Organic farming is a form of agriculture that is based on ecological management which excludes the use of synthetic inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and antibiotics applied on plants and animals. It promotes and focuses on agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity while minimizing the risk to human and animal health and natural resources. It has been proven as an effective approach with the United Nations (UN) in their report on world hunger and poverty.

People during the World War II had experienced food shortages. After the war, the farmers were encouraged to use chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides as everyone wanted affordable and plenty of food. Meat was affected as well when the animals were administered with growth hormones and antibiotics. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides had caused severe water and environmental pollution. Over the years, the consumers have become more concerned about its disadvantage and started to support organic farming.

How organic farming is done

In organic farming, farmers naturally nourish soil with the use of quality compost, cover crops. Plants that grow on healthy soil are much better and can actually protect themselves from pests and disease without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farming also helps in protecting the global environment as they can significantly reduce the amount of factors that contribute to global warming such as carbon dioxide.

Animals are organically raised are fed with certified organic feeds, hormone-free and GMO-free. Organic farmers prevent disease on livestock by ensuring that they have are healthy, fed right, and have given comfortable shelters. One of the outcomes is some certified organic milk cows have a life expectancy 3 or 4 times the life expectancy of their conventional counterparts.

Organic foods

It is however that many in the industry are not convinced that organic foods are more nutritious than the conventionally grown food as there are no conclusive evidences shown.  Even though USDA certifies organic food, it does not claim that these are safer and more nutritious.

Some people prefer to choose organic food to avoid their exposure to the pesticide residues from conventional farming. But since organic foods tend to have more farming practices, they are more expensive than conventional foods.

Organic farming is very much debated topic and its environmental benefits will continue to be studied which in turn will find a better understanding on how it will cure or help in reducing the effects of environmental hazards brought by the modern agricultural practices.

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The US-based Monsanto started in 1901 with the production of the artificial sweetener saccharine. By the 1940s, it had expanded its business to Europe and had become one of the leading chemical manufacturing companies in the United States.  Among its herbicide products, the dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) became particularly infamous for its disastrous health risks and environmental damage, and was banned in 1972 in the US, owing to the efforts by environmentalists.

In early 1980s, Monsanto started genetic experimenting on plant cells. This was a big leap for the company, away from chemical production to biotechnical engineering, and by the end of the century Monsanto had become the biotech giant of the world, specializing in genetically modified seeds. Genetically modified (GM) foods, mostly crops, have the advantages of high tolerance of herbicides, resistance to pests, diseases, drought, and low temperature, and added nutrition. At the same time, such crops have been subject to strong criticism. A number of human health risks, including different types of allergic reactions, have been known as caused by GM foods. And equally, or even more, serious are the concerns of genetic invasions caused by GM species.

Studies show that GM plants are capable of interbreeding with non-GM plants of the same species, which are planted near them. Thus, the biotechnologically altered genes travel through crops and multiply in numbers as well as complexity, posing unforeseen threats to public health. Furthermore, the altered genes can be incorporated into the genetic makeup of the weeds growing around them, causing the weeds to become herbicide resistant. This would mean a threat to environment and crops, as well as additional cost to economy due to the need for researching new, stronger varieties of herbicides.

With an expanding business going hand in hand with the genetic contamination of crops, Monsanto also continued to have an increasing experience of litigation against the farming community. Crop farmers in US and Canada have been sued by Monsanto for reproducing GM seeds/crops without paying the due royalty to the company. By 2005, at least 90 lawsuits had been by Monsanto against American farmers alone. A famous case highlighted by the Greenpeace International was that of a Canadian farmer Percy Shmeiser who lost his case in 2004 to Monsanto for failing to pay the company while accidentally discovering herbicide-resistant canola on his farm and reproducing it without the prior permission of Monsanto. Greenpeace called the GM invasion of common crops ‘genetic pollution’. Does a company have the right to genetically contaminate common crops of farms and then claim patent rights when the uninvited GM seeds on one’s own farm are reproduced?

This question, with added environmental concern, has already entered the law court and the verdict of the court will certainly be the determinant of the future of farming and feeding in and outside America. What is unambiguously clear so far is the fact that if you try to transcend nature, it will cost more than it pays; though for companies like Monsanto, the profit may surpass both the investment and the cost of litigation.

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Soil is obviously important because we wouldn’t have anything to stand on without soil.  Without soil, we wouldn’t be able to plant trees, food crops hence, we wouldn’t be able to eat or have shelter to rest from the sun.  In short, our soil is just as important as any other element in our planet. We are all connected in this planet and our soil is one of the most basic elements in our lives.

Aside from providing for a place for seeds, plants and trees to grow our soil is a very important data gathering element in our planet.  Soil quality is measured to help scientist predict impending drought by measuring the soil’s capability to hold water during the dry season.  It can also tell if the area can withstand flooding.  The same is true when scientists are measuring the amount of chemicals and pH in the soil to tell if the area can still sustain healthy plant life.  In other words, our soil is like a measuring device that tells scientists the over all health of an area or a part of land.

Our soil is also a very big link in the chain of life and death in our planet.  Living things like animals, leaves, seeds and other organic matter decompose on the soil providing organic matter that fatten up the soil.  These in turn make plants grow healthier which in turn are eaten by animals that are eaten by humans.  The cycle resumes when the animal dies or something decomposes with a very big help from our soil.

So the next time you feel lower than dirt, think of how important our soil is and how big a contribution it gives to our environment by being just something we step on everyday!

