Why Organics?

To many, organic production means hype and marketing.  But organic farming goes much deeper - it is a method of increasing soil fertility, tilth, and biomass to feed plants.  Chemical farming means loss of topsoil, erosion, nutrient runoff and pollution.  Old farm soils sometimes are described as "played out" or "used up" when the natural fertility and soil tilth is exhausted.  Organic farming and gardening methods replace the organic component of the soil with composts and natural fertilizers and ensure continued use without detriment to the soil and the environment. 

The pesticides and herbicides that many use without a thought have consequences in our landscape.  Roundup® and other herbicides affect sensitive fish and amphibians downstream of our land, and pesticides can build up in our environment and endanger the delicate balance of life.

Before we purchased our land, it was a former avocado orchard.  Decades of spraying with herbicides did not allow the soil to renew its organic fraction (weeds are the "poor man's cover crop") and as a result, the soil is dense, hard, and compacted.  As a result, almost all of the avocados have died from root rot and other problems, except where the soil is very sandy.  We are working hard at returning some of that organic matter to the soil with mulch, compost, horse manure, and cover cropping.

Livestock Issues

It's scary to think that many of the alfalfa varieties that are being trialed at many institutions are now Roundup Ready® .  Do we really want our animals eating hay that has been sprayed repeatedly with Roundup throughout the growing season?  The doses of herbicides used to grow these Roundup Ready® crops are enormous and I cannot think what will happen if we as livestock breeders do not have a choice in what we feed our animals. 

At Blue Oak Ranch, we will attempt to grow as much of our own forage and pasture as possible to avoid sprayed feeds. Currently, the dairy goats are being fed organic alfalfa pellets!  For their health, they do receive antibiotics as deemed necessary, as they are also show animals and are exposed to disease.

We believe the healthier the input, the healthier the animal - and the healthier the product.