Reed Organic Supply
Organic vs. Conventional
At Reed Organic we believe today's standard growing approach promoted by the USDA, University Extension Offices and most Agriculture Chemical Supply Companies are toxic to beneficial soil life and our ecology. Conventional farming practices using synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemicals – in the amounts typically applied cause mineral imbalances and damage the soil structure and kill the essential microbial life. Most chemical fertilizers applied at rates over 100lb./a. in one application will actually kill the beneficial microbes. These amounts will also create soil conditions which are more beneficial to pathogenic soil organisms – root eating nematodes, soil and leaf molds – as well as signaling microbes which lock-up essential nutrients.
These practices shut-down the natural production of free nitrogen from the atmosphere. Pesticides and especially Herbicides are usually applied according to soil organic matter levels – the higher the organic matter the higher the application rates. These chemicals are not only destructive to microbial life, but also to the organic humus matter that support them and retains water in the soil. Recent evidence suggests only about 2% of the applied nitrogen is actually utilized by the crop in a given growing season. The rest contributes to watery, nutrient-deficient crops, while also contaminating groundwater. As for our health? The overuse of chemicals has created beautiful looking crops which are deficient in the nutrients we need to stay healthy. Eating demineralized foods, create the feeling of being hungry, when in fact, we are NOT hungry. Re-mineralizing ourfood supply will help people feel full and reduce obesity substantially.
When soil biology is destroyed and/or minerals become imbalanced, crops perform less than optimal creating unwanted conditions such as attracting insects and disease and characterized by poor storage. These crops are often contaminated with soil originated aflatoxins resulting in generally poorer worth – both for animal and as human nutritional food value. This is seen in low crop test weights and personal observations such as the Amish farmer who reported, "I get more milk out of 1 bale of my organically grown hay than I do from 3 bales of conventionally grown hay."
Other factors include the contamination of water supplies, damage to soil structure, erosion or compaction, devoid of beneficial soil organisms yet ideal for pathogenic organisms, insect and disease pressures. This destructive cycle gets worse year after year and farmers are scratching their heads in confussion.
Conventional farm practices ignore the workings of soil chemistry, soil biology, and soil physics or more simply, how plants should grow. We consider this approach to be costly, short-term orientated and the fertilizers and rescue chemicals purchased never solve other than the immediate problem(s). We hear daily from conventional growers asking for assistance to change their current practice. Many realize the paradigm is shifting and know IF they are to compete in what is becoming a new agronomic world they need new information. As Albert Einstein once said, You can't solve your problems using the same thinking that created them. What you’ll find on this site is a technology and supporting products to assist you in making changes toward that we call Sustainable, Non-toxic, Bio-Dynamic or Organic agriculture. Researchers are now concluding this type of growing can feed the world without the above soil/environmental deterioration and without the need for Genetically Modified Organisms.