What is the difference between intensive farming and organic farming?

What is the difference between normal farming and organic farming?

• Answer:

  I ran a certified organic farm for almost 10 years. I still farm organically but no longer bother with certification through the USDA. the biggest difference is how the two farms manage soil. organic farms see soil as one of their most important crops. A well managed organic farm literally grows soil via the use of manure, composts, green manure (crops grown specifically to be cut down and incorporated into the soil. Aka cover crops). A good organic farm manager realizes that the soil is teaming with life and that the use of chemical fertilizers kills off most of the life in the soil. the "Micro-herd" it is now known, has a strong symbiotic relationship with plant roots. The various bacteria, fungi, insects, etc that dwell in the soil. the soil life for one, breaks down chemicals in the soil into forms the plant roots can take up so they can get the minerals they need and cannot produce through photosynthesis. Conventional/chemically managed farms see the soil as a substrate that holds plant roots so the plant is upright and also serves as a conduit to get chemical fertilizers to the plant roots. Conventional farm managers do not pay much, if any attention to the soil life seeing it as unimportant to their crops. organic farms, despite what most non farmers believe, do indeed use pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides must be made from plants or bacteria/fungii or soap and be OMRI (http://www.omri.org) approved to be used on certified organic farms. Examples of organic pesticides are Bt (bacillus therangensis), spinosad, rotenone (this is not widely used any longer as it has some serious issues such as a relationship of using it and Parkenson's disease), neem and several others. most organic pesticides are wide spectrum but break down in under 24 hours. A lot organic farms do not use a lot of pesticides opting for a more natural control of using beneficial insects, and other animals to keep the pest bugs in check. Fertilizers can be plant, animal or mineral based. Mineral based fertilizers must be mined and not altered in any chemical fashion. Manures must be composted or aged before using on fields. Another thing on fertility. Conventional farms base fertility on NPK ratios. organic farm managers know that there are in reality over 90 minerals/nutrients that make up healthy soil so they do not use the over simplified NPK ratios to test for soil health, they look for a wide range of chemistry in their soils. For a lot more good information go to http://www.rodalinstitute.org and http://www.organicconsumers.org