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Obstacles to the transition
According to the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "obstacles to adoption by farmers include high managerial costs and risks of shifting to a new way of farming, limited awareness of organic farming systems, lack of marketing and infrastructure and inability to capture marketing economies."
Still, reports the USDA, many U.S. producers are embracing organic farming in order to lower input costs, conserve nonrenewable resources, capture high- value markets, and boost farm income.
By breaking the process into manageable steps, you will probably find the transition from non-organic to organic management to be both profitable and rewarding. Many farmers who have made this transition have told us that their organic management practices have brought a new sense of fun and satisfaction to their work and to their lives as a whole.
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Farmer-to-Farmer“We strongly believe in looking at the farm as a whole system. On our farm, the three biggest challenges are weeds, insects and fertility, but I love our switch to organics. I've seen better health in our soil because of it, and the farm has a better balance. What stops my neighbors from doing the same thing? I think it's the work, the record keeping and the uncertainty.”
~Ron Rosmann
Harlan, IA
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