Home Grown: Organic crops, why so expensive?
When you are in the grocery store you often probably stop and see produce under an “organic” marker.
But what exactly makes a crop “organic,” and why do they cost more?
In today’s Home Grown, we’ll learn all about the benefits of buying organic.
If you are wondering what distinguishes crops that are organic versus non-organic, it’s in the growing method.
Patty Emmert , community relations and marketing manager at Duncan Family Farms explains what that method looks like.
” We chose organic farming because we believe in the practice of working with the soils and wanting to make sure organic farming is rooted and is all about soil health, ” said Emmert .
When a farm says they grow “organic” crops, this means there are no synthetic pesticides or GMO seeds involved.
Organic pesticides, however, are used instead.
” When you look at organic production in general, so growing crops versus even raising livestock, there are no GMO ingredients allowed to feed the livestock, there’re no antibiotics or synthetic growth hormone always allowed in that production as well, ” said Emmert .
There are several health benefits to eating organic produce as well.
For example, according to Emmert , Organic produce is said to have more antioxidants.
Organic produce also has the added benefit of no growth hormones.
From a health standpoint, you are mitigating your exposure to food being grown with synthetic materials.
As far as the cost, not only do organic crops cost the consumer more money but also the farmer.
” Part of organic production is really managing that soil and not allowing those types of things coming in because you don’t have the arsenal of products that you couldn’t go out and just spray and be able to mitigate. It’s also very expensive as a farmer. If you want to convert ground and start growing organically, you have a three-year process to do that so there’s an expense that you’re incurring in transitioning ground as well, ” said Emmert .
Consumers also have the confidence of seeing the United States Department of Agriculture organic guarantee when buying fresh fruits and vegetables.
” Organic certification really is the most transparent system within our agriculture system in the US because of the rigorous third-party audit that has to go through. A consumer can look at that USDA organic label and know that they are getting food that doesn’t have synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, ” said Emmert .
Duncan Family Farms is a company that does contract growing under a customer’s label.
If you buy salad blends at the store, you are likely buying a Duncan product even though their label may not show that.
In addition to growing organic crops, Duncan Family Farms partners with other regions to convert green waste from local landfills to turn into compost.
” We are probably between seven and eight thousand acres. We are diverting a lot of green waste from our communities into growing food, ” said Emmert .
For more information on Duncan Family Farms, visit their website.
