Is it time for the Organic Guys to Start taking some Responsibility?

[Sheepwheat]

Hobby??? Wade in.

[Oliver88]

Actually, buffer zones are already mandatory. Either a permanent hedgerow/trees, or 8 meters. It may be a strip of a grass or other crop, or it may be farmed the same as the rest, but must be harvested as conventional grain and segregated.

I have an organic neighbour who leaves a 30 foot strip beside all his neighbours and cultivates it every year, he said they are supposed to.

The others leave no strip.

[grefer]

I think your anger and disdain is misplaced SF. If organic farmers are as poor as everyone says it surely isnt them funding all the attacks on conventional farming or as you say real farmers. Maybe rather than going after the low hanging fruit you should target your efforts at the real problem. Consumers. It must be them with the cash to throw away.

[farmaholic]

Whose practices interfere the most with the adjacent landowner's ability to use their own property without being affected by their neighbour's.

I doubt there is a clear winner in this debate.

[Sheepwheat]

In our area, tree lines are disappearing fast. Treelines are the BEST buffer you can get. Somehow I think though that the real farmers would want the treelines gone cuz they cramp their style.

When I last bought land, neighbor called me up to see if I was going to get rid of the “useless tree line”?

I can spray, or have him spray any day of the week, regardless of wind direction. The buffer zone has grass and few weeds, is a deer and elk and moose travel way, ruffed grouse galore, mushrooms, hazelnuts, all kinds of things that the real farmers don’t appreciate or even know exist. I have treelines that you could fill your freezer multiple times with the gleanings thereof.

There is more to life than corner to corner and cash flow, no? I mean, it’s “just a crop” I thought?

My point? I don’t really know? Lol plant trees, cool down the province. Been a hot go of it. Lol

[hobbyfrmr]

Follow the money. You know they are going broke. Buy out the organic farmer, he needs the money. Or else wait to buy it from the bank. Otherwise, everytime you drive past that organic farm you can suck a canola bag full of scrotums.
Im not wasting my time explaining my mandatory buffer zone management and annual inspection/production/traceability audit to anybody.
We are not children here. Bring a chequebook or if you really feel righteous about weeds you can talk to my lawyer.

[farmaholic]

I don't have any organic farm neighbors, that's good, that way we're not getting under "each other's" skin.

I think mutual respect would go a long way if I had an organic neighbor.

[grassfarmer]

Smart. Hutterites won't sue for damages.
Too bad.

I'm surprised they would pick a colony - maybe just ignorance on their part? Enough of people around on a colony that tend to get upset easily and don't take well to outsiders - i'm surprised they never got the shit kicked out of them.

[malleefarmer]

Organic and non organic along side each other cuts both ways.

[SASKFARMER]

I have to agree with grass on this one. Surprised it wasn’t shoot shovel and move on.

[TASFarms]

https://www.ecoclear.ca/
Maybe that is what was sprayed on the weeds in the oraganic field. I have some organic neighbors. They really suck. Shouldn’t be too much longer before they change their program. By the way organic doesn’t mean chemical free. It’s means no synthetic chemicals.

[pourfarmer]

https://www.ecoclear.ca/
Maybe that is what was sprayed on the weeds in the oraganic field. I have some organic neighbors. They really suck. Shouldn’t be too much longer before they change their program. By the way organic doesn’t mean chemical free. It’s means no synthetic chemicals.

That is 25% acetic acid, aka vinegar.

I have convential neighbors, a couple of them really suck.

[GALAXIE500]

That is 25% acetic acid, aka vinegar.

I have convential neighbors, a couple of them really suck.

WE have people in our area who fall into that "super farmer" category , and granted they have a lot of equipment that I only wish I could own one day , they have weed " issues " and its getting worse. Maybe it's time some of these guys break the cultivator out of the bush and start killing the weeds with steel instead of watered down chemical. I got weed problems also , but I try to control them.

As far as the organic farmer argument , we have one in our RM , who was actually welcomed in with open arms by a few landowners, with an attractive cash rent a few years back. The first few years were so so , then things got worse with drier weather that we are so famous for getting down here in the SW corner. The guy was notoriously late in farming , had land in Alberta , etc, you name the excuse, and to top it off the rental agreement stated that he couldn't use cultivation , so the weed problems just got completely out of control. Now of course the organic guy isn't too popular anymore , but the problems could have been fixed somewhat with cultivation and timing, etc , rain helps too! Anyways , the guys that brought him in here initially are to blame , but that's a story for another day.

BOTTOM LINE :

Not all cash deals benefit you in the long run, and now their land has a 100 years of weed seeds stored up in them, and they think they can get $300-400 K per quarter?

DUMB as SHIT !

[furrowtickler]

[hobbyfrmr]

That is funny. I am keeping that one.

I drove from Shellbrook to Saskatoon a couple times lately. The ditches and farmers’ headlands are in full bloom. It truly makes me laugh when super farmers resort to blaming organic farmers for weeds.
Pea fields this year big patches so full of kochia I honestly thought that farmer started growing hemp. Too cheap to spray it properly.
Desiccated (nice and clean) pea fields have a complete line of thistle down the headland.
Its a perfect time of year, look at your headlands, look at the ditches, your neighbours pastures, headlands. You can not miss it.

Heck, Drive from Denholm to Meadow Lake there is an abandoned rail line where both sides of the rail bed are lined with thistles.