and=20
>minimize soil erosion.=94
>
>Contrary to Mr. Avery=92s wild assertion, research shows that organic=20
>practices protect soil and water quality. For example, a team of=20
>University of Minnesota scientists studied the impact of organic and=20
>conventional agricultural practices over three years on subsurface=20
>drainage and water quality on corn-soybean farms. (Journal of=20
>Environmental Quality, July-August 2007)
>
>The researchers found that organic and sustainable systems reduced the=20=
>
>volume of subsurface drainage water discharges by 41 percent, compared=20=
>
>to conventional. Organic and sustainable systems also reduced the loss=20=
>
>of nitrate nitrogen by about 60 percent, allowing farmers to reduce=20
>fertilization rates by nearly half, while protecting water sources
>from=20=
>
>nitrate pollution. The improved soil quality on the
>organic/sustainable=20=
>
>plots, coupled with more diverse land use patterns, were credited with=20=
>
>improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake and water infiltration and=20=
>
>use, especially in average to wet years.
>
>Further, a nine-year study by USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)=20=
>
>researchers at Beltsville, MD, has shown that organic farming can
>build=20=
>
>up soil organic matter better than conventional no-till farming can,=20
>according to results published in the July 2007 issue of Agricultural=20
>Research magazine.
>
>Mr. Avery lives in Virginia. I doubt if he has had a chance to visit=20
>the flood-damaged region or talk to the farmers who devote their lives=20=
>
>to growing healthy, nutritious food for their neighbors and the
>nation.=20=
>
>If he hasn't done so, Mr. Avery should tour the area and volunteer to=20
>help the residents repair their properties and restore their lives.=20
>While here, I'm confident that he will learn that - unlike his=20
>unsubstantiated claims to the contrary - organic farming practices=20
>represent the most sustainable and pioneering method for farming in
>our=20=
>
>nation today.
>
>Jim Riddle
>Organic Outreach Coordinator
>University of Minnesota
>31762 Wiscoy Ridge Road
>Winona, MN 55987
>Ph/fax: 507-454-8310
>Email: riddl003 at umn.edu
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>  
>
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