Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Organic Farming



Organic fruits and vegetables sparks interest in many people. Growing organic foods is not an easy process; it requires a special and manual labor. Organic farms do no use any harmful pesticides or other chemicals that would be harmful human health and the environment. Most often, id a farmer decides to go organic they transform their farm 100% in order to avoid chemical spread. In order to obtain a USDA organic label, the farm must go through an annual certification process. On foods like fruits and vegetables, look for a small sticker version of the USDA Organic label or check the signage in your produce section for this seal. In order to pass the USDA inspections, farmers keep close records of all the activities that go on their farm and fields.   If it's a large farm, they usually end up hiring a person to do all the data management on the computer. 

Organic farming most of the time requires manual weed control. Farmers can't use chemicals on their plants so the weeding gets done by hand. It's time consuming and can get pretty expensive. 
Organic farms perform crop rotations in order to prevent soil depletion, maintains soil fertility, prevent disease, and control weeds. The ideas behind crop rotation never plant the same thing in the same place twice. 
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements states, "Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved..".

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