U.S. agriculture in transition from traditional to organic

Organic milk and soymilk, organic eggs, organic tomatoes -- U.S. consumers have seen more organic products in the supermarkets, that reveals the organic revolution from traditional agriculture to organic farming, but the process is slow and still in the initial stage.

Michael L. Kahn, associate director of the Agricultural Research Center at Washington State University, told Xinhua in a recent interview that organic farming started in the U.S. long time ago, and now more organic agricultural products have been produced, but as a whole, organic products only consist of a small portion in the general consumption.

He said that two factors affect the process to organic agriculture. One is that some people like organic products, some not. When the market grows, more farmers will produce organic products. Now the market is growing, but still not big enough.

The second factor, he said, is that there is a shortage of supply to produce organic products. For example, to produce organic milk, the cattle should be fed with organic food, and the organic food should be produced with organic fertilizer and without using chemical pesticide. Right now, there is a shortage of organic milk because there is a shortage of organic food for the cattle.

Kahn said American farmers are in the transition from conventional to organic farming, and researchers like him are providing technical assistance to the farmers with alternatives to pesticide use, new ways to fertilizing the farmland and others.

The Agricultural Research Center at Washington State University does experiments and makes this knowledge available to the farmers locally and also nationally since much of the information is accessible to the web site.

According to Kanh, there are a number of issues that need to be overcome. As the majority of farmers are still farming in the conventional way, scientists in agriculture will help people figure out how to set up economically viable farming operations using organic procedures.

He mentioned that researchers will help farmers with ways to control pests and help them decide which crops are suitable for their areas.

Pest control is a big issue in organic farming. Kanh said Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the implementation of diverse methods of pest controls, paired with monitoring to reduce unnecessary pesticide applications.

In IPM, pesticides are used in combination with other crop management approaches to minimize the effects of pests while supporting a profitable system that has negligible negative effects.

He said in some cases pests are used to control pests. Scientists are searching ways to reduce pesticide to the lowest level.

Kanh said organic products will be produced with certain procedure, and farmers should follow certain rules.

Based on the information provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic farmers need certification, and organic products will also have to be certified. But the process is improving along with the increase of organic product consumption.

In the earliest years of organic farming in the U.S., most of what was produced was consumed locally. In fact, freshness and direct marketing were often viewed as characteristics of organic production, along with the absence of chemical use.

In those years, it was common for the consumer to either have direct contact with the grower, or have confidence in a retailer who purchased directly from the grower.

Certification became an issue in the 1970s as the organic market began to expand and the supply chain lengthened.

There was a greater likelihood that organic products would pass through many hands and travel many miles between the farmer and the consumer. Under such circumstances, the end buyer needed some means to confirm that the purchased product was truly organic. Likewise, the farmer needed a way of proving to the consumers that he or she used organic methods.

The organic industry addressed these needs through a process called third-party certification.

By the late 1980s, there were a number of private and state-run certifying bodies operating in the U.S. Standards varied among these entities, causing problems in commerce. Certifiers often refused to recognize products certified by another agent as organic, which was a particular problem for organic livestock producers seeking feed, and for processors trying to source ingredients.

In addition, a number of well-publicized incidents of fraud began to undermine the credibility of the organic industry. In an effort to curb these problems, the organic community pursued federal legislation.

The result was the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which mandated the creation of the National Organic Program (NOP) in the U.S. and the passage of uniform organic standards. These standards are now incorporated in the National Organic Program Regulations.

Implementation of the Regulations began on April 21, 2001 and by October 21, 2002, all organic certifiers, producers, processors, and handlers must be in full compliance.

The principal means by which the NOP is implementing the Regulations is through certifying agencies that it accredits. Through accreditation, the NOP assures that the certifier understands and is using the National Standard; accreditation also confirms that the certifier can conduct the business of certification properly.

Implementation of the National Organic Program Regulations has led to a number of changes in how producers, handlers, processors and others do their jobs.

Source: Xinhua