Idk about your alfalfa/hay situation, but IIRC for corn it is 7 whole years. This is so virtually all of the inorganic pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and all the other “stuff” that isn’t organic works its way out of the soil. We just had a local farmer become organic certified for corn a couple years ago; it was a big deal.
Personally I think in the interim, a farmer could sell his “not quite organic certified” corn crop to a local cattle producer for feed. 😏 Charge more than GMO corn, but not as much as organic. Everybody wins, everybody’s happy. There is a base practical reason for this: at least cows prefer organic & non-GMO corn. It tastes better to them, hell, it’s probably marginally better for them. They happily eat more, which fattens them up, making for a better end product beef.
I have a farmer that raises (mostly!) grass-fed Angus cows; he feeds them out for a little less than a year & sends them to slaughter “when they’re right”. Produces very tender, good beef & I buy 1/4 cow.
…anyway. This is what he said, he’s seen things where GMO & non-GMO corn are poured into different troughs & the cows clearly want the non-GMO. They figure out they’re not the same & the non-GMO is all they want to eat. Much like a cat with different cat foods, etc.
It makes a hell of a lot of sense; the GMO corn plant is made to push heavy yield. Be resistant to pests & all kinds of disease. Bigger kernels. Then on top of the GMO qualities, maybe a little of what’s been sprayed onto the plants gets into the kernel. It’s probably not super tasty when compared to just…regular-ass corn with not as potent chemical sprays.
Before you can use land to raise organic products, you must stop applying inputs like fertilizers and pesticides that are prohibited in organic production and handling.
To complete your transition to organic, your farm or ranch cannot have used any of these substances in the last three years.
Idk about your alfalfa/hay situation, but IIRC for corn it is 7 whole years. This is so virtually all of the inorganic pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and all the other “stuff” that isn’t organic works its way out of the soil. We just had a local farmer become organic certified for corn a couple years ago; it was a big deal.
Personally I think in the interim, a farmer could sell his “not quite organic certified” corn crop to a local cattle producer for feed. 😏 Charge more than GMO corn, but not as much as organic. Everybody wins, everybody’s happy. There is a base practical reason for this: at least cows prefer organic & non-GMO corn. It tastes better to them, hell, it’s probably marginally better for them. They happily eat more, which fattens them up, making for a better end product beef.
Wild! Per opinions of farmers you’ve heard?
I have a farmer that raises (mostly!) grass-fed Angus cows; he feeds them out for a little less than a year & sends them to slaughter “when they’re right”. Produces very tender, good beef & I buy 1/4 cow.
…anyway. This is what he said, he’s seen things where GMO & non-GMO corn are poured into different troughs & the cows clearly want the non-GMO. They figure out they’re not the same & the non-GMO is all they want to eat. Much like a cat with different cat foods, etc.
It makes a hell of a lot of sense; the GMO corn plant is made to push heavy yield. Be resistant to pests & all kinds of disease. Bigger kernels. Then on top of the GMO qualities, maybe a little of what’s been sprayed onto the plants gets into the kernel. It’s probably not super tasty when compared to just…regular-ass corn with not as potent chemical sprays.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/transitioning-to-organic
Doesn’t matter what crop it is. Organic certification is 3 years.
Huh, son of a bitch. Alright, then! Thanks for the info. 👍🏻