Organic Farming - Organic Farming Overview
What is Organic Farming? | Organic
Farming Overview | Organic
Farming Methods | Organic
Farming Fertilization
Organic Farming Pest Control | Organic
Farming and Crop Planning | Organic
Farming and Livestock | Organic
Farming Systems
Organic Farming Overview
Methods of organic farming vary. Each farm develops its own organic production system, determined by factors like climate, crop selection, local regulations, and the preferences of the individual farmer. However, all organic systems share common goals and practices:
no use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and no GMOs;
protection of the soil (from erosion, nutrient depletion, structural breakdown);
promotion of biodiversity (e.g. growing a variety of crops rather than a single
crop);
no drugs (e.g. antibiotics, hormones), and access to outdoor grazing, for livestock
and poultry.
In many parts of the world, organic certification is available to farms for
a fee. Depending on the country, certification is either overseen by the government,
or handled entirely by private certification bodies. Where laws exist, it is
usually illegal for a non-certified farm to call itself or its products organic.
It is important to make the distinction between organic farming and organic food. Farming is concerned with producing fresh products - vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy, eggs - for immediate consumption, or for use as ingredients in processed food. The manufacture of most commercially processed food is well beyond the scope of farming.
It is also important to note that organic farming is not "new". In fact, it is a reaction against the large-scale, chemical-based farming practices that have become the norm in food production over the last 80 years. The differences between organic farming and modern conventional farming account for most of the controversy and claims surrounding organic agriculture and organic food. Until recently, the comparison looked something like this:
Organic
Size relatively small-scale, independent operations (e.g. the family farm)
large-scale, often owned by or economically tied to major food corporations
Methods low use of purchased fertilizers and other inputs; low mechanization
of the growing and harvesting process intensive chemical programs and reliance
on mechanized production, using specialized equipment and facilities
Markets often local, direct to consumer, through on-farm stands and farmers'
markets (see also local food), and through specialty wholesalers and retailers
(eg: health food stores) wholesale, with products distributed across large
areas (average supermarket produce travels hundreds to thousands of miles)
and sold through high-volume outlets
Conventional
The contrast is as much economic as it is between methods of production. To
date, organic farming has been typically small business, often based in local
economies, and conventional farming is big business (often called agribusiness
or, negatively, corporate farming) that is closely integrated with all aspects
of the global food production chain. However, the situation is changing rapidly
as consumer demand encourages large-scale organic production.
Development of modern organic farming techniques is also a function of economics. Most of the agricultural research over the last several decades has concentrated on chemical-based methods - little funding and effort have been put into using current scientific tools to understand and advance organic agricultural approaches.
Principles of plant cultivation, in many situations identical to those of organic farming, are applied - often, though not necessarily, at a smaller scale - in the plough-less practice of organic horticulture.
From Wikipedia.