Organic Farm Profiles
We love supporting organic farms! Since we are a USDA certified organic honey water company, we know the importance of choosing organic products. But what about the organic farms behind all our delicious flavor combinations? What we’ve discovered is while there are stringent guidelines for certified organic food, there is not a one-size-fits-all organic farm or farmer.
Here are few different types of organic farms that supply the foods you find in your local grocery store, food co-op, big box store and farmer’s market.
The Organic CSA Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.
Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer.
Advantages for farmers:
Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16-hour days in the field begin.
Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow.
Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow.
Advantages for consumers:
Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits.
Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking.
Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season.
Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown.
The Mid-Sized Organic Farm Mid-sized farms are defined by the USDA as a family farm that has grown in scale from a small family farm to a gross cash farm income of between $350,000 to $1,000,000.
Mid-size operations tend to be regional, somewhat diverse operations that negotiate prices with their customers in restaurants, retailers or at institutions, while large farms are typically less diverse, operate globally, and make millions selling to processors, brokers or distributors for a price that is set by the market.
These mid-size farms are not supported well in contrast to small farms and large farms. There is funding and support for small farms just starting out. And large-scale farms are playing a different market game altogether and the priorities are more on commerce rather than care of the land or animals especially those on the commodity market. But investing in mid-sized farm operations may be pivotal to helping regional regenerative agriculture reach a meaningful scale. There are organizations cropping up with programming that focuses on value-added operation mid-sized farms because they have the greatest likelihood of being sustainable—environmentally and socially.
The Industrial Organic Farm While we’d love to think all the organic food you find in the store is being grown or raised on a hobby farm like that featured in Charlotte’s Web, that simply isn’t the reality.
Industrial organic farms look a lot like industrial conventional farms. Both have vast acreage devoted to a single crop (a monoculture) such as broccoli, lettuce or corn. Where the conventional farm uses chemical herbicides; the organic farm tills to control weeds. But beware: industrial organic farming methods deviate from the ultimate goal of sustainable agriculture that protects and nourishes the land. Tilling, especially on the industrial scale, stresses the soil too much.
The Foreign Organic Farm The demand for organic produce and meat in the U.S. climbs every year. Our country cannot keep up with demand so we rely on imported organic foods from countries around the world.
According to the USDA, the top U.S. organic imports in 2016 included bananas, coffee and olive oil. These are all products the United States does not produce in large quantities or at all. Also on that list: corn and soybeans. These are imported to the U.S. to meet growing demand for organic livestock feed. Turkey, Mexico, Italy, Peru and Ecuador supplied 43 percent of U.S. organic imports. In 2016, 87 countries supplied organic products to the United States.
Being an organic company means our awareness of the importance of organic farming practices along with the significance of farm size, scaling and regenerative agriculture practices all make a difference. We encourage you to a weekly challenge: swap at least one food you regularly purchase with its organic counterpart. When the demand for organic food grown or raised close to where you live grows, you ensure a healthier future for you, your family and our planet.