My original post was not intended to spark a
debate on whether or not organic farms should be nutrient self
sufficient...
I think agricultural utilization of available "clean" off-farm nutrient
sources is very desirable...
The main gist of my orignal post is in the following sentence...
> Joel wrote:
> > on-farm integration of crops and livestock and complex
> > rotations that include both row rops and sod crops are
> > still largely ignored on many organic farms.
I think that the original proponents of "organic agriculture"
e.g. Howard, J.R. Rodale, Balfour... would be disappointed to find that so
many of todays organic farms do not integrate livestock and do not follow
complex crop rotations...
Off-farm sources of nutrients should be used strategically to supplement
efficient on farm
nutrient cycling... my feeling is that profligate use of off-farm manure
has replaced rational nutrient management on too many organic farms...
The "organic" label should mean extra careful management... any organic
farmer that can not tell you the rate at which he is applying manure
should be certified as "organic but not ecological"...
As mandatory nutrient management is implemented in various parts
of the US (e.g. Chesapeake Bay watershed) and world (e.g. Netherlands), I
wonder how the regulations will deal with organic farms that rely on
off-farm manure yet have already loaded up their soils with high levels of
P and K from past manure applications ?
Joel Gruver
U of MD
Soil Quality Research
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