Organic Cherries?

This post started out as a response to a feedback question from Mary White. Patty and I spent all morning on our response and we decided to post it on the blog when it got too long.

Mary has raised a great question. Why don’t we have organic fruit and why is it not easier to obtain? It sounds like such a simple question, but for today’s fruit growers it is anything but.

“We are passionate about growing great fruit” is not just our slogan here at King Orchards, and includes a commitment to doing so in the most sustainable and scientifically sound methods available. That said, there are a couple of assumptions that I would like to address.

First, pesticide free and organic are not the same thing. Organic growers have over 1500 pesticides approved for their crop protection usage. You can Google “approved organic pesticides”. You will find that both toxic and persistent chemicals can be used in organic production. Copper Sulfate, for example, builds up in soils (is persistent) and is highly toxic to fish, worms, and etc. Yet copper sulfate is widely used in organic production as a fungicide. The European Union is attempting to ban/limit the use of copper sulfate, but the organic community is resisting. Now to be fair, our ipm (integrated pest management) consultant, Hortsystems Inc., tells me that the copper usage on organic farms, that he also consults for, is not a significant threat to the soils. (The same argument non-organic growers use for our pesticides)

Second, the assumption that organic is ecologically preferable is rarely accurate. The largest organic producers in the US are in arid regions where they have cultivated fragile desert ecosystems. They are able to access irrigation water from our river systems. The dry climates greatly limit the need for fungicides and insecticides. Here in our temperate Midwest, we have fungal diseases that bloom or sporulate with each rain period. Insect fruit pests, many of which spend most of their lives in the moist soils and decaying vegetation in orchard floors, adapt to the long term fruit production cycles and create increasing problems for fruit growers. The organic grower has few viable solutions and usually relies on frequent sprays of sulfur and kaolin clay which are desiccants that  cover the growing fruit and leaves to insulate and protect from pest attacks. The end result is that without real effective tools to manage pests, Midwest organic growers need much higher prices to cover their huge losses. Along with that,  they spray much more frequently than do their conventional farming neighbors. To fill a bushel with organic apples, a Midwest organic farmer uses more acreage, more fuel, and more inputs, including sprays.

Many consumers may not believe me because that’s not what they have been reading and hearing. I have challenged Michigan State Extension directors in the past to publish statewide statistics on organic farming production, economics, sustainability, etc. The cash strapped University is not going to put their cash cow in a bad light. Well intentioned donors have funded chairs on organic production at the university. The organic farming school is well attended and growing. Extension hosts small farm conferences throughout the state that are well attended and create revenue for the university. Since the internet, meetings for conventional growers see much smaller attendance. The points in question are; how many organic fruit producers do we have in Michigan now verses 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago? How many have been in business all those years versus how many are new? What percentage of organic growers income is derived from organic farming? (How many organic farmers live off farming versus outside income). In how many cases does conventional farming subsidize the organic portion of a farm?

I don’t know the answers to all of those questions but I feel that the facts would be valuable to growers on all sides of the debate.

I want to point out that in America last year we fed Americans and still exported $23 billion more than we imported. A business of this magnitude will of course have negative side effects, including persistent chemicals in water, erosion, depleted soils, etc. We should make it our goal to remedy these real problems  and find better alternatives to persistent chemicals, better systems for soil management etc. I believe that organic programs at our universities may find some of the solutions to these problems. However, I do not believe that we should throw out science in the very serious business of agriculture. The organic movement has actually harmed the advancement of new and better farming methods by diverting so much research and funding away from progressive technologies.  I am not willing to forgo the use of effective safe pesticides just because they were synthesized, or derived from a petroleum product. (Almost all of our pesticides break down quickly and do not show up as residues in food.) When making pesticide choices we do always opt for the best ecological choice even when that might cost more.

Frequent references to organic food by food editors has created an illusion that there is a “local organic alternative” available. And, by implication, that conventionally grown local food is less safe and less desirable. The truth in the Midwest is that very few organic farmers have been able to make it work for any volume of production and that there are only very limited amounts of local organic fruit. I am not opposed to organic farmers and those who want to have organic food, (we have become friends with a large cherry grower with an organic block and we frequently share ideas) however, I do not agree that organic is better food, is safer, or is more sustainable. The opposite has proven to be true in Michigan.

For us the goal is to grow the safest, best quality fruit, and to make a living doing it,  and at the same time leave the farm in the same or better shape than when me moved here.  I expect to adopt new practices that help us to do a better job, but, Organic is not a goal of ours because it rules out too many wonderful advancements in  growing fruit.