All
farmers have pesky pest pressure on the crops they grow. Be it insect or
disease, there are opportunities for a crop to be compromised or destroyed. To
combat the pressure, there are basically three playbooks to choose from:
Commercial production, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), or Certified Organic.
Three very different philosophies with somewhat similar outcomes, but with very
different impacts on the environment.
“Commercial conventional” farmers are
conditioned by the markets to grow flawless products. Because of commingling
and competition with other farmers for flawless products, sub-par farm goods
are docked by the buyers and sent into lower value outlets to be further
processed with less financial return to the farmer. So farmers who choose this
approach use every available tool to raise a perfect crop. There are thousands
of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and miticides, etc. available to
farmers to use in the right combinations to prevent problems with their crop. The
USDA and Land-Grant University Institutions collaborate with the companies that
make these crop protection inputs on research and development, in the name of
national food security.
Many Colleges of Agriculture around the
country publish the results of how well the various chemicals work in their geographic
area, to help growers decide which ones to use, how to use them, scouting
techniques, how to minimize off-site environmental impacts, worker protections,
and the like. To be very clear, the vast majority of these chemicals are
extremely toxic compounds. Over time,
albeit ever evolving, each region has a typical regimen to follow to eliminate
all the pestilence for the various crops they grow. Herbicides go out first to
get the crop established and as needed thereafter, insects are sprayed at first
detection or preventatively, sometimes in mixtures to cover all the different
types. Fungicides are sprayed at regular intervals, often weekly, or after
every rain in a prophylactic approach. To be fair, these chemicals are
expensive and difficult to apply, so farmers are not out there applying them
indiscriminately. State health departments perform random checks for pesticide
residue as does the marketplace as does the USDA to be sure growers are
complying with pre-harvest application intervals. Commercial growers’ decision making
process is to maximize yield with flawless quality. This is considered an input
based system.
Because of the expense and concern for
human and environmental health, many farmers use an IPM approach. They employ
insect traps that use pheromones to draw the insects in and keep them away from
the crop. Some pheromones are mating disruptors specific to a certain species
causing no harm to other insects. A regular scouting program, combined with the
use of sticky traps that have been strategically placed around to see when
populations of pests reach a potentially damaging economic threshold, is
another technique that may reduce the number of spray controls necessary. Many
of the government based research facilities help growers with a more
fundamental understanding of insect and disease cycles, which in turn gives the
farmer the ability to avoid many costly crop protection chemical applications to
the crop. But they still use highly toxic compounds when warranted to get
maximum yield with good quality. They can take a little less for it, since they
have less cash outlay in it. IPM is considered a reduced input system because
of the techniques employed.
The organic way of thinking is more about
optimum yields with great quality. We know the plant pests are out there and
about when they show up every year. We utilize lots of non-chemical IPM type
techniques, but have no interest in grabbing some highly toxic compound and
nuking the food we consume. Once you spray one of these chemicals, the life
cycles of countless species of insects are so disrupted, another pest may fill a
void with no competition. Thus, the chemical treadmill has begun. Thankfully, the
University of KY and KY State University provide growers with a deeper
understanding of the life cycles of insects and how to attract beneficial
insects that prey on the crop pests. We can purchase insect eggs, or pupae or
adult insects from beneficial insect farmers and release them into our crop
fields. The organic way of thinking is to rotate crops more diligently, select
varieties resistant to bacterial infection, and deploy row covers to repel
pests, to name just a few. Scouting to stay ahead of the pests is an organic
way.
The quality is superior as there is no
risk of residue from a highly toxic chemical. We have studied the pestilence
potential and worked diligently to put together a system that has no need for
toxic chemicals. It’s a lot more
interesting work than just knowing what to spray to kill something, and we don’t
have to don Tyvek chemical suits to apply crop protection chemicals to the food
we grow. We are all about optimizing the capacity of our land to produce crops,
not just maximizing it.
In Your Share
Dragon Tongue Heirloom Beans
Heirloom Corn Meal
Cucumber
Okra
Bell Pepper
Potato
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Yellow Squash
Tomatoes
Garlic
Recipes
Squash Angel Hair Pancake, thanks to a CSA member for sharing one of
her favorites!
3 C shredded squash or zucchini
1 tsp salt
8 oz pkg angel hair pasta, broken into 3 inch pieces
½ C marinara sauce
1/3 C flour
1/3 C sour cream
¼ C grated parmesan cheese
2 T minced shallots
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T butter
Place squash in a colander and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt. Toss
well. Drain for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Press squash between paper
towels until barely moist. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package
directions, omitting salt and fat. Combine
flour with remaining ½ tsp salt, and the next 9 ingredients in a large bowl.
Add squash and pasta to bowl. Toss well.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add
squash mixture to pan, pressing down. Cook for 5 minutes or until bottom is
lightly browned. Carefully flip pancake out onto a plate, then slide back into
skillet so that cooked side is on top.
Cook another 5 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Cut into 8
wedges. Serve with warm marinara.
Mac and Cheese with Slow Roasted
Tomatoes,
recipe by Josh Miller
3
medium yellow squash, peeled, halved and seeded
¼
yellow onion
salt,
divided
¼
C buttermilk
½
tsp smoked paprika, divided
2
C whole wheat penne pasta
¼
C chicken broth
1
T whole grain mustard
1
C shredded Cheddar cheese
3
T plain Greek yoghurt
¼
tsp ground black pepper
¼
C Japanese bread crumbs
4
T grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6
plum tomatoes
Olive
oil
Dried
basil
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a Dutch oven, add water to halfway
full. Bring to a boil over medium-high
heat, add squash, onion and 1 ¾ tsp salt.
Cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to the work bowl of a food
processor, draining excess water. Add
buttermilk and ¼ tsp paprika; pulse until smooth. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, 2 T
Parmesan, and remaining ¼ tsp paprika.
Sprinkle half of bread crumbs mixture in bottoms of 4 each 1C gratin
dishes. Divide pasta mixture evenly
among dishes; sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 T Parmesan. Top with desired amount of Slow-Roasted
Tomatoes, and sprinkle evenly with remaining bread crumbs mixture. Bake until
topping is golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.
Oven Fried Okra
½ C buttermilk
1 garlic clove, grated
½ tsp salt
¼ - t tsp Tabasco
1 lb okra, sliced in half
lengthwise
3/4 C cornmeal
1 T flour
2 T (expeller pressed)
canola or grape seed oil
Combine buttermilk,
garlic, salt, and Tabasco in a large bowl. Add okra and allow to marinate for
15 minutes. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat oven to
450°F. In a large food-safe plastic bag,
combine cornmeal and flour. Drain buttermilk from okra and add okra to the
cornmeal; shake until the okra is fully coated with cornmeal. Carefully remove
the baking sheet from the oven. Add oil and swirl the sheet to coat.
Immediately place the breaded okra on the baking sheet. Return to the oven and
bake for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring carefully once, until golden. Season with
salt if desired and serve. Note: All ovens are different. Keep an eye on the
okra after 10 minutes to prevent overcooking.
