I don't think the intent here was to paint all organic farmers as rotenone
junkies, just make the point that the stuff is permitted to them in case of
'need.' There is no doubt that very few ever use it, but there are some,
and I've never heard of anyone being decertified for it (although they may
get conditions on certification).
Incidentally, my take is that the more stringent the organic requirements,
the easier the chemical salesmen will breathe--they know the competition
will never amount to more than a tiny niche market. It isn't that I
believe that it isn't possible to farm without that stuff--I know it is.
But the skills are too different and the risk is too great for most farmers
to jump in without some kind of fall-back. If the goal is to limit the
market to those who have already developed their systems, it will never
pose a threat to the dominant methods.
Best wishes,
Grace Gershuny
former USDA/NOP staff
At 12:00 PM 12/21/99 -0500, you wrote:
>
>
>awiediger@Hart.k12.ky.us wrote:
>
>> I don't think we are unique among experienced organic growers in using very
>> little intervention in pest management. Please quit equating use of broad
>> spectrum botanicals
>> with organic growers - it doesn't always fit, any more than bashing
>> conventional farmers always fits.
>
>Alison,
>
>Thanks for speaking up. I, too, use no pesticides. I think what happens is
>people who think you have to use biocides to farm incorrectly assume that
>organic farmers use botanical biocides. This is not the case.
>
>Organic agriculture strives towards complimentary agriculture- working with
>nature and encouraging a balance of above and below ground ecosystems. My
>experience is that very few organic farmers merely switch from synthetics to
>botanicals. This may be a first step in transitioning for some, but is not
the
>rule.
>
>I repeat a post from Cathy Greene (thanks, Cathy) in support of this:
>"Under 6 percent of the approximately 300 respondents to USDA's survey of
>certified organic vegetable growers in the U.S. reported using rotonone in
1994,
>
>and under 6 percent reported using rotonone mixtures. The results of the
survey
>
>were published in the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, Vol.
13, No.
>2, 1998 in an article titled, 'Organic vegetable production in the U.S.:
>Certified growers and their practices.' "
>
>Organic farmers have shown that food crops can be grown with the same or more
>production per acre, with the same or less lost to pests, without using
biocides
>or NPK fertilizers. Some day others may wake up to these facts.
>
>The problem lies in the fact that sustainable and/or organic techniques
reduce
>or eliminate most of the product that can be sold to farmers. The agriculture
>supply companies won't readily give up their lucrative (but destructive)
markets
>or change the way they do business readily.
>
>You can see the fear in their eyes from the threat of increasing organic
>production through their disinformation campaigns. These remind me of our
modern
>political ads. I wonder who learned from whom?
>
>Alex
>
>
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