Organic Farming on the Rise

Billy Allstot has been farming all his life. For the last ten years, however, his 29-acre farm in Okanagon County has yielded organically grown crops exclusively.

Over the last 20 years, the demand for organic produce has increased dramatically--about 20 to 30 percent per year during the 1990s, according to a July 2002 article in Agrichemical and Environmental News written by David Granatstein.

In Washington state, the Organic Food Products Act of 1985 established guidelines for producers. There were 33 certified organic growers in 1988, but the number rose to 142 in 2002. The most popular organic crops are vegetables, tree fruit and herbs.

Allstot grows mostly vegetables: tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. He said they're more ecomical than the apples he used to raise, which can take six to eight years to yield any produce. Vegetables can be harvested in the first year.

A key to the growth of organic farming is the economic benefits of diversifying markets for growers. Instead of selling to one market, organic growers grow more crops and sell in more markets. Allstot sells wholesale to natural foods stores like Whole Foods, directly to restaurants, and in person at the University District and West Seattle farmers' markets.

"Agriculture is really touch and go," he admitted. But the way he markets his produce allows him to be more profitable.

"Doing your own marketing is the only way to survive," he said. "It's all up to me. It's all up to any farmer."

Another benefit of organic farming is that by not using pesticides, farmers reduce their liability for worker exposure or contamination. Allstot said his organic crops are healthier, more prductive and have fewer problems with insects.

Moving into the mainstream has meant "organic farms are no longer primarily small acreage, labor-intensive operations run by people with a particular philosophical view of agricultural," according to the Granatstein article.

But some farms still are, of course. Allstot's is.

The life-long farmer stated he runs an organic farm because "I just feel better about it."

His reasons are also why he feels attached to Seattle markets: the liberal political climate in the city. In the 1970s, when organic farming was a new concept, he considered himself a hippie and North-Central Washington was "the heart of the hippies."

"My generation spoke out," he said. "Nobody really listened."

Now organic produce is popular with consumers and growers alike.

Somebody started listening.

(for News Lab)