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  • From: "Kevin Ancell" <kancell AT goodearthgardens.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Organic Farming!
  • Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 06:40:56 -0700

This story appeared on http://www.individual.com April 18, 2001
_________________________________________________________

Organic Farming Can Be Profitable



By WILLIAM McCALL
Associated Press Writer

   Organic farming could be healthy for profits as well as the
soil, according to a new six-year study of apple orchards.


Concerns about pesticides leaching into drinking water have
opened a debate over organic farming techniques, which instead of
chemicals use natural fertilizers and biological pest controls.


Washington State University researcher John Reganold, who
conducted the study of apple growing techniques, suggests that
organic farming, at least in apple production, can raise profits,
improve soil quality and produce sweeter, firmer fruit than
conventional practices.


``The health of the trees, apples, soil, fungi, earthworms, how
well clods hold together _ we looked at everything,'' Reganold
said.


The study is in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.


The researchers divided an apple orchard into plots that used
organic methods, conventional techniques or a mix of both, called
integrated management.


The convention plot was treated with chemical pesticides and
fertilizers while the organic system used compost, manures, and
biological pest controls. Weeds were controlled in the organic plot
with cover crops, mulching and mechanical methods, including
burning.


Each test orchard at the site near the central Washington town
of Zillah was measured for impacts on soil quality, fruit quality,
profitability, environmental quality and energy efficiency.


``The bottom line is that organic outperforms the others,''
Reganold said.


The study indicated the organic orchard would break even on
operating cost nine years after planting, compared to 15 years
using conventional methods and 16 years for integrated management.


Soil quality ratings were much higher for organic and integrated
systems, largely due to the addition of compost and mulch, Reganold
said.


``We were adding compost and chicken manure to the organic and
integrated plots, so it's not rocket science,'' he said. ``But it
turns out that organic matter improves almost everything about the
soil.''


Reganold's study adds to a small but growing body of evidence
that organic farming methods can boost agricultural output while
reducing damage to the environment, said Fred Kirschenmann,
director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa
State University.


``To me, it's not a big surprise,'' Kirschenmann said. ``It's
being corroborated in other parts of the world.''


Bill Wilcke, acting administrator of the Minnesota Institute for
Sustainable Agriculture, said the research shows the need to study
other crops to see if organic farming can be applied on a larger
scale.


Different crops have different problems, he said. Wheat farmers,
for example, must till their soil more frequently if they choose
organic pest control over conventional spraying, and that raises
concerns about soil erosion.


``They've done a good job of demonstrating they were able to get
better environmental benefits and better yields and fruit
quality,'' Wilcke said.


Bob Stebbins, who heads an association of Oregon orchard
growers, said the study may be too specific to draw general
conclusions about organic farming.


Eastern Washington is especially good for apple orchards because
the climate is dry, eliminating many apple pests and plant
diseases, and there is plenty of Columbia River irrigation water to
keep soil fertile.


``It shows you can grow organic apples very well in eastern
Washington,'' Stebbins said. ``It may not apply to other places.''


^___=


On the Net:


Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature


Washington State Apple Commission: http://www.bestapples.com


Apple information: http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/app2.html






  • Organic Farming!, Kevin Ancell, 04/19/2001

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