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Organic Farming Putting Down Roots in N.M.

Posted on: Sunday, 29 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By BROOK STOCKBERGER LAS CRUCES SUN-NEWS

LAS CRUCES -- O.D. Maes knows not everyone is open to his message, but the Las Cruces businessman still works to get the word out.

"I like the sound of 'natural'; I like the sound of 'health,' " said Maes, who sells organic farm products. "Let's do things nature's way."

Maes grows lettuce and other crops on his land using organic- farming methods. In the barn, he has a variety of organic products he sells.

He works for BioFlora out of Goodyear, Ariz. With clients in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Mexico, as well as New Mexico, Maes said he has seen the idea of organic farming expand.

"We have joined in with a lot of growers who say, 'We're not producing as good as we did years ago,' " he said. "One of the things we've shown the farming industry is that it wants to be a little more flexible."

According to the Organic Farming Research Foundation, about 2 percent of the U.S. food supply is grown organically.

Sales of organic products have shown an annual increase of at least 20 percent, the fastest-growing sector of agriculture, the organization reports.

Organic farming is done without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

To have their products certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as "organic," growers must keep records of their products demonstrating that they are produced by organic methods and are not contaminated by conventional fields.

Grains, meat, dairy products and eggs, as well as flowers and fibers such as cotton can all be organically produced.

Farmer Dosi Alvarez said he has purchased products from Maes for four years.

"I've been organic for about 13 years now," he said. "My son was born, and I had been exposed to chemicals all my life, and I just decided I didn't want my son exposed to them."

Alvarez grows cotton as well as chile, lettuce and alfalfa. Some of the cotton he grows is brown and green.

"I started out small, with 25 acres, and found out it could be done," Alvarez said. "I've never regretted it."

He said he sells what he grows both domestically and abroad.

Maes said organic cotton, especially colored cotton, has a big market in California and Japan, as well as Europe.

Maes said there are many organic products available to growers.

"There are organic-certified insecticides," he said. "There is one that we use that is potassium mixed with neem oil. It comes from the seed of the neem tree in India. You mix it with water, and you spray it out there. Bugs can't get accustomed to that.

"I got some material called DE -- diatomaceous earth," Maes said. "It's a good insecticide because, if you're to look at it under a microscope, it looks like a shattered piece of glass. It serrates (the insect's) skin when they walk over it."

In addition, there are organic fertilizers as well as organic animal feed.

Nitrogen is one of the most important components of farming but also is the most volatile. There are organic methods to help growers obtain more use from their nitrogen, Maes said.

A liquid-carbon material can be mixed with nitrogen in a 50-50 ratio before being applied in the fields.

North America has nearly 3.7 million acres used for organic farming, and about 59 million acres worldwide are committed to organic growing, according to The World of Organic Agriculture.

The Organic Trade Association reports that organic-food sales almost tripled from 1997 through 2003 to become an industry worth more than $10 billion.

Olivia Madrid said she recently moved to Las Cruces from Houston and discovered the Mountainview Market Co-op, which sells organic products.

"Sometimes you seem to pay more, but I feel better when I can get some organic items," she said. "I don't just buy organic foods, but I think it is a good thing and I want to support the industry. I hope it becomes more popular."

Still, taking the plunge and becoming an organic grower can lead to a lot of trepidation for someone whose livelihood depends on the earth.

"People say, 'Well this is the way my great-grandad did it, and this is the way my grandad and my dad did it, so this is the way I'm going to do it,' " Maes said of farming. "And I say, 'OK, that's fine. But why don't you try this just on one field and see what you think.' If they do, usually they are pleased with the results."

ON THE WEB

* Organic Farming Research Foundation: www.ofrf.org

* USDA Organic Certification: www.ams.usda.gov/nop

* Organic Consumers Association: www.purefood.org

Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican

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