Savory presentation

[ASRG]

Quite often it is about money....and the fact is if the farmer can't make any money....he'll be gone and the next guy will step in.
Most grainfarmers will tell you chemical farming works for their bottom line. They aren't being paid to save the world.
Now that might very well be short term thinking....but at the end of the day...if you can't make it pay you will get to join the rest of the peasants living in the slums and someone else will be farming your land.
In an ideal world we would have governments who cared about their people and protect the food supply, however I don't see that happening?
They approve this stuff. It isn't diminishing....it's increasing! Just about every farmer in my area now does a pre harvest burnoff with Roundup. I don't see any kind of mandatory labelling for GMO foods, or non hormone/non antibiotic meat.....in most stores?
It's pretty tough for the poor to pay a premium for organic food.

[rkaiser]

i have yet to know a farmer or rancher who has taken the natural or organic route loose his farm. Might have to give up some rented land or maybe even sell a piece of ground -- or God forbid --- MOVE--- LOL. I takes a pretty major shift in thinking I agree, however responsibility for more than just ourselves or our families is like that.

Don't get me wrong ASRG, I would still like to see government and industry take a role in this responsibilty game, however someone has to start the ball rolling.

Changing and giving up are two different things in my mind.

The idea that farmers and ranchers simply can not change due to financial woes is almost as limiting as the one that most people use. "we can not feed the people of the planet without chemicals and fertiliser and all the wonderful things that Monsanto and the likes have given to us.

Horse shit I say.

[smcgrath76]

I think to be sustainable a whole bunch
of Davids have to make the switch
themselves. Not sure it will occur fast
enough as the status quo is geared
towards the status quo.
I know what we have seen and what we
show a lot of people that come to visit
and some are interested and more have a
reason why it can't work for them
(usually they like to work too hard and
take jobs away from mother nature).

[rkaiser]

Hers's yer chance boys. Probly won't have to loose yer farms... LOL


Organic farmers hunt for cash crop farmers

by Owen Roberts


Organic food consumption is increasing everywhere, but organic production is not keeping pace.

That means producers and processors are missing out on a profitable niche, and consumers are not getting as much local product as they could.


Yorkshire Valley Farms, Canada's leading fresh organic chicken producer, wants to change that. The company, whose main farm is near Peterborough, Ont., is looking for conventional farmers who are open to considering organic production and growing certified organic feed.

"It all starts in the soil," says Yorkshire Valley Farms president James Sculthorpe. "We need organic feed to grow organic chickens, so we're trying to move some conventional growers over to organic. For sustainability, we want to remove some of the barriers about growing organic crops."

Many of those barriers are based on a lack of knowledge and education about organic production possibilities. With that in mind, Yorkshire Valley is hosting an information day on March 13, in Norwood, Ont. The company hopes to convince some conventional farmers that organic production is worth a look. Guest speakers will cover such topics as cost of production, production practices (including transitioning to organic), and profitability.

Sculthorpe notes that farmers are businesspeople who "want to pursue the greatest return on their investment.

"We suggest they consider organic," he adds.

He says one reason organic production should appeal to conventional farmers is the sector's growth. Although it's still a niche, organic livestock production is one of the fastest growing sectors in Ontario, with organic poultry yielding an annual growth rate of 30 per cent over the past five years.

But for the sector to be sustainable, organic feed supplies need to increase. Finding and nurturing more Ontario sources is critical if the sector is to meet the needs of consumers demanding local food, Sculthorpe says.

"Without farmers putting more land into organic production, consumers end up with inflated costs for organic food," Sculthorpe says. "We have some of the best farmland anywhere in Ontario, and we have the potential to be a leader in organic production."