organic farming

Lettuce sprouts amid rows of plastic covering the ground at One Straw Farm, an organic operation north of Baltimore. Although conventional farmers also use plastic mulch, organic produce farms like One Straw rely on the material even more because they mus

Environment

Organic Farming Has A Plastic Problem. One Solution Is Controversial

10:08pm June 07, 2019

by Lisa Elaine Held

Many organic farmers rely on plastic as a form of mulch, but it ends up in landfills. Biodegradable plastic could help, but some worry about its long-term effects on soil health and the environment.

Tea pickers stand in the scorching sun, hand-plucking the tea leaves for about eight hours a day.

Tea Farmer In India Leads Charge For Organic, Evades The Charge Of Elephants

5:03am February 06, 2018

by Julie McCarthy

In the biggest tea-producing region of India, hazards range from red spider mites to wild elephants. One brave grower faces them head on, all while spurring a movement to grow tea organically.

A free-range chicken perches on a post at an organic farm in Dawson, Ill.

Trump Administration Moves To Kill Rules For Organic Eggs

5:29pm December 15, 2017

by Dan Charles

It's the latest Obama-era agriculture regulation to go on the chopping block. This one governs the treatment of animals on organic farms. But most organic farmers actually support the rule.

Fluid-fed organic tomatoes grow in a greenhouse owned by Wholesum Harvest in the Mexican state of Sonora, about 30 miles from the U.S. border.

Hydroponic Veggies Are Taking Over Organic, And A Move To Ban Them Fails

2:29pm November 02, 2017

by Dan Charles

Many organic tomatoes or peppers are grown in greenhouses, where they get nutrients from water. Critics say that violates the spirit of "organic." A bid to strip them of the label failed this week.

The organic industry is suing the government, demanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture implement new rules that require organic egg producers to give their chickens more space to roam.

Organic Industry Sues USDA To Push For Animal Welfare Rules

2:20pm September 13, 2017

by Dan Charles

New rules — such as giving chickens more space to roam — were approved by the Obama administration, but put on hold under Trump. Now the organic industry is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Queue Listen Now

A farm worker runs a tine weeder on Jason Hunton's organic wheat crop. It's like a giant comb, scraping up weeds and bits of wheat along with it.

Zapping Noxious Weeds On Organic Farms Is Harder Than You Think

3:57pm July 10, 2017

by Courtney Flatt

There are few inexpensive and low-labor options to control the aggressive field invaders, which sometimes encroach on neighboring farms and potentially cut into their profits.

Tom Willey has farmed for decades in California's Central Valley. His farm, T&D Willey Farms, is in the process of being taken over by Food Commons Fresno. Willey plans to still help, advise and mentor.

National

As California's Organic Farming Pioneers Age, A Younger Generation Steps In

12:38am February 19, 2017

by Ezra David Romero

The pioneers of organic farming are starting to retire. While some are passing on their farms to family to preserve their legacy, others are getting help finding like-minded strangers.

Queue Listen Now

Cage-free chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm near Waukon, Iowa.

National

Organic Chickens Get More Room To Roam

7:20pm January 18, 2017

by Dan Charles

New rules for organic farming will require farmers to give chickens more pasture. Some of the biggest organic egg producers will have to change their practices, or stop calling their eggs organic.

Organic produce for sale at a supermarket in Quincy, Mass.

National

Why Going Organic Just Got Easier For Farmers

5:35pm January 11, 2017

by Dan Charles

Farmers have to follow organic rules for three years before they can sell their food as certified organic. That transition period can mean much lower profits. But a new certification may change that.

By Returning To Farming's Roots, He Found His American Dream

7:00am December 31, 2016

by Dan Charles

David Fisher's farm is a kind of American Dream. Not the conventional one of upward economic mobility. This is the utopian version, the uncompromising pursuit of a difficult agrarian ideal.