What are the challenges of organic farming?

Some of the widespread challenges faced by organic producers in the U.S. The U.S. includes lower yields compared to conventional agriculture, difficulties in maintaining high-quality soil nutrients, obtaining appropriate certifications and accessing the market. The European ROSE project is a collaboration of 4 project partners from a respective number of European countries.

This project wants to promote organic agriculture and help farmers to face the challenges of organic agriculture in order to create sustainable organic businesses. Farmers who practice organic agriculture face the lack of subsidies enjoyed by farmers who use conventional farming methods. In fact, I'm abandoning organic acres because it doesn't work and I'm losing integrity in the organic industry as a whole. Even if the initial costs are higher, soil over time becomes healthier with organic agriculture and it is cheaper and more efficient to keep the soil fertile in the long term.

The process to become an officially certified organic farm is very complex and full of paperwork that most farmers can't read and write, and they can choose to skip these processes and dedicate themselves to agriculture without them. Imports of cereals for organic feed, most of which are used as feed for dairy, poultry and other organic livestock farms. The five main concerns related to organic production included organic fraud and label integrity, industrial agriculture, crop pollution (GMOs, pesticide drift), the imbalance of domestic supply and demand, the lack of qualified labor and the lack of research specific to organic production. Most farmers are illiterate or lack the scientific knowledge needed to carry out organic agriculture and, therefore, do not engage in organic agriculture.

A final challenge of organic agriculture is that production yields are lower compared to conventionally grown food. The genetic drift of genetically modified (GE) crops can interfere and limit domestic organic production. Access to land and capital is especially difficult for new farmers who want to grow organically and for existing farmers looking to become farmers. However, despite the obvious health benefits, organic products are generally more susceptible to decay for several reasons.

Some organic producers are concerned about the possible fraud of imported organic products because they don't know if other countries' certification processes align with USDA oversight.

Organic farmers

are also responsible for conserving biodiversity, managing complex grazing systems and maintaining animal health without the use of antibiotics. The process of obtaining organic certification can be expensive, but it is an essential step for farmers who want to meet the growing demand for certified organic food in the U.S. UU.

Organic weed management, soil health and fertility, and joint management of soil and weeds with less tillage emerged as the main challenges, closely followed by pest and disease control, maintaining yields and managing production costs.