Idk about your alfalfa/hay situation, but IIRC for corn it is 7 whole years. This is so virtually all of the inorganic pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and all the other “stuff” that isn’t organic works its way out of the soil. We just had a local farmer become organic certified for corn a couple years ago; it was a big deal.
Personally I think in the interim, a farmer could sell his “not quite organic certified” corn crop to a local cattle producer for feed. 😏 Charge more than GMO corn, but not as much as organic. Everybody wins, everybody’s happy. There is a base practical reason for this: at least cows prefer organic & non-GMO corn. It tastes better to them, hell, it’s probably marginally better for them. They happily eat more, which fattens them up, making for a better end product beef.
Before you can use land to raise organic products, you must stop applying inputs like fertilizers and pesticides that are prohibited in organic production and handling.
To complete your transition to organic, your farm or ranch cannot have used any of these substances in the last three years.
I have a farmer that raises (mostly!) grass-fed Angus cows; he feeds them out for a little less than a year & sends them to slaughter “when they’re right”. Produces very tender, good beef & I buy 1/4 cow.
…anyway. This is what he said, he’s seen things where GMO & non-GMO corn are poured into different troughs & the cows clearly want the non-GMO. They figure out they’re not the same & the non-GMO is all they want to eat. Much like a cat with different cat foods, etc.
It makes a hell of a lot of sense; the GMO corn plant is made to push heavy yield. Be resistant to pests & all kinds of disease. Bigger kernels. Then on top of the GMO qualities, maybe a little of what’s been sprayed onto the plants gets into the kernel. It’s probably not super tasty when compared to just…regular-ass corn with not as potent chemical sprays.
Palatability is not related to the GMO. It’s genetics type that are used in the production.
Organically produced seed historically has been straight dent corn (older genetics in the public domain). These are softer kernals that are easier for he animals to chew. The don’t need to be ground as fine.
GMO hybrids are mostly dent x flint crosses. These have a harder shell around the outside of the kernals. It needs to be ground up finer for the animals to digest it.
This is changing recently as Bayer and Corteva are licensing out their dent x flint varieties to the organic companies.
It’s a 3 year conversion in the U.S… The easiest way to convert it is to plant alfalfa. Then when it comes out of hay it’s certified organic.
Idk about your alfalfa/hay situation, but IIRC for corn it is 7 whole years. This is so virtually all of the inorganic pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and all the other “stuff” that isn’t organic works its way out of the soil. We just had a local farmer become organic certified for corn a couple years ago; it was a big deal.
Personally I think in the interim, a farmer could sell his “not quite organic certified” corn crop to a local cattle producer for feed. 😏 Charge more than GMO corn, but not as much as organic. Everybody wins, everybody’s happy. There is a base practical reason for this: at least cows prefer organic & non-GMO corn. It tastes better to them, hell, it’s probably marginally better for them. They happily eat more, which fattens them up, making for a better end product beef.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/transitioning-to-organic
Doesn’t matter what crop it is. Organic certification is 3 years.
Huh, son of a bitch. Alright, then! Thanks for the info. 👍🏻
Wild! Per opinions of farmers you’ve heard?
I have a farmer that raises (mostly!) grass-fed Angus cows; he feeds them out for a little less than a year & sends them to slaughter “when they’re right”. Produces very tender, good beef & I buy 1/4 cow.
…anyway. This is what he said, he’s seen things where GMO & non-GMO corn are poured into different troughs & the cows clearly want the non-GMO. They figure out they’re not the same & the non-GMO is all they want to eat. Much like a cat with different cat foods, etc.
It makes a hell of a lot of sense; the GMO corn plant is made to push heavy yield. Be resistant to pests & all kinds of disease. Bigger kernels. Then on top of the GMO qualities, maybe a little of what’s been sprayed onto the plants gets into the kernel. It’s probably not super tasty when compared to just…regular-ass corn with not as potent chemical sprays.
Palatability is not related to the GMO. It’s genetics type that are used in the production.
Organically produced seed historically has been straight dent corn (older genetics in the public domain). These are softer kernals that are easier for he animals to chew. The don’t need to be ground as fine.
GMO hybrids are mostly dent x flint crosses. These have a harder shell around the outside of the kernals. It needs to be ground up finer for the animals to digest it.
This is changing recently as Bayer and Corteva are licensing out their dent x flint varieties to the organic companies.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that. Would be great to see that tested under controlled conditions.