County teeming with organic farmers
By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer | ∞
Organic farmer Robert Beck checks a fruit tree on his organic ranch in Fallbrook on Wednesday. His farm is one of 317 registered organic farms in San Diego County, giving the region more than any other county in the country, according to the county`s agriculture department.
Waldo Nilo
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SAN DIEGO ---- The beaches, the military, the San Diego Zoo and - organic farmers?
That's right. You can add organic farming, the once "touchy-feely" but increasingly mainstream side of agriculture, to the list of things the county should be known for, officials said last week.
That's because San Diego County has more registered organic farmers, 317 at last count, than any other county in the United States, producing roughly $29 million in sales, according to the county's annual crop report.
Organic farmers are federally certified to grow and process food generally without using conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or sewage sludge, bioengineering, antibiotics, growth hormones or ionizing radiation.
By contrast, UC Davis' 2005 statistical review of California's organic farming reported that the California county with the next highest number of organic farmers, Sonoma County, had 113 that year.
County Agriculture Commissioner Bob Atkins said his office has known about the county's distinction for some time.
But the idea that San Diego County could be considered the unofficial "home" of the organic farmer surprised even some of the field's practitioners last week.
"Really? Oh, my gosh, I did not know that," said 75-year-old Helene Beck.
Beck and her 80-year-old husband Robert have operated the 33-acre Beck Grove in Fallbrook as an organic farm for 24 years, growing lemon grass to sell to Thai restaurants, bay leaves, Meyer lemons, Asian pears, kumquats, fuyu persimmons, small exotic fruits called the cherimoyas and a host of other fruits and herbs.
Beck said she and her husband owned a 10,000-acre cattle ranch in Montana before, eventually, landing in Fallbrook. She said that they didn't really know much about farming ---- organic or otherwise ---- when they bought their Fallbrook Road property. It had been an avocado grove, but it had suffered a devastating fungus that destroyed all the nutrients in the soil.
Beck said a local health food store had an advertisement in its window about biodynamic composting. Biodynamics, a cornerstone of organic farming, follows the tenets of German social philosopher Rudolph Steiner. He believed that the Earth's soil was alive, and could be healed through composting with organic matter ---- decaying plant and animal matter ---- rather than with chemical fertilizers.
Beck said she and her husband got hooked on such composting.
"It makes a difference in the fruit," Beck said. "It lasts longer on the shelf, and the fruit has great taste. It's juicy ---- so juicy."
Not everyone agrees that organic farming produces better food or is easier on the environment.
Agronomist and Nobel Peace Price winner Norman Borlaug, who has advocated using chemical fertilizers to increase crop production, has said the idea that organic farming is kinder and gentler to the earth is "ridiculous."
He has said that organic farming couldn't feed more than half the world's population. Critics also have said that if all farming were organic, people would have to increase crop land area dramatically, spread out into poor growing areas and cut down millions of acres of forest.
But organic farmers say they are better stewards of the land and that their products are healthier. The public seems to be responding to those claims. Numerous groups have reported that sales of organic foods have increased in double-digit percentages per year over the last decade.
"I'm proud to be organic," said Ellen Sullivan, owner of The Lavender Fields in Valley Center. "I wouldn't do it any other way. I don't know anything about pesticides or herbicides. I don't feel that's a good thing to do. If it were the only way to grow lavender, I wouldn't do it."
Sullivan, 57, said she and her husband, Paul Bernhardy, bought their 8.5-acre property in 1998 and started out by planting 10 lavender plants. Today, she said, the farm has six acres in cultivation, growing 30 varieties of English and French lavenders and six other herbs. The couple produces baskets and wreaths. They also extract oil from the lavender and herbs to make bath teas, bath salts and other products.
Sullivan and Beck said organic farming can be a lot of work.
"Most of the work is in weeding," Sullivan said of her own farming, which uses hand-weeding instead of chemical weed killers. "That is rough work. And Mother Nature just keeps going. She doesn't care if there's drought or rain, there's always something to take care of."
