A Brief but Interesting History of Organic Farming

In the history of organic farming, it is fair to say that the first farmers were of course organic farmers. Before the introduction of toxic chemicals and before there were new injections to beef up the cattle and increase fat production of pigs, farmers tended to the earth with a steady hand and a knowledgeable heart. Farmers worked the earth and they were a part of it, finding new but natural methods of keeping their stock alive and watching over their vegetation. They learned how to gauge weather patterns year after year in order to produce the best crops possible. They fed their families from their farms, made a life off their farms, and taught their children the beautiful rhythm of nature that they would need to know in order to be part of the action one day.

One the outbreak of World War II took effect; many farmers were presented with a choice. Now there were petroleum goods that would make the farm run faster, smoother, and supposedly easier. Those products led to more products and between the end of the second World War and the beginning of the Vietnam War, the entire face of farming had changed into an unrecognizable industry. Suddenly farmers did not need to know the population of the local wild animals and their roaming patterns nor did they need to worry about bugs infiltrating their crops. It seemed like a good idea, and farmers got on board as fast as their loans were approved.

Some farmers as early as the 1930s didn't see a need to introduce new equipment into the game. They simply viewed it as the bank's way of forcing farms to pay out more and borrow more every year. Whether or not that was part of the intention, they were right. More and more farms began having drastic financial difficulty as they fought to keep up with the technological trends. The banks began to own more farms than farmers did in some rural counties and soon factories were built to replace the farmland.

There have been some farmers who never gave into the ideals that modern chemistry brought. While the livestock flourished and the crops grew taller and more plentiful, the soil began to refuse to hold nutrients and disease and illness began to rise. Some people looked to the air for a cause while others looked into the oceans and rivers. Some farmers looked to themselves and started to change their methods as their land grew barren, nursing the soil back from near inhabitable dust through natural organic methods that started working. In fact, these methods more than brought the soil back. Over time, farmers had richer farmland that could boast larger and more plentiful crops simply through the miracle of natural enhancement. The history of organic farming is farming's only real history.

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Bambi Miller, center, talks about her hens and eggs to Lisa Bertelsen, one of the market managers of the Selah Farmer's Market on Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Miller's farm, Parke Creek Farm, is in Kittitas County and her booth features fresh produce, plants for the garden and eggs.

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Wherever he goes, Richard Ruben stops by the local farmers' market.

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Spend a day touring farms and shopping the farm stands of Vashon Island.