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We have all seen pumps that are powered with the wind to supply farms with water for irrigation.  Relying on these sorts of energy is nothing new for farmers.  However, with the sun, farmers get a more consistent energy source compared to the wind.  Skylights that use the sun to dry hay and other products have been around for a long time too, but it is only now that  practical applications such as this is being used again.  Solar dryers are also now being used to dry crops and grain.  A typical dryer is composed of an enclosed shed with screened drying trays or rack.  A solar collector helps collect sun power while a fan helps induce the natural convection to move hot air through the crops to dry them.

As technology improves, so do solar panels.  Solar powered irrigation systems, heat barns and water.  Solar panels are also used to heat greenhouses which can store and collect solar energy.  These buildings are reinforced with insulation to preserve heat even during at night.  To further preserve solar energy, greenhouses usually face the south while the northern side is insulated for heat preservation.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are also cheaper compared to running power lines across large properties.  They can also be controlled remotely and are used to power electrified fences, lights and water pumps.  Farmers like to use them for remote livestock water supply, pond aeration, and small irrigation systems.

Although converting to solar energy can mean a substantial investment to most farmers, technology will continue to improve and access to cheaper means of converting will be made available in the foreseeable future.  It won’t be long before we can see a fully solar operated farm!

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What’s even more ironic is that organic farming should be cheap and encouraging but it seems, only hobbyists are gaining benefits from it or actually enjoying it. On the other hand, farmers are hearing none of it since they see no point in organic farming. Organic farming involves giving up the comforts of chemical fertilizers and other nature-defying what-not. Aside from that, if you are a large-scale farmer, you will need a certification that your crops are indeed organic or else you cannot advertise as such. Mind you, getting certification involves time and money which most farmers hate much.

Fortunate are those who live in countries like India and Philippines for their farmers have long been practicing organic farming combined with chemical-based techniques in growing their crops. Transitions in this side of the world won’t be as hard since they will only apply certain adjustments. Farmers in these countries never really abandoned natural farming methods since most of them lack the resources to do so.

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Amaranth is a tasty seed and it is packed with many nutrients a body needs. It has protein, iron and calcium which make it very ideal for vegans. Aside from that, it can be consumed in many different ways such as flour and bread.

When it comes to farming, Amaranth supports sustainable landcare and it doesn’t require any special care since it is mostly considered as weeds. When left alone, it can grow on its own. It also has a long harvesting period that is perfect for farmers. Today, the amaranth plant is subjected to various tests for agricultural development and was introduced to countries experiencing agricultural difficulties such as Kenya. Experts suspect that the amaranth plant may be the answer to rural sustainable livelihood problems across the globe.

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Buckwheat is not a native crop of America but due to its high demand and adaptability, it has become a major crop for millions of farm acres in the US. It can also be used for crop rotation, planted next to wheat harvest. Buckwheat is a great choice for double cropping in spring and it improves the quality of soil immensely.

The beauty of buckwheat farming is that it has a very high demand nowadays, even for the 100% organic ones. The high demand is called for due to buckwheat’s many uses, one of which is for flour production. Buckwheat is categorized along with other food grains such as wheat and oats. It also makes a great alternative and supplement for feeding the farm’s livestock although it must be dehulled first as it can induce allergic reactions if not. Buckwheat is also a favorite for bee keepers since the crop tends to produce flowers profusely.

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Economy-wise, this must be the most disabling situation yet for local farmers in Kenya. Some hold on to the hope of having rain soon while others have long given up and were forced to find food and sustenance elsewhere. Authorities said that there has been a steady slew of rural folks migrating to the city bearing high hopes of better living condition. Drought truly has brought despair to many farmers whose main source of income comes from their own hands. Social workers in the area have reported that families there are now reduced to one meal a day—that includes children, elderly and pregnant women. Some villages were abandoned by its residents due to the shortage of water supply. Local farmers are not only dismayed about their current water situation but of the ever increasing food prices in Kenya as well making it all the more harder to provide food for their own families. According to authorities, the rising price of food is also a result of the drought.

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Those who are able to afford the “pack up and go” attitude are indeed lucky. Unfortunately, not all city dwellers are lucky enough to have this kind of opportunity. Some need to be in the city because their jobs require them to be while others are not yet ready for the kind of life that awaits them in farms and rural areas. Let’s face it, not all humans are created to easily adjust to the demands of time, whether they like it or not. The good news is, your home need not be situated in far, far away land nor be as big as your whole street. You can live the kind of life they lead in farms right in the heart of the city, this is called urban homesteading.

Urban homesteading can be considered as your first step to the sustainable life you have always dreamed of and it doesn’t have to be so drastic, especially if you cannot afford it. Those who successfully made it swear that urban homesteading requires a lot from a person but at the end of the day, one will soon realize that it’s all worth it. Taking precious baby steps toward your goal will help you a lot.

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In reality, there are areas in the world that experience drought every now and then. Elevated farm communities for one, need to employ a strict water conservation all year round just to make their water supply last longer than it should. There are also drought-prone areas that pose a problem to its local government when rain won’t come for months on end. Due to these problems, farm water conservation in these areas is highly encouraged. Here are some water conservation ideas that proved to be effective in farm communities:

• Use a water gauge. This way, you’ll be able to notice when there’s a difference in readings. Also, a water meter will help you determine the estimated amount of water you always consume. When it goes high then it’s time to check the water lines for leaks. It can also help you plan accordingly when there’s an expected water shortage to come.
• Cover all dugouts to prevent evaporation from happening.
• Experts believe that a farmer would be able to conserve more water if they use one large dugout instead of multiple smaller ones. Use pipelines to distribute them to their destinations. This will eliminate the need to maintain several dugouts which proves to be time-consuming and not cost-effective too. Moreover, multiple dugouts are very prone to water seepage.
• Upgrading your water facilities is very important as technology today continually evolved to a much better function than ever before.

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