How Organic Growers Solve Challenges: "Don't Give Up"

Larry Jacobs has some advice for organic growers discouraged by the production challenges they often face each year.

“Don’t give up,” said the co-founder and president of Jacobs Farm del Cabo, a successful farming operation with multiple locations in Northern California and a grower collective in Mexico.

Larry Jacobs, President, Jacobs Farm Del Cabo

“We’ve been doing this 40 years, and sometimes you want to get up and say, 'I quit,'" he said, speaking on a panel at the Organic Grower Summit held November 29–30 in Monterey, California. “I’m sure others have come across insurmountable problems, and inevitably, the solution is find the experts. Often there are resources in the community. Keep pushing for solutions and research." 

“The most important thing is, don’t give up.”

Jacobs was among over 600 growers who attended OGS this year, which featured educational panels, an agtech innovation area, and trade show. Breakout sessions encouraged farmer-to-farmer connections that offered solutions to the common challenges growers face.

Jacobs spoke on a panel at the OGS ed session Understanding Evolving Production Challenges For Organic Growers. He was joined by Darryl Wong, executive director of the UCSC Agroecology Center; Shriya Rangarajan, postdoctoral researcher at the UC Organic Agriculture Institute; and the panel's moderator, Brise Tencer, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation.

Darryl Wong, Executive Director, UCSC Agroecology Center; Larry Jacobs, President, Jacobs Farm Del Cabo; Shriya Rangarajan, Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Organic Agriculture Institute; and Brise Tencer, Executive Director, Organic Farming Research Foundation 

Farmers who grow crops organically often feel like they are climbing a mountain all alone. There are no simple answers in organic systems where limited materials are allowed, while some consulting services have a vested interest in selling their products. 

“Chemicals are great because the insects die but not ideal if it kills off your beneficial populations,” said Jacobs. “And someone is making money on it. Contrast that to a biological solution—nobody sprays anything, but nobody is marketing biological solutions because once established there is nothing to sell.” 

Darryl Wong, Executive Director, UCSC Agroecology Center

UCANR (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources) sees the need for more organic researchers to work on complex problems, said Wong. 

“Organic systems are not input intensive, they are knowledge intensive,” he added. “It’s harder to create a research program around that.”

The UC Organic Agriculture Institute (OAI) recently launched a statewide needs assessment survey to see which issues were most worrisome for California’s organic growers. 

“Findings show stakeholders are not a monolithic group,” said Rangarajan. “Challenges vary by crop type, position in the value chain, organic status (certified or in transition), scale of operation, and region.”

Shriya Rangarajan, Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Organic Agriculture Institute

Among farmers who grow both mixed conventional and organic crops, some of the big challenges mentioned were weed control and insect management. Access to organic seed was also cited as an issue.

“When it comes to organic seed, what I’m hearing from growers is that it’s too expensive, there is not enough quantity or not enough variety,” Rangarajan said. “They’re telling us that maybe they’ll be able to use more organic seed when the market shifts, but the problem is, there is no reason for that market to shift. That’s a significant production problem because at the end of the day people are forced to use seed that was originally developed for conventional production.”

Another challenge is diminishing returns for organic growers due to market saturation from too much competition. Buyer consolidation causes a price drop, and in many cases consumers don’t seem to value organic enough, which leads to lower premiums. 

“The most important thing is, don’t give up.” - Larry Jacobs

The UC OAI needs assessment asked growers where they got their information about organic farming practices—and the number one answer was from other organic farmers. 

“Even so, there is still a lot of inequity in access to knowledge about organic farming,” Rangarajan said. “One way to overcome this is to facilitate more farmer-to-farmer exchanges and other activities that make it easier for growers to connect with the knowledge and resources that are out there.” People also learn by going online, talking to certifiers, buyers, crop consultants, extension experts, and others.

Darryl Wong, Executive Director, UCSC Agroecology Center; Larry Jacobs, President, Jacobs Farm Del Cabo; Shriya Rangarajan, Postdoctoral Researcher, UC Organic Agriculture Institute; and Brise Tencer, Executive Director, Organic Farming Research Foundation 

When other farmers don’t have the answers, growers sometimes take the initiative to find experts, which is something Jacobs said he's done in the case of pest issues.

“Insects have been one of our biggest headaches,” said Jacobs. “Stinkbugs are like little tanks.” 

Working with research entomologists, he located a parasitoid in another part of the world. “Researchers taught us how to grow the parasitoid, and the stinkbugs miraculously disappeared,” Jacobs said. “Not completely, but enough. Years later, when stink bugs came back, we came up with a physical control—blow the critters off the plant with a fan, and it works still today.”

Jacobs was able to control squash bugs on pumpkins with help from an underfunded biocontrol lab at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He collaborated with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology to control fruit flies. “I had no experience dealing with them,” he recalled. “Again, the answer came from this amazing research group in Kenya. These guys have a team of researchers from all over the world, and they identified five species of fruit flies. They helped us develop a plan to kill them. 

"There is still a lot of inequity in access to knowledge about organic farming.” - Shriya Rangarajan

“It’s just another example of finding the right people who can help you with solutions,” Jacobs said.