Organic question for Hobby etc.

[hobbyfrmr]

Aso, I too am curious. Originally in 2005 I changed over for the money. Then I liked it, then 2008 market crash no bid for a year, then recovery and I made it this far. So far so good.. I have some very smart, big farm (4000 -5000 acres) neighbours who went organic, made very good money. Bought 2 sets of new everything. In 2011, they sold their discs bought a new sprayer and went back to conventional farming. The other neighbor was president of organic chapter, real active, ltalked about how his wife and family were so happy he changed to organic. He bought one set of new everything, then planted the whole farm to canola and the following year rented out to a BTO. So everyone has their own values (cash!) and way in life.
I guess my thoughts are , we are fortunate to be able to choose how we want to farm and what to do with the land we control.. I know there is better money and far more productivity on a conventional farm, but im just not interested in being that type of farmer.

[pourfarmer]

From what I've seen those new vert tillage things would be the cats ass for organic production! speed up the tillage process, incorporate matter easily, chew through anything basically, plus they are very accurate on depth control which would be helpful if you only wanted to work the top inch of soil without disturbing anything else. I'll let you know in about 20 years when there's some old worn out ones on the market that I can afford.

[farmaholic]

It is interesting to see the (almost)lockstep decline in totals(of all receipts) and receipts of #1, then the increase of #2 and the marginal increase in #3 and Feed.

Going forward it will be interesting to see if there is a huge increase in (especially)#3 and Feed since there is supposedly allot of the Western Canadian crop that didn't make the top two grades.

I posted my specs on a different thread, I am not taking feed price for that wheat, one spec says it is but many others says it isn't!!!

Nice chart farming101

[ado089]

Real simple, being that I am just starting out with a touch too few acres and land is at a premium I can't be picky. A neighbor has land that at one point was certified but has been more or less abandoned for the last 3 years. The only way he would rent it to anyone was if they farmed it without chemical and fertilizer.I was up to the challenge and picked it up for a very decent crop share. So I get to expand my land base affordably and diversify my operation with little upfront cost and it's still way less work than getting cattle. Did soil tests on it and it's bagged though. I might just sow the whole thing to a pea oat mix or pea barley mix and harvest the best half, plow in the rest.

[ado089]

I'll be renting one this year for sure. First to bust up the sod lumps pre-seed then for plow down.

[pourfarmer]

good for you, hope it works out! a good resource even though you may not need it:

http://www.organicinputs.ca/en/

[hobbyfrmr]

I am insanely pining for a Lemon Rubin. I think they would be great. The 6 meter was quoted to me at $90,000. That was a couple years ago, they were not really bringing in small units. Special order type stuff. Then I Needed 400 hp to pull the most common one. Then I tuned out.

[hobbyfrmr]

Lemkin Rubin

I think it would do a great job, more level. On a heavy clover plowdown it might take 2 passes. I bought a new kilo bilt DOW 225 disk with oil bath bearings. Excellent company, that makes a kick ace disk. Never touched it in 6 years and lots of custom work. Disadvantage is that it leaves a wavy pattern in the field. It cuts and turns over a hayfield to 85% black in one pass but it's a rough finish.

[freewheat]

Wow! Thanks for the insight. I never knew an organic thread could be so intense.

Reason for looking at organic? Because the land is available. Because I hate input bills, and saw this as an opportunity to shave it down. The money. The prices are insane for organic commodities. With good summerfallow on land that has been out of production for years, weed issues would be minimal for a few years.
Finally, because of our diversity into sheep, and the need for some hayland, I thought it may fit for us as we take out the hayland portion of the rotation every 4 or 5 years.

I am not going whole farm organic. If they deem it necessary, I am out. I would of course grow crops on the organic side that would not be grown conventionally. The fact they may expect or somehow think I would have to shift my whole farm into organic ag is IMO a show stopper.

I am looking at it as a feasible option for land coming out of hay, and maybe this one piece of long neglected land that I would like to gain back. It is a diversification idea for me.

Do they not inspect closely enough to fight off cheaters? If not, they sure as heck should.

Thanks again.

[hobbyfrmr]

There is a production audit, inputs/seed source audit, paperwork audit BOL/ traceability audit, field inspection. So just take it seriously and keep all records and documents .
Prices are not insane, they are a respectable start for the season. I like to use the motto half a crop, twice the price. Some times I do better than that . Sometimes not. You have to be prepared to abandon/ work down a field due to a wreck. Stud happens.
Once you see a payment, the thoughts of cheating and dodging will be rreplaced with, how can I do this better. The reward is addicting.
Then after a few years of cashing in big, you can can buy the biggest sprayer money can buy, the best canola seed money can buy, max fertilizer , and in 3 years give it all back to the ag supply industry!