What Is Organic Farming?

Organic farming isn’t always the easiest or fastest way to produce food. It entails a whole-systems approach to growing food with many methods and practices that keep food natural and make farms sustainable.

Organic Valley farmers don’t mind the hard work. We see organic farming as good for animals, consumers and the land. This practice helps us grow healthy food sustainably. Organic farming leaves out the bad stuff, which makes more room for the good stuff!

We leave out the growth hormones because we believe cows, like kids, should grow at their own pace. And we rely on natural, holistic measures to keep our animals healthy. We keep genetically engineered crops off our organic land because they may increase “super weeds.” This, in turn, could increase pesticide use and toxicity, which could harm the food system.

Organic Valley’s commitment to organic farming runs deep. We helped write the National Organic Standards because we wanted the word “organic” to maintain its integrity. As proud organic farming pioneers, we treasure social, economic and environmental sustainability. We’re always looking for new ways to improve our time-honored methods that value the land and all the creatures that live upon it.

What Is Organic Farming in Simple Words?

A core value of the organic movement is working in harmony with nature.

Simply put, organic farming is a production system that uses natural processes and materials to contribute to soil, crop and livestock nutrition, pest and weed management, and biological diversity conservation.

An organic agricultural approach uses natural inputs, like compost, to produce food. It also strongly limits synthetic inputs. By using natural inputs and processes, organic farmers promote ecological health and biodiversity while ensuring sustainable food production. Common organic certification requirements prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, sewage sludge, ionizing radiation (aka irradiation) and genetic engineering.

If a producer is caught cheating in organic, it may mean losing their organic certification and can result in significant civil and criminal penalties.

Organic farming has existed for thousands of years. However, modern organic farming started partly because of synthetic farming methods that can harm soil and human health. Organic Valley sprouted because seven Wisconsin farmers who formed the co-op more than 35 years ago wanted to work with nature to grow nutritious food.

What Is an Example of Organic Farming Practices?

Organic farming relies on natural processes to maintain and create healthy soil. Like sun, rain and air, soil is essential to farming (and life in general!). Organic farmers do not use antibiotics, synthetic hormones, toxic pesticides or GMO anything. We insist on keeping your food natural. It starts and ends with healthy soil. Just as a good house requires a strong foundation, a good farm needs healthy soil. It’s good for your food, our farms, our animals and the planet.

Intensive farming practices and other human factors have degraded soil around the world, making healthy soil more important than ever. Organic farming boosts ecosystem health thanks to its emphasis on soil health.

“We do what we can to get a good crop, do everything we can to support the earth and save the soil,” said Kevin Mahalko, an Organic Valley farmer in Wisconsin. “There is no more open land to disintegrate. There’s no new land, and we need to take care of what we have.”

What Are the Advantages of Organic Farming?

Organic farming may improve soil health. This leads to increased water retention and more organic matter in the soil., As a result, organic farming can generate higher yields during extreme weather (such as drought or flood). Organic farming also uses environmentally friendly practices, such as avoiding synthetic inputs. Because of this, organic farming uses less energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases. Synthetic inputs are sometimes imported from afar and made using fossil fuels. As climate change disrupts environmental patterns and conditions around the world, organic farming’s resilience is a key advantage.

Organic farming’s approach can benefit plants, animals and other forms of life living in and near organic farms. Organic farming works with nature to sustain food production and help the environment rather than harm it.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, organic farms let life flourish. They do this by using fewer pesticides and managing land with care. This approach protects sensitive habitats, boosts biodiversity and enhances soil health. Habitat loss and synthetic pesticide use threaten plants and pollinators. Organic farming helps bolster resilience against these threats.

Organic agriculture sites had 34% more biodiversity and 50% more profits than conventional agriculture sites, even though the organic sites had 18% lower crop yields,” according to a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences.

Animals living on organic farms can access lots of indoor and outdoor space. They get to roam free while soaking in the sun’s rays and feeling comfortable no matter the weather. The cows are pasture-raised, which means they spend every possible day of the grazing season grazing. They spend more time outside than 95% of U.S. dairy cows!

Organic Valley’s average dairy farm is home to 70 cows. This is more than four and a half times smaller than the national average!

What Makes a Cow Organic?

Organic cows are never given antibiotics, growth hormones or other prohibited substances. Access to organic pasture is also essential for a cow to be organic.

Organic cows eat organic feed, which is free of GMOs and other synthetic ingredients. They must eat at least 60% forage in their diets and must be at pasture whenever conditions allow (which varies by climate). Shelter from inclement weather must be spacious and well bedded.

