The Detroit News
Jennifer Youssef
After using conventional farming techniques for years, Jim Koan of Almar Orchards in Flushing wanted to try growing his apples and animals in a more natural way.
He eliminated synthetic sprays and drugs and began incorporating natural methods to control pests, fertilize plants and treat sick animals. “Everything we use is made by God,” he said.
Koan is among the increasing number of Michigan growers who have switched from conventional to organic farming in the past decade for environmental, health and marketing reasons.
There were 309 certified organic farms in Michigan in 2008, more than double the number in 2000, when there were 143, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Michigan ranked 11th in the country in 2008, with 461 certified organic and exempt organic farms, according to the USDA. Exempt organic farms are those with less than $5,000 in sales annually; those farms are allowed to market their goods as organic without being certified.
In 2008, Michigan had 68 farms in the process of transitioning 5,387 more acres of cropland to organic production, according to the Michigan 2008 Organic Production Survey, which was released Wednesday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Wayne Kiel of Blueberry Heritage Farms in Holland began changing over his farm to organic three years ago. He has 160 acres; 20 of them are already organic and another 20 are in transition.
Kiel’s family has been growing blueberries using conventional farming methods for years. But, when the nonsmoker was diagnosed with lung cancer, he figured synthetic chemicals sprayed on the plants may be the culprit.
“We all want to make money, but it’s not all about that,” said Kiel, whose transition to organics has been profitable. “It’s about having healthy food.”
Benefits debated
Conventional farmer Brent Wagner doesn’t think organically grown foods are any better for people’s health or the environment.
He said conventional farmers use very little pesticides and the materials they use to fertilize and keep pests away are mainly made up of organic ingredients.
“We eat the food that we grow,” he said. “We feed it to our kids and our grandkids. We’re not going to put anything in the ground that hurts us.”
Organic farms, he said, produce less food on more acres, making it impossible to organically grow enough food to feed the population.
Still, concern for the land and soil, and marketing and economics move farmers toward organic methods, said Matt Grieshop, assistant professor of organic pest management at Michigan State University.
Both of those reasons convinced Koan to transition his farm to organic.
Koan said he became disturbed when he realized that only about 30 percent of the chemical pesticides he sprayed on his trees landed on the target; the other 70 percent ended up on the ground.
Besides the environmental concerns, Koan said he noticed an increased demand for organic products from consumers, starting five years ago. Even though he charges 25 percent more for organic apples, customers are buying them faster than the conventionally grown fruits, he said.The extra cost of growing things organically comes from more pricey pest management methods. And because organic farmers don’t use drugs to treat sick animals, livestock tends to die faster and their treatment is more costly, Grieshop said.
Average annual sales for all organic operations were $217,675, compared with $134,807 for U.S. farms overall, the USDA reports.
Sales see growth
Despite the higher prices, organics are one of the fastest-growing segments in the retail market, according to the Organic Trade Association based in Greenfield, Mass.
The growth rate has slowed in the past couple of years because of poor economic conditions, but sales of organics still are strong. Nationwide, sales of organic food increased 15.8 percent to $22.9 billion in 2008 compared to 2007, according to the association. Sales of organic nonfood items such as personal care products, household cleaners and flowers rose 39.4 percent in 2008 to $1.6 billion from the previous year.
Sales of organic products at Kroger grocery stores have been booming in the past three or four years, said company spokesman Dale Hollandsworth. Since 2006, sales of fresh organic produce have increased tenfold, and the number and variety of organic products Kroger offers has increased dramatically.
“The reality of it is, whatever you sell at a store has to have an organic equivalent,” Hollandsworth said.
Randy Hampshire of Hampshire Farms in Kingston can attest to that demand. He transitioned his farm to organic back in 1988 and was concerned that the higher prices for his organic chickens, eggs, grains and produce would scare away customers. But, he said, “it was just the opposite.”
“Interest in organics is growing every year,” he said. “Organic is here to stay.”
