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  • From: Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] organic and scale
  • Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:26:03 -0400

Lucy, I agree to a certain extent and there are certainly lots of examples out there of organic "large scale" grain growers.  I personally never claimed that organic was impossible at a larger scale in terms of grains.  I had a chance to listen to and ask questions of Klaas & Mary-Howell Marten who are both larger scale organic growers and organic grain buyers.  I know several spelt and bean growers here in Ohio as well and we have a fairly long list at the OEFFA Grain Growers group.

That said any criticism I have directly deals with information on yields and commercial sales.   What I know about the Rodale Farming Systems Trial is what I have gleaned from videos on YouTube, a couple articles in Acres which never contained data, and their own "Full Report" PDF available for download on their website:  http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/fst30years

If there is other hard data I would be VERY much happy to read it and correct my statement.  The "Full Report" is a puff piece that makes claims with ZERO supporting data.

When OSU Extension releases organic data at the OEFAA Conference they have tons of supporting data and I can then actually see what is going on.

The problem with a lot of these discussion (and I am not suggesting you are making this claim Lucy) is that if you are not 100% onboard then you are the enemy.

I am a farmer and thus a skeptic regardless of whether its organic, GM, or conventional.

Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855

(513) 967-1106




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