--- title: The Cost of Keeping Food Chemical-Free and Organic description: It's no secret that farming is costly. Organic farming, however, has different types of costs associated with it that is important to understand before making the switch. image: https://info.timelessfood.com/hubfs/Blog%20Post%20Photos%20%5BGeneral%5D/jens-jakob-qo26apUiUhs-unsplash.jpg --- [![](https://info.timelessfood.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Timeless_March2020/images/BANNER_AT_TOP_Short.png?width=953&name=BANNER_AT_TOP_Short.png)](https://www.timelessfood.com/) - [Shop](https://shop.timelessfood.com) - [Lentil Information Sheets](https://www.timelessfood.com/new-lentil-information-sheets/) - [Organic Lentils](https://www.timelessfood.com/product-category/organic-lentils/) - [Organic Black Beluga Lentils®](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-black-beluga-lentils/) - [Organic French Green Lentils](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-french-style-lentils/) - [Organic Green Lentils](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-green-lentils/) - [Organic Harvest Gold Lentils](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-harvest-gold-lentils/) - [Organic Spanish Brown Lentils](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-pardina-lentils/) - [Organic Petite Crimson Lentils](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-petite-crimson-lentils/) - [Looking for Pardina Lentils?](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-pardina-lentils/) - [Organic Heirloom Grains](https://www.timelessfood.com/product-category/organic-heirloom-grains/) - [Organic Farro, Semi-Pearled](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-farro-semi-pearled/) - [Organic Semi-Pearled Purple Prairie Barley®](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-purple-prairie-barley/) - [Organic Chickpeas](https://www.timelessfood.com/product-category/organic-peas-and-chickpeas/) - [Organic Black Butte Chickpeas™](https://www.timelessfood.com/product/organic-black-butte-chickpeas/) - [Recipes](https://www.timelessfood.com/recipes/) - [Distributors](https://www.timelessfood.com/distributors/) - [About Us](https://www.timelessfood.com/our-history/) - [Our History](https://www.timelessfood.com/our-history/) - [Our Farmers](https://www.timelessfood.com/farmers/) - [Our Staff](https://www.timelessfood.com/our-history/our-staff/) - [Contact Us](https://www.timelessfood.com/contact/) - [SQF Level 2 Certificate](https://www.timelessfood.com/sqf-level-2-certificate/) - [Organic Certificate](https://www.timelessfood.com/our-history/organic-certificate/) - [Kosher Certificate](https://www.timelessfood.com/kosher-certificate/) - [Lentil Information Sheets](https://www.timelessfood.com/new-lentil-information-sheets/) - [Purple Prairie Barley® Information Sheet](https://www.timelessfood.com/purple-prairie-barley-information-sheet/) - [Mission Statement](https://www.timelessfood.com/our-history/mission-statement/) - [Carbon Footprint of Common Food Products](https://www.timelessfood.com/carbon-footprint-of-common-food-products/) - [Sustainability Strategy](https://www.timelessfood.com/our-history/sustainability-strategy/) - [Resources](https://www.timelessfood.com/links/) - [Blog](https://info.timelessfood.com/blog) - [Press](https://www.timelessfood.com/press/) - [Contact Us](https://www.timelessfood.com/contact/) - [Jobs](https://www.timelessfood.com/jobs/) ## Insights # The Cost of Keeping Food Chemical-Free and Organic [Lauren Peyton](https://info.timelessfood.com/blog/author/lauren-peyton) Jul 30, 2020 2:22:30 PM Regardless of the crop – fruit, vegetables, grain, or pulses – organic production has cost factors that differ from equivalent non-organic farms. ![jens-jakob-qo26apUiUhs-unsplash](https://info.timelessfood.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Post%20Photos%20%5BGeneral%5D/jens-jakob-qo26apUiUhs-unsplash.jpg?width=500&name=jens-jakob-qo26apUiUhs-unsplash.jpg)Before deciding to go organic it is important to understand all costs and benefits. One cost (for any farmer), is the time it takes to develop a production method that will result in wide enough profit margins to stay in business. Organic farmers have to maintain productive crop growth in a *certifiably* organic way. All organic producers in the United States must [meet USDA Organic Standards](https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-standards) to become certified. Whether their products are fruits and vegetables, dairy and cheese, or lentils, chickpeas, and barley – they must be audited and certified by the USDA.  Documentation of everything – from how much and what you are growing to what and how many inputs you are using in your production – is part of certification and absolutely necessary to be prepared for the USDA’s inspection.  Upon passing inspection, organic farmers then have to pay a fee of a few hundred to several thousand dollars. ***Transitioning from Conventional to Organic*** When a conventional farmer decides it’s time to go organic, certification doesn’t happen overnight. Farmland must be free of prohibited non-organic substances for at least three years if it has been in production.  