Grace Sullivan

Connie S. Douglas
ENG 112-01
14 July 2016

How to Create Organic Farms

The organic sector has almost doubled in size from 2008 to 2014, demonstrating that the
demand for organic products and opportunities for growth has increased. The continuous
increase amongst organic produce over the years has led to numerous studies and reports that
show how the organic produce is significantly more nutritious than conventional farms produce.
The main idea behind organic farming is based on the idea of minimal use of off-farm inputs and
management practices that restore the ecological harmony. Cover crops, green manures, animal
manures and crop rotations are all what organic farming entails in order to produce successful
products for that particular growing season. The main steps needed to create an all organic farm
would rely upon making a plan for your farm, not using synthetic poisons to keep pests away,
rotating crops, growing different crops on the same land, and most importantly to use natural
fertilizers.
The first important task in developing an organic farm is to devise a plan for your farm.
When starting out on your first farm having the time to figure out what crops you are going to
grow, how to rotate them, what fertilizers will you use, and how to keep the pests away (Smith).
All these factors play key roles into the creation of you organic farm and whether or not you
keep it in the organic route or it changes into a conventional farm. An important factor to keep in
mind when farming organically is that the use of genetic engineering, or genetically modified

organisms (GMOs) is prohibited in organic products. This means that the organic farmer is
prohibited to plant GMO seeds, feed GMO to animals or plants, and cannot use GMO
ingredients in producing food such as soups (Smith). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
creates regulations of farming organically and in order to continue the process of your farm,
farmers and processors have to show proof that they are not using GMOs and that they are doing
everything they can to protect their crops from contact with prohibited substances from the farm
to consumers tables (Organic FAQs). Another useful tool when creating organic farming plans
would be to enlist the help of the USDA because they offer several programs and tools to
support the success of organic farms. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)
from USDA Natural Resources (NRCS) helps producers plan and implement conservation
practices to support sustainability of their organic operations (Organic FAQs).
Secondly, do not use synthetic poisons to keep the pests away from your farm. The
poisons used on conventional farms are not only harmful to the planet nut to our people as well.
The three main parts of pest management would be prevention, monitoring, and controlling. The
idea among prevention is to supply the plants with healthy food which will lead into the produce
having great nutrition. Jules Pretty found that farms that provide habitats for pest predators have
average a seventy-nine percent increase in crop yields over previous agricultural systems that did
not use pests to fight pests (Pretty). Integrating the predatory pests such as ladybugs or
predatory mites can help the decrease of pests damaging the crops. Also, monitoring your plants
regularly will help guide you to know if you have a pest infections and if so, what the level of the
infection could be. To help beginner farmers prevent pest invasion the purchase of tools such as
the pheromone traps, sweep nets, and insect vacuums will provide helpful ways to keep the nasty
pests away from the nutritious produce. Having the most natural pest controls are the physical

ones such as fences, barriers, and traps (Pretty). After these physical controls have been put to
great use then the beneficial and biological organisms, mineral-based insecticides, oils, botanical
insecticides and fungicides are always a route to keep pests away (Pretty). These are the main
ways to keep the synthetic sources away from organic farms.
Rotating your crops refers to the sequence of crops and cover crops grown on a particular
field. Specific sequences cause particular benefits to long and short-term soil fertility, and to the
pest prevention management. The practice of alternating the annual crops grown on a specific
field in a planned pattern or sequence in successful crop years so that crops of the same species
of family are not grown repeatedly without interruption on the same field (Cornell University
Press). Crop rotation is a great idea when comes to managing diseases, keeping great nutrients,
preventing weeds from attacking crops, building soil quality for the next set of produce to grow,
and provides a variety of insects to come about the farm land. Many beginner farms are failed to
be told that crop rotation can also be incredibly difficult due to the large variation in acreage
among crops, some crops are in the ground more than one year, multiple plantings of some crops,
some crops can only be grown in certain fields, and cover crops between cash crops (Cornell
University Press). The job of rotating crops is not one for a beginner to mess around with and
getting advice from experienced farmers throughout the process is a highly sought out idea.
Growing different crops on the same piece of land is not at all beneficial for the crops as
many conventional farmers come to believe. Conventional farming consists of the mass
production of a single crop in a single location. The organic farming acts on the idea of multiple
crops in the same place and they tend to change where each crop is located throughout the
season. Having agricultural biodiversity has been proven by the science of agroecology to have
many benefits. Planting a variety of vegetable crops supports a wider range of beneficial

insects, soil microorganisms, and other factors that add up to overall farm health, but managing
the balance requires expertise and close attention (How To Farm Organically).
Using natural fertilizers is crucial to organic farming. This is different from conventional
farming, as conventional farms often use synthetic fertilizers that can be harmful to the health of
the consumers. Natural fertilizers also make the soil healthier, which can result in better produce.
The most common natural fertilizer is manure. Composting stabilizes that nutrients in manure,
builds populations of beneficial organisms, and has highly beneficial effect on soils and crops
(How To Farm Organically). Other options for natural fertilizers are bone meal, cottonseed meal,
compost, feather meal, fish meal, and manure is the well-known option. Organic farming is
known for the natural fertilizers and is why this production has grown in popularity over the last
several years.
Developing an organic farm is a timely process that takes particular needs to create a
successful production of these natural produces. The main steps needed to create an all organic
farm would relies upon making a plan for your farm, not using synthetic poisons to keep pests
away, rotating crops, growing different crops on the same land, and most importantly to use
natural fertilizers. If a farmer can efficiently follow all five steps listed throughout the paper then
the dream of developing ones own organic farm is bound to happen. The development of highly
nutrient foods is spreading across the globe and the more farmers who develop these craved
produce the better off the people are to eat well and live a healthy life-style.

Works Cited

"Cornell University Press." African Studies Companion Online (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
"How to Farm Organically." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.
"Organic FAQs." Organic Farming Research Foundation. N.p., 31 July 2012. Web. 14 July 2016.