Beck, meanwhile, said that adhering to organic standards can be tough. Although organic farmers are certified to national standards, individual farmers can follow stricter guidelines than others ---- sort of like the shades of vegetarianism.
Beck said she and her husband recently wanted to use a predator insect as a pesticide ---- to eat the pests at their farm, rather than spray them with a chemical killer. But Beck said that they follow the tenets of a particular certifier, the Demeter Association. To comply with Demeter's status, Beck said, they had to get proof that the insects they bought had not been raised on "impure" feed, bio-engineered corn cobs.
"The insects themselves had to be pure," Beck said. "We couldn't just take the word of the producer, he had to give you a certified piece of paper."
Atkins, meanwhile, said the county was proud that it was home to so many organic growers.
"Organic farmers and people who eat organic food believe that it's doing a favor for the planet," he said. "And their health, and the health of their families."
Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.
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Organic wrote on Aug 12, 2007 10:19 PM:Does anyone know which area has the most organic farms? Valley Center or Fallbrook or ? Curious to know if anyone out there knows. Thanks!!
Not just for hippies anymore wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:28 AM:I have raised my son on organic whole foods, and raw milk. He is now 4 1/2 years old and has NEVER been sick, ever. I watch other children on processed food diets have fevers, colds, and even seizures. It also helps that we breast fed him for one year.
LOL @ oganic wrote on Aug 13, 2007 6:55 AM:What a gimmick just like bottled water. It's just an excuse to over charge for smaller quantities. I've known growers who say their produce is organic but still use small quantities of pesticides.
don't know wrote on Aug 13, 2007 7:01 AM:about where has the most . I'm glad this is taking off! You are what you eat :) I work in a local health food store and you can sure tell who eats what ! So many people are trying to eat better now once they get the health problems & weight gain. Diet is the biggest factor..junk food is not worth it!!
Good News wrote on Aug 13, 2007 7:06 AM:We need more organic farms and less junk-food restaurants, this is a start. We are a nation of stagnant, obese and unhealthy people, let’s begin to change that!!!!
Molly wrote on Aug 13, 2007 8:09 AM:To LOL - read Barbara Kingsolver's new book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" about food grown locally and the cost of imported food. Organic is not a gimmick. Sure, some people lie. It's just better to know where your food comes from. If you want other examples, look at all the beef recalls, and they are always feedlot cattle generally from large corporations.
What? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:57 AM:I am going to toss something out there and see what readers think. People who eat organic foods are paying more attention to what they eat not just where it comes from. Thus they eat more fruits and veggies and fewer big macs, fries and diet cokes. So maybe their better health (which is based mostly on anectdotal evedence) isn't so much about organic foods as it is about a generally healthier life style. I mean how many cigarette smokers give a hoot about organic foods? Another thought, the US is 41st in life expectancy in the world. Where do we rate as a nation in organic food consumption?
John E wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:01 PM:Some of us understand precisely why the U.S. ranks only 41st in life expectancy; the problem is NOT the health care system, but gluttony, sloth, and food impurities. Wholesome organic food is a vital part of the solution.
Concerned-1 wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:32 PM:There are a lot of good things to be said about the organic movement. Most importantly is that it is usually grown locally and locally grown food is better. As far as making sure the bugs were pure before allowing them in to eat pests? Bunk. As with all things, people tend to go overboard. Even Not Just Hippies is overboard. What's going to happen when your boy does eat regular food? Be ready for a surprise.
Veggie wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:33 PM:I'd rather eat organic. It may cost a bit more but well worth it. In fact, if those on limit budgets would eat more fruits and vegetables, their money would go further. I see those with food stamp money buying expensive cereals, meats etc. but no fruits or veggies.
To Veggie wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:53 PM:I'm okay with organics, but there is nothing wrong with meat...that's why I belong to a group called P.E.T.A. (People Eating Tasty Animals), who believe "If God didn't want you eating animals, He wouldn't have made them out of meat."
