Page 12 - aruba-today-20220923

A12 BUSINESS
Friday 23 September 2022

More consumers buying organic, but

U.S. farmers still wary

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE
Associated Press
CHURDAN, Iowa (AP) — In
the 1970s when George
Naylor said he wanted to
grow organic crops, the
idea didn’t go over well.
Back then organic crops
were an oddity, destined
for health food stores or
maybe a few farmers mar-
kets.
“I told my dad I wanted to
be an organic farmer and
he goes, ‘Ha, ha, ha,’”
Naylor said, noting it wasn’t George Naylor looks over organic apples grown on his farm,
until 2014 that he could em- Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, near Churdan, Iowa.
brace his dream and begin Associated Press
transitioning from standard genetically modified seeds. one pushing a cart in an
to organic crops. Most conventional farms average supermarket, past
But over the decades, rely on those practices but bins of organic apples and
something unexpected they are banned at organ- bananas, through dairy
happened demand for or- ic farms. Instead, organic and egg sections and
ganics started increasing farmers must control weeds along shelves brimming
so fast that it began out- and pests with techniques with organic beef and
stripping the supply pro- such as rotating different chicken.
duced in the U.S. crops and planting cover The new USDA effort would
Now a new challenge has crops that squeeze out include $100 million to-
emerged: It’s not getting weeds and add nutrients to ward helping farmers learn
consumers to pay the high- the soil. Crops can only be new techniques for grow-
er prices, it’s convincing deemed organic if they are ing organic crops; $75 mil-
enough farmers to get past grown on land that hasn’t lion for farmers who meet
their organic reluctance been treated with synthetic new conservation practice
and start taking advan- substances for three years. standards; $25 million to ex-
tage of the revenue pour- During that period, farmers pand crop insurance op-
ing in. Instead of growing can grow crops, but they tions and reduce costs; and
to meet the demand, the won’t get the extra pre- $100 million to aid organic
number of farmers convert- mium that accompanies supply chains and develop
ing to organic is actually organic crops. According markets for organics.
dropping. Last month, the to the USDA, the number of Nick Andrews, an Oregon
U.S. Department of Agricul- conventional farms newly State University exten-
ture committed up to $300 transitioning to organic pro- sion agent who works with
million to recruit and help duction dropped by about organic farmers, called
more farmers make the 70% from 2008 to 2019. Or- the USDA effort a “game
switch. ganic comprises about 6% changer.” It should be es-
“It feels good,” said Chris of overall food sales, but pecially attractive to farm-
Schreiner, executive direc- only 1% of the country’s ers with small parcels of land
tor of the organic-certifying farmland is in organic pro- because the added value
organization Oregon Tilth, duction, with foreign pro- of organic crops makes
referring to the govern- ducers making up the gap. it possible to make signifi-
ment help. “It’s a milestone In the U.S, “There are so cant money off even 25 to
in the arc of this work.” many barriers to farmers 100 acre (10 to 40 hectare)
Schreiner, who has worked making that leap to organ- farms much smaller than
at the Oregon-based orga- ic,” said Megan DeBates, the commercial operations
nization since 1998, said ex- vice president of govern- that provide most of the
panding technical training ment affairs for the Organic country’s produce. “I’ve
is important given the vast Trade Association. seen organic farmers keep
differences in farming land While farmers seem hesi- families in business who
conventionally and organi- tant, U.S. consumers aren’t. otherwise would go out of
cally. Schreiner noted that Annual sales of organic business,” Andrews said.
one farmer told him that products have roughly Noah Wendt, who in the
converting a conventional doubled in the past de- past few years has tran-
farmer was like asking “a cade and now top $63 sitioned 1,500 acres (607
foot doctor to become a billion, according to the hectares) of land in central
heart surgeon.” Organic Trade Associa- Iowa to organic, noted the
The key difference is the tion. Sales are projected to shift has been “rocky” at
use of synthetic fertilizers climb up to 5.5% this year. times for him and his farm-
and pesticides as well as That growth is clear to any- ing partner, Caleb Akin.q