The drought monitor report as of Tuesday, June 20 indicates drought is still in extreme drought. Overall, conditions are unchanged from last week. The six- to 10-day outlook (June 27 to July 1) indicates leaning to a 40 to 50% chance of leaning to above normal temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of leaning to above normal precipitation. The eight to 14-day outlook (June 29 to July 5) indicates a continued 33 to 50% chance of leaning to above normal temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of above normal precipitation. While the extreme drought is still present, continued above normal chances for precipitation should keep summer row crops and forages going as long as the area can avoid long periods of extreme heat. Certainly, much better than the last two summers.
Today, with the calendar about to hit July and not much of a wheat harvest to consider, let’s discuss organic food. This isn’t to say good or bad, right or wrong, but what is “organic” in the market place. Keep in mind, that economists basically say consumers have preferences and want what they want. They won’t purchase what they don’t want, no matter how good the product might be. Finally, before starting, the real definition of organic is simply carbon containing compounds. So basically, all the food produced is “organic.” Here, we are dealing with organic food in the marketplace. What is “organic” food?
• In agriculture, producing organic products certified organic is fairly specific. There are standards meet and maintained as stipulated by the Federal Government. For instance, no GMO crops, types of pest control and production methods, and so on. You keep records and are inspected. You may then market your production as certified organic. This is useful not only within the country, but in certain export situations. One example, though not certified organic, is GMO grain. Some countries or groups such as the EU prohibit the import of certain GMO crops.
• For the consumer, organic is a nebulous label for those truly trying to eat certified organic crops, either at home or in restaurants. Sometimes the label is a bit misleading. A classic example is non-GMO salt. It’s not possible to genetically modify table salt. If, as a consumer, you are trying to strictly eat organic products it’s not as easy as reading a label. Without going into all the details, different products have various wording regarding organic. It may sound odd as you would think something is certified organic or not, but there are “levels” of organic and you are supposed to be able to read the label and tell.
• Finally, some people aren’t trying to eat totally organically but are concerned about antibiotics and hormones in their meat and poultry for example. Understand that to be in the meat/poultry case there are strict rules regarding antibiotics being present in the product. Not that no antibiotics were ever used but the product is antibiotic free. This is used by several restaurants in advertising and is a tad misleading.
Please understand that no matter what you choose to eat, we have the safest food system we have ever had.
Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, or martinv@bartonccc.edu.
