What about those Organic Pesticides?

At an organic conference I attended last fall, I heard a farmer from the Central Valley of California, new to organic farming, bemoan the lack of organic-approved pesticides for production. "You just see aphids wipe out the crop," he said.

"I call that first generation organics," one industry veteran sitting next to me said. "They are just looking for replacements to the chemicals they use. They don't understand that what they really have to do is learn an entirely different method of farming."

A few "natural" pesticides are allowed under organic regulations, such as Rotenone, Pyrethrins (pdf) and Neem oil, and while they break down quickly when exposed to air or light they have various levels of toxicity. (Rotenone is the most controversial). The advocacy group, Beyond Pesticides, notes: "It is important to remember that just because a pesticide is derived from a plant does not mean that it is safe for humans and other mammals or that it cannot kill a wide variety of other life." (This was updated to note that Rotenone is no longer registered with the EPA, as a certifier pointed out in the comments section below).

A farmer or a gardener reaching for these insecticides to replace the chemicals he formerly used isn't truly following the organic method. If organic methods are truly followed -- composting, crop rotation, relying on specific cultivars and the nurturing of beneficial habitat for friendly bugs (that eat the bad guys) -- natural pesticides only become necessary as a last resort.

On this score, a horticulture professor, Jeff Gillman, has just written a book looking at the issue, and, according to the WaPo's gardening columnist Adrian Higgins, appears to have arrived at a reasoned approach: organic methods at heart are about feeding the soil and farming in such a way that reduces the need for pesticides. Higgins writes:

Gillman's fundamental argument -- to which I subscribe wholeheartedly -- is that if you are simply replacing synthetic products with organic ones, you are missing the point. The aim is to reduce the need for fertilizers and, especially, pesticides. How do you do that?

You build the soil with correct amounts of compost and mulch, choose plants that do well and place them in their optimum locations. "These are the true parts of organic gardening," says Gillman, a professor of horticultural science at the University of Minnesota.

But do organic farmers really follow these methods and avoid even those pesticides allowed in their arsenal?

The only work I've seen on this issue was in an annual farmer survey by the Organic Farming Research Foundation in 1998. It found that 52 percent of all organic farmers never used botanical insecticides and only 9 percent used them regularly. Other more benign methods such as insecticidal soap and Bt (a bacteria toxic to insects but not to humans) were cited slightly more frequently.

But what method did organic farmers most rely upon?  Crop rotation, cited by 74 percent. The reason rotation works is that it breaks up the habitat favored by a pest, never giving the pest a chance to breed in an ever-plentiful food supply.

Following Gillman's definition, it would appear that most organic farmers are, indeed, organic, though I would encourage OFRF to do a follow-up survey on organic pest and disease-reduction methods.

Image source: Biconet

- Samuel Fromartz

Comments

[Ed Bruske]

Sam, in my travels talking to people about integrated pest management I find this to be pretty common, people thinking there is or should be an equal and equivalent pesticide in the organic realm for every pesticide out of the undustrial laboratory. Folks have a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea that they need to change the way they approach growing things, not just switch categories.

[Organic George]

Sam,

I have often talked about the three phases of organic farming. Remembering that most organic farmer were once conventional farmers it become a matter of unlearning what you know about farming to become organic

Phase 1 What Can't I Use

When a farmer starts their journey the first question is what chemical tools are off limits. The easy answer is the vast majority of them. Chemical farmers are taught that they have a arsenal of chemical they can use when ever a problem show up and that is how chemical farmers think.

Phase 2 What Can I Use

Following the chemical mindset the next thing the new organic farmer does is look for the organic tools they can use. Thereby substituting products approved for use in organics for the chemical tools they left behind. I sometimes call this phase chemical organics since the mindset has not changed.

Phase 3 Understanding Living Soil

This is where the transformation occurs and the farmer looks at growing crops as a holistic approach. They understand their soil type and make changes to correct flaws.
The farmer looks at what crops they are going to grow not just for the next rotation but how the rotation for the next several years will effect their weed control and insect problems. They now anticipate what problems they might encounter and plant border crops to attract beneficial insects to attack bad bugs that are attracted to the crops they will plant. The farmer is now in harmony with the soil.

Now don't get me wrong all the good intentions in the world will not prevent nature from throwing you a curve ball and it better to have natural pesticides to kill pest than to lose the crop. To be sustainable you have to make a profit. But the organically approved pesticides become a tool of last resort.

All organic farmers go through this process. Some of best organic farmers I know started out a chemical organic guys who got into organics just for the money, but over the years learned how to truly farm organically.

[Organic George]

Sam,

I have often talked about the three phases of organic farming. Remembering that most organic farmer were once conventional farmers it become a matter of unlearning what you know about farming to become organic

Phase 1 What Can't I Use

When a farmer starts their journey the first question is what chemical tools are off limits. The easy answer is the vast majority of them. Chemical farmers are taught that they have a arsenal of chemical they can use when ever a problem show up and that is how chemical farmers think.