Period wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:21 PM:It is clear that eating a largely organic diet is part of the solution. But at what cost? Well, I will tell you, people tell me that they can’t afford organic food, yet they drive an SUV and spend $125 a week on gas. It is all about priorities, period. On a side note, organic food is very tasty. I made fried chicken with organic chicken and all other organic ingredients, and it was tasty. Free will is a wonderful thing, or is it a curse for some??
LOL @ oganic wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:29 PM:to period I had Some Kentucky FRIED Chicken the other day and it was just as tasty! So what’s your point? Just stuff em, break their neck and fry em. mmmmm delicious!
TO" LOL @ organic wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:46 PM:We mock what we don’t understand.
What? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 2:56 PM:I still get a laugh out of the spoof P.E.T.A. I agree with treating animals ethically but lets be reasonable about it. The example I like to use is put a loved one of a P.E.T.A. fanatic in a gas chamber and a chimp in another. On these chambers would be a 5 minute timer that will gas both rooms. Rigged to these two rooms would be two buttons. Thses buttons would gas one room and stop the timer. Which button would the P.E.T.A. member push? Like Concerned-1 wrote humans tend to go over board on things. Freewill is always a good thing. Ultimate freedom carries with it ultimate responsibility.
Waste water question? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 3:18 PM:If more farms went organic, would it decrease our problem of contaminated wastewater flowing into the watersheds? Thus, reducing the costs to implement the new State mandates on cleaning up wastewater. So, instead of trying to clean up the water afterwards, we should encourage more farmers to go organic thus solving two problems at once. Saving our farms in the process.
To: NOT JUST FOR HIPPIES wrote on Aug 13, 2007 7:24 PM:What a great mother you are! What a lucky child! I'm a local doctor and I work with many children that are very, very sick. When they eliminate the poisoned, non-organic foods, they get well! God knows best what is intended to grow healthy bodies. These organic farmers are doing God's work, saving many from suffering due to ignorance of eating anything that "taste's" good. You can sugar-coat cardboard, and some people will feed it to their children. They are clueless. Unfortunatley there are too few educated, smart mothers like you. Lucky, lucky, child to have you for a healthy start in life. "Concerned-1" comment to you proves the typical, wide-spread, mass- ignorance by asking what will happen when your child eats "REGULAR FOOD". Organic food IS regular food, the junk she may consider as food is not regular food, its not even real food. Sad, but true. But what will happen if your child eats the junk wanna-be food she must be infering to? His healthy immune system will toss it out of his body through bowels, lungs, skin, and mouth. That's a healthy response to poisoned food-like substances. Junk food raised children will have a depressed immune system, unable to rid itself of toxic invaders through such means. They instead develop chronic, degenerative diseases as their body tries daily to build healthy new cells, but can't, because you are what you eat. Junk food equals junk bodies. The mind, behavior, and physical well being suffers. Is that anyway to raise a child? You are a great mother, keep it up. Our future depends upon you and other's like you. God bless!
What? wrote on Aug 13, 2007 10:13 PM:I suspect that fertilizer is fertilizer in regards to poloution in the water run off. Nitrogen from a chemical fertilizer is the same as nitrogen from an ogranic source, like cow poo. Both will cause an alge bloom. I also think that modern farmers both organic and standard type use a minimum amount of fertilizer to save money. The big source is the all the Harvey homeowners over fertilizing their little patches of lawn. Leaky cars and parking lot car detailers are two more sources of run off poloution.
Len wrote on Aug 15, 2007 10:00 PM:It is your choice.
Ezerbio wrote on Aug 30, 2007 9:08 PM:Eating organic is just ONE crtitical part of a healthy lifestyle. Exercising regulalry, eating more raw fruits and vegetables, drastically limiting the intake of animal products and reducing stress are the others. This country is in deep tourble as an entire generation that has been raised on highly toxic, procesed, animal intensive food ages. Just look at the facts. Declining life expectancy, largest spent per person on health yet some of the highest rates of cancer, diabetes and heart stroke.
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