I would be very interested in how the State of Maryland Organic Certification
Program or whoever your organic certifier is finds such use of Roundup
consistent with organic farm certification. I agree such use is consistent
with a OFPA's allowance for a mixed conventional and organic operation:
" (b) DISCRETIONARY REQUIREMENTS. An organic certification program
established under this title may
(1) provide for the certification of an entire farm or handling operation or
specific fields of a farm or parts of a handling operation if
(A) in the case of a farm or field, the area to be certified has distinct,
defined boundaries and buffer zones separating the land being operated through
the use of organic methods from land that is not being operated through the
use of such methods;
(B) the operators of such farm or handling operation maintain records of all
organic operations separate from records relating to other operations and make
such records available at all times for inspection by the Secretary, the
certifying agent, and the governing State official; and
(C) appropriate physical facilities, machinery, and management practices are
established to prevent the possibility of a mixing of organic and nonorganic
products or a penetration of prohibited chemicals or other substances on the
certified area;"
Best regards, Eric Kindberg
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 19:35:44 -0400
From: Cass Peterson <cpete@nb.net>
Subject: RE: Roundup Safety issues
Dale Wilson wrote:
> I tend to discount
sources that are intentionally polemic. I would take a source like "J.
Pesticide Reform" with a grain of salt, just like I would Monsanto trade
literature. Journals published by long-standing scientific societies
with a tradition of scholarship are probably reliable. Ultimately one
has to dig in the literature, read the papers, and judge for themselves.
Amen. We're an organic farm, but I DO use Roundup in non-production areas
(such as the unmowable areas immediately around hydrants and the mailbox)
where poison ivy and crownvetch attempt to establish themselves.
I chose this product after considerable digging through the literature. I
firmly believe that overuse of ANY chemical agricultural aid, be it
herbicide, pesticide, or fungicide, will cause problems, and it's only a
question of time until those problems evidence themselves. But I also
believe that judicious, targeted use of such technology is not only
warranted but wise.
Now, how to separate judicious from profligate....
I'd also like to tell Dale Wilson that I appreciate his always-thoughtful
posts.
Cass Peterson
cpete@nb.net
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