Organic farming is one of those things many farmers look at as a thing of the past. Many think the world has moved on and the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are now the only way, but still we have a small group, dedicated to the use of natural/ organically certified products fighting for recognition of organic standards locally.
In agriculture it all needs to work together. Or – more accurately – it should all work together….but it doesn’t. It shouldn’t just be “good” for the farmer it should be good for everyone. I say “good” because I often wonder how the use of these chemicals affect the health and well being of the farmers themselves. Are organic farmers healthier because their reduced chemical exposure? Where is the data? Shouldn’t someone be researching this?
By no means am I proposing that all chemicals are bad. However, we need to be more aggressive when the problems ahead of us are so obvious. Short term gain should never out weigh the long term benefit. Improper pesticide use can very quickly turn a hive from this:
to this:
And if this is what is happening to the bees what are these chemicals doing to us?