During this transition period, the producer cannot charge organic premiums on their product. Land that has been set aside in the Conservation Reserve Program can be moved immediately into organic production if synthetic chemicals have not been applied in the last 3 years. Once a farmer has reached the end of the transition period and is ready to plant, management of soil fertility must meet organically certifiable standards. Tillage, organic cultivation practices, crop rotations, and cover crops are [a few methods of managing soil fertility and crop nutrients](https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-standards).  This can be augmented by animal waste; however, the organic producer must then have livestock – or at the very least, livestock manure – available to implement this method.  Alternatively, the farmer can apply natural amendments or *allowed* synthetic fertilizers which the USDA names on their “[National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances](https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-standards)”[\[1\]](https://info.timelessfood.com/blog/the-cost-of-keeping-food-chemical-free-and-organic#_ftn1). To maintain certification, the farmer must plant certified organic seed (unless those are not available on the market) or feed certified organic feed to livestock. ***More Weeds, More Hand Labor*** During the three year transition period, the soil being left untouched by prohibited chemical substances can become overrun by weeds. Instead of using herbicides, the organic farmer uses either a hand-weeding method or livestock[\[2\]](https://info.timelessfood.com/blog/the-cost-of-keeping-food-chemical-free-and-organic#_ftn2). Should the farmer choose to hand-weed, they’re looking at an enormous task that involves a lot of human labor. Livestock is one of the best ways to manage weeds, but only in the context of grazing – they wouldn’t be used in say, a wheat field. You can also resort to burning weeds or tilling. However, tilling has its own consequences to address. Weeds are something that will always need dealt with and some weeds are worse than others, the main thing is to get them under control. ***No Synthetic Additives*** Conventional methods allow for use of chemical pesticides[to kill off things like naturally occurring, malignant fungi in crop soil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BebNsezt6r0), but this is not something organic producers can concede to without losing their certification. Instead, an organic producer must find an approved, organic solution to their pest problem. Let’s say a crop of heirloom tomatoes was afflicted by aphids. The organic farmer would counter the aphids with [the purchase of lady bugs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BebNsezt6r0) which can be bought online and shipped live for ready use.  Though lady bugs are not a colossal expense ([around $20 from a site like *Amazon.com*](https://www.amazon.com/1500-Live-Ladybugs-Guaranteed-Delivery/dp/B00533KOIC)), they’re an additional cost to the organic producers who use them. If there is no alternative the national organic program can approve a synthetic pesticide, but that is rarity and can only be used if it is approved. Altogether, sustaining profitability is a struggle for any farmer, organic or conventional. While conventional farms may be barely more marginal than organic during good years, years that have hardships such as drought can see organic making better margins.  It’s no secret farming is a hard life which sees challenge, innumerable costs, and, at end of season, a lot of time and effort spent on getting products to sell.  Market success does not happen on its own. Before WWI and WWII organic farming was the only method of farming. Agricultural chemicals were developed by manufacturers of war chemicals and it’s worth noting that the certified market as a way of recognizing the organic growing process has only really been established since the 1990s in response to the use of chemicals. The end-consumer can make a difference in reducing these challenges organic producers face, and in doing so reduce the cost of organic products.  If more consumers purchased organic products like heirloom grains, the price of these foods would decrease as they became more commonly bought.  Even at lower prices, with enough consumers purchasing foods produced organically, the cost burdens to organic farmers could be offset by the growth in number of consumers in their market.  All told, converting to organic production methods not only improves the health of our Earth’s soil, but also the health of each and every living thing that lives off of what is grown from that soil. ## Read On ### [Regenerative Agriculture: A New Name for an Ancient Practice Any good relationship involves a certain degree of give and take. Farming is no different. As...](https://info.timelessfood.com/blog/regenerative-agriculture-a-new-name-for-an-ancient-practice) ### [Team Timeless: Jim Barngrover Way back in the last century, Jim Barngrover was one of the founding members of the Timeless Seeds...](https://info.timelessfood.com/blog/team-timeless-jim-barngrover) ### [Looking to the Past to Improve Farming’s Future It’s been said that wisdom comes with age and that history repeats itself. 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