Summary: Paying Farmers to Go Organic, Even Before the Crops Come In

​“Paying Farmers to Go Organic, Even Before the Crops Come In”
Stephanie Strom, New York Times
 
CFFP and Ecotrust’s market research focused on ways investors can interface with the food value chain in order to build a more sustainable regional food system. While the research is completed, a continued awareness of other efforts in our food system will give CFFP an even sharper focus of where to most effectively intervene. Industrial food companies may facilitate the conversion to organic in many states, but infrastructural challenges of aggregation, processing, and distribution still remain for mid-size farmers in our region. This provides further evidence that infrastructural support may be a great niche for investment.
 
In order to be certified organic in the United States, farmers must undergo an expensive process to convert their land. During the required three-year transition period to organic, farmers forgo synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and GMO seeds that may reduce production costs while receiving no organic premiums for their products. In order to keep up with consumer demand for organic and non-GMO products, food hegemons including Kellogg and General Mills have been helping farmers convert to organic. They provide financial support during the rough transition period and provide a guaranteed market for crops once they are finished.