A front page feature in the Saturday, April 4 Wall Street Journal documents what we’ve been seeing for several years: Demand for organic crops has built a price structure that’s virtually independent from standard bulk commodities such as GMO corn and soybeans.
Midwest cash prices for certified organic corn for livestock feed average about $13 a bushel. Our northeast Iowa cash corn price hovers around $3.65. When corn and soybean futures plunged in recent months, cash prices for organic corn and soybeans did not follow that descent.
The WSJ analysis by writer Ilan Brat doesn’t detail why sales of organic food have more than tripled in 10 years, approaching $33 billion. The focus was on how food merchandisers could keep up with demand — including buying land, lending money to farmers and offering encouragement such as training. However, we’ve been watching the surge of independent websites and medical advisors making a case that eating organic is long-term healthier. Not just for nutritional reasons, but to avoid a rising array of toxic residues which lace most foods processed from GMO crops.
Gradually, peer-reviewed scientific studies are building the case for fresh, whole, organic foods as an alternative to junk and GMOs.
The Wall Street Journal offers a way to link to their story which bypasses the subscription lockout. Just click the following link or paste it in your browser: http://on.wsj.com/1BYJcsP
Renewable Farming
