On 04 May 00 03:15:13, Roberto Verzola wrote:
>I presume that by "conventional" farmer, you mean one that regularly
>uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides. If you said "more quantity",
>I can understand (at least for a while, they can). But I wonder how
>their produce can be of better quality than those who don't use
>chemicals.
Very simple.
DEFINITION: "conventional" grower --- one who uses *materials*
prohibited by organic certification programs (since by that criterion
alone (s)he can be denied certification).
1) There is nothing that prohibits a conventional grower from using
some or all of the techniques commonly attributed to (but rarely
employed by) "organic" farmers. Such as good rotations, green manures,
compost, refugia for beneficial insects, etc, etc.
2) There is nothing that prohibits a conventional grower from using
some or all of the slowly available mineral nutrients commonly
attributed to (but rarely employed in) "organic" production. Such as
rock phosphate, sul-po-mag, gypsum, etc. etc.
3) Combine 1 and 2 with judicious use of carefully selected chemical
fertilisers (such as ammonium sulphate, mono-ammonium phosphate,
potassium chloride and micronutrients) along with judicious use of
carefully selected chemical pesticides (such as Imidan, Roundup, and
assorted fungicides).
I would say that with such a system the conventional grower will
harvest a better *quality* product than the vast majority of organic
growers who, in their stubborn infatuation with materials issues, may
get it right about not using "chemicals" but generally miss the boat on
soil building, mineral nutrients, organic matter management, nitrogen
fixation, understanding the weed community .... and on and on.
If most organic growers would do what the industry publicity likes to
say they do (but too often don't), we wouldn't be having this
discussion. Conventional produce farmers are starting to figure this
one out, and if the organic people don't get their $#|^ together pretty
soon, they're going to wake up one spring and wonder where their
customers went.
Bart Hall
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