Like organic farming overall, organic cow health is managed preventively. Our farmers go out of their way to make cows comfortable and allow them to behave naturally. This way of farming supports animal welfare and curbs stress and disease in animals. Because our farms are small, farmers can keep a close eye on the animals and take action if they see changes in their animals.

Check out some of the unique ways Organic Valley farmers take care of their dairy cows: “Quirky Things We Do to Care For Our Cows.”

What Challenges Do Organic Farmers Face?

It’s no secret farming can be challenging — organic or otherwise. The latest census shows that the number of organic farms was down 4.7%, at 17,321, from the previous Census of Agriculture.

Organic farmers face challenges on their farms, at grocery stores and beyond. Every step in the organic food chain must be certified organic — farms, handlers and processing plants.

Pests and weeds are among the challenges. Managing the pests and weeds can be labor-intensive. Organic farmers sometimes have to walk a pasture for hours to remove harmful weeds by hand because organic standards prohibit the use of toxic synthetic herbicides like glyphosate, 2,4-D or dicamba.

Organically grown food sometimes costs more than conventionally grown food. Conventional food production may benefit from shortcuts used to supercharge production and reduce prices. The inputs needed to grow food organically (such as labor, feed and organic seeds and natural pesticides) can be pricey and are often in short supply.

Organic food reflects the true cost of producing food, from sustainable pay for farmers to the elimination of toxic synthetic pesticides, added hormones, antibiotics and GMOs.

Transitioning a Farm from Traditional to Organic

When conventional farmers shift to organic methods, it takes time for the soil to adjust. It learns to use natural pesticides instead of synthetic ones. It can also take a while for pollinators to reclaim newly restored habitats. It takes a lot of sweat, paperwork and planning to become certified organic.

The USDA requires land to be managed organically for three years prior to certification. Plus, the capital needed to buy such land (or convert land to meet organic production requirements) can be prohibitive. These factors (among others) can hurt short-term yields. So, it may take years for organic farmers to see the benefits of organic farming.

Organic farmers face economic and environmental challenges. However, there are big opportunities ahead. The demand for organic food is increasing, and a climate-resilient food supply is needed. This shift is good for both farmers and the earth!

Organic Valley farms use organic production and pasture practices. Because of this, they produce 24% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the average U.S. dairy farm! Our farmers improve soil health, plant trees and explore other ways to reduce greenhouse gases (like carbon sequestration).

Farming Techniques in Organic Agriculture

Some organic farmers use cover crops to keep the soil healthy. These crops include legumes and cereal grains, which fix nitrogen in the soil. They act as living mulch, reduce fertilizer use and slow soil erosion. They also improve soil structure, fertility and quality. The crops also support insects and pollinators that help the local ecology while deterring weeds and pests that harm it.

When cover crops reach anthesis (the point at which they become reproductive instead of vegetative), organic farmers may use roller crimpers (rolling steel drums with blunt steel blades) to kill cover crops and form a thick mulch that smothers weeds.

Many organic farmers also rotate crops to interrupt pest and weed cycles, build healthy soil (by introducing biomass from different crops’ root structures), impede erosion, boost biodiversity and optimize key nutrients. These benefits bolster organic farmers’ ability to avoid synthetic inputs.

An organic approach to pest management forgoes the use of toxic pesticides. Above all, the best defense against pest pressure is healthy soil. Crop rotation and choosing pest-resistant crop varieties add another layer of defense.

Organic farms have buffer zones between them and nonorganic neighbors to minimize pollen transfer and chemical drift. Crop rotation breaks pest and disease cycles. Together, they help organic farms stay organic.

These practices all combine to benefit soil health, which optimizes plant productivity without requiring off-farm supplements. Healthy soil retains more water, minerals and nutrients. It also has microorganisms that help fend off pests and diseases. Its strong structure inhibits erosion and chemical runoff. Healthy soil is the building block of the global food system. Organic farming techniques contribute to healthier, more resilient soil that supports life above and below ground.

Organic Since the Beginning

It hasn’t always been easy, but Organic Valley farms have kept 540 million pounds of chemicals off the land since its beginning in 1988! Our organic egg, produce, dairy and grain farmers care deeply about animals, people and the planet.

Like a lot of worthwhile things in life, organic farming is complicated. But we believe it’s the best way and the right way to farm. You can be confident that the 1,600 farmers who own Organic Valley work hard to protect where your food comes from while doing right by people, animals and the planet — from the field to your refrigerator.