Organic farming

wild turkey — Photo by ASHISH SHARMA on Pexels.com

It’s the weekend before the great holiday feast. Turkey is on the menu, and I haven’t even ordered mine – let along worked out if it will be baked, smoked, or set upon the barbeque for hours.

Organic, free-range and antibiotic-free are always my first choice because I want to support farmers who steward the land and care properly for the fowl.

If you haven’t already purchased your Thanksgiving gobbler, a new study gives you another good reason to buy an organic bird.

Organic and antibiotic-free poultry is half as likely to be contaminated with multidrug-resistant Salmonella. The stuff that makes us sick! Continue reading “Still Wondering if that Organic Turkey is Worth It? – A New Study Suggests It’s the Safest Choice” →

Culinary Delights, Organic Policy and Regulations, Social Implications in Agriculture, What is Organic

Israel Morales Delivers Hope for The Future as OTA’s Farmer of the Year

October 1, 2019 Melody Meyer

On September 11^th, The Organic Trade Association honored Israel Morales Sr. from JV Farms Organic with the Organic Farmer of the Year Award.

Israel Morales Sr. is JV Farms Organic’s lead grower with over 40 years of farming experience.

Israel has extensive experience not just in knowing what produce matches the type of soil but is also a master of soil health. He has a direct influence on the growing practices on all of the acres in his operation.

Some describe him as living and breathing organic farming. He has both an old-school mentality on how to grow organically with a flair for innovation.

Israel is a successful large-scale organic farmer, known as a steward of the land. He minimizes disturbance and maximizes soil cover, biodiversity, and the presence of living roots.

His focus is soil health, habitat diversity and reducing or eliminating organic pesticide use if he can. Israel has developed an innovative farming system using conservation tillage beds that allows him to use cover crops on 80 to 90 percent of his acreage during the winter fallow. Continue reading “Israel Morales Delivers Hope for The Future as OTA’s Farmer of the Year” →

Environment, Social Implications in Agriculture, What is Organic

Can Organic Agriculture Save the Insects and Our Gardens? A New Study Suggests It Can

August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 Melody Meyer

animal bee bloom blooming — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I begin with a confession. This summer is the second time I have tended a garden since I was a child alongside my grandfather. For most of my adult life, I was too busy trading organic faire, building businesses—doing what I could to heal the planet through food and agriculture.

I am enjoying this garden with its prolific beans, squash, tomatoes and red Peruvian corn. It’s aswarm with bees, pollinators and insects who work to seed the bounty.

With all I’ve read about the mass extinction of insects, it makes me ponder. What would happen to my garden if they all disappeared? Continue reading “Can Organic Agriculture Save the Insects and Our Gardens? A New Study Suggests It Can” →