Have Your Way With Paper

I have always wanted to know - since Erin is an Organic Farmer - does the Organic process cost more than traditional farming methods? I have always been curious if the additional price tag at the retail side is just brilliant marketing or if the goods actually cost more to produce. I have a couple of clients that are farmers but they don't use organic methods. To me its worth it if its healthier for my kids but I wanted to know about the supply side.

good question!

HMMMM! Inquiring minds want to know.??

We just had a health food store open up in town that sells organic produce and other products. I would like to know the answer to this as well.

Well, to be certified organic it is pretty costly ($500. per year)and Erin asked her clients if the fact that she did not apply for certification, would that prevent them from joining. She knows the land she is on has sat unused by the farmer for 6 years and that before that he raised cows and wheat and other grains all organically. And told them she uses organic seeds(which are a little more costly) and all organic practices....which means no pesticides or herbicides, only natural fertilizers, etc. She can't claim to have organic produce, but she can say she uses organic practices. So she really uses less product on her veggies. On the other hand that can backfire....if for instance she gets some disease on a certain veggie, that whole veggie patch may be lost because she will not treat it with pesticides, fungicides, etc. Last year her tomatoes got late blight, and she had to pull up all her well forming tomato plants and burn them, before it spread to other veggies like potatoes, and tomatillos, and some summer squash(which it did get to a little). So no one in the CSA got tomatoes last year. This year, because it has been really HOT the blight has not hit her yet and we are starting to get tomatoes. Luckily she and most other good farmers know that to beat the diseases you must grow a large variety of veggies....so if one thing gets diseased, you still have lots of other veggies. This year her garlic has some thing that is making them get soft, so she has had to pull her garlic up early and try to salvage the firmer bulbs....she lost almost half of that crop.

http://www.farmererin.blogspot.com/

Link above to E's blog. Her latest excerpt is rather amusing. The photo is of her share this past week, with her rooster she finally named Buster, cause she's decided she won't eat him. He had a white partner who would not behave and became their dinner last month.

Thanks for answering, Robin! I found it really informative. Always been curious about this as well.

Thanks for the info Robin! I do find her work fascinating!! SO far from what I would do, but I aprreciate what she does SO much!! Love her blog, thanks for the link, I used to have it, but lost it at some point!