Want Organic Produce? Grow Your Own!

Since we had a discussion in the Overlook Estates Post recently about buying organic foods, I thought the following would be particularly interesting to the neighborhood.

I regularly listen to Growning Concerns on KUT and have posted interesting clips from the program both here and at the Hill Country Voice. This week, there was an extremely interesting program about an Organic Food conference being held at the Hilton Conference Center in College Station, February 1-3.

One of the conference organizers, and the current president of The Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Brad Stufflebeam, made some very interesting statements about organic farming.

First, it is very profitable. Organic farmers around the Austin area who are selling directly to the consumer are currently grossing $20k to $28k per acre! Compare that with about $500/acre for conventional farming.

Second it does not take a very large farm to make a lot of money. Just 10 to 20 acres.

Third, for organic farming "small" farming is a more sustainable model than "large" farming. Whereas the Agricultural Department is advising farmers to "get big or get out," Brad's advice is to "get small and stay in!"

And fourth, "the ultimate way to know the quality and safety of the food you eat is to grow it yourself."

Hmmmm.... Anyone want to start an organic farm?! Even if you don't have this desire, you need to listen to this podcast and maybe attend the conference!

Also in this podcast, Brad Stufflebeam mentions another interesting concept - Community Supported Agriculture or CSA. Check out this concept at the US Department of Agriculture!

--Rusty