Phase 2 What Can I Use

Following the chemical mindset the next thing the new organic farmer does is look for the organic tools they can use. Thereby substituting products approved for use in organics for the chemical tools they left behind. I sometimes call this phase chemical organics since the mindset has not changed.

Phase 3 Understanding Living Soil

This is where the transformation occurs and the farmer looks at growing crops as a holistic approach. They understand their soil type and make changes to correct flaws.
The farmer looks at what crops they are going to grow not just for the next rotation but how the rotation for the next several years will effect their weed control and insect problems. They now anticipate what problems they might encounter and plant border crops to attract beneficial insects to attack bad bugs that are attracted to the crops they will plant. The farmer is now in harmony with the soil.

Now don't get me wrong all the good intentions in the world will not prevent nature from throwing you a curve ball and it better to have natural pesticides to kill pest than to lose the crop. To be sustainable you have to make a profit. But the organically approved pesticides become a tool of last resort.

All organic farmers go through this process. Some of best organic farmers I know started out a chemical organic guys who got into organics just for the money, but over the years learned how to truly farm organically.

[Emily Brown Rosen]

Sam,
The EPA cancelled the registration for Rotenone in March 2007 for all residential, livestock, and other uses. The only legal use now is as a "piscicide" - to kill fish. There were a lot of questions about it's toxicity, and the registrants (manufacturers) voluntarily requested cancellation of all the non-fish uses.

For another source of info on organic pest control, see a publication I collaborated on at:
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/resourceguide/index.php

We tried to integrate information about prevention and cultural practices, along with efficacy of approved materials.
regards,
Emily

[Sam Fromartz]

Emily,
Thanks for the update. I hadn't known about Rotenone being voluntarily withdrawn. However, not sure about its status since the link to Biconet (an IPM supplier) lists products with Rotenone in them. I haven't called though to see whether they are still available.

[miguel at OMRI]

I called EPA today about rotenone (before I read your post)! They confirmed what Emily reported. I can add that they mentioned that the end-use products may still be legally in the stream of commerce, but there is no new active ingredients being made. So, its just a matter of time before the supply is used up.

[Sam Fromartz]

Miguel, thank you for sorting this out. For those who don't know, the Organic Materials Review Institute is an invaluable organization that examines materials and determines whether they meet organic regulations and can be used, at http://www.omri.org. It provides an invaluable service to farmers.

[Michael Foley]

An important qualification to all of this is that the demand for organic pesticides varies a great deal depending on 1) where you farm and 2) how much time you've had to feed the soil. I started farming in Maryland, where bugs, fungal diseases, and rampant weed and grass growth can be overwhelming problems. Though we had freezing winters, this was an area that has been farmed for 400 years and was a gateway for European bugs. People in the area claim you can't grow organic apples, for instance, and (though some few succeed) the reason is a whole host of pests, some of which have been imported, some of which have evolved to feast on our apples.

My daughter came to help fresh from organic growing in California and was overwhelmed. Now I've joined her in California and it's clear why: we just don't have the pest pressures that Eastern farmers face every season.

But my third season in Maryland, I made special efforts to build the soils, choose crops that the bugs were unfamiliar with, and use cultural devices like row covers to keep the bugs out. Not all of it worked, but the improved soil quality reduced my bug and disease problems considerably.

There's a reason why there's an Organic Materials Review Board and National Organic Program-approved organic pesticides. Every farmer faces the need for help sometime, and some face it year in, year out.

[Sam Fromartz]

Michael, those are very good points. Thanks for your comments. I know of very few organic apple farmers in the East, because of disease and pest issues and the expense of using materials to grow organically. (I know that the Rodale Institute however is researching this issue). Stone fruit's another. Can anyone name an organic peach farmer East of the Mississippi? I am sure there are some, but I haven't heard of any.

That said, there was a time on the West Coast too, when naysayers claimed it was impossible to grow peaches organically. Now look at the market.... Methods evolve, farmers get smarter.

[Lynn from Organicmania.com]

I'm so excited to read this post and the follow-up comments. It is difficult to sort out information about organic pesticides, and this is the best discussion I've seen on the topic. Thanks so much.

I belong to a Bethesda, Maryland CSA that supplies us with biodynamic apples grown in Maryland. Biodynamic farmers don't even use organic pesticides...The end result is these apples are not "pretty." They're not in keeping with consumers ideas of a perfect apple. They sure taste delicious, but would they sell at a grocery store? Doubtful.

[Sam Fromartz]

Lynn, thanks for your comments. Emily Brown Rosen in the comments above linked to a site at Cornell that has info. on organic approved pesticides. The other comprehensive site is at http://www.omri.org - the organic materials review institute.