Rob Wallbridge
Farmer
Expert Bio
Rob Wallbridge grew up on conventional dairy and cash crop farms in Ontario, Canada. He currently operates Songberry Organic Farm in Bristol, Quebec with his wife and two young children, supplying vegetables to stores and kitchens in the Ottawa area. Rob is a trained organic certification inspector, a graduate of Ontario’s Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program, and a past board member of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario. He volunteers on the Livestock Working Group of the Canadian General Standards Board Organic Technical Committee and consults widely on organic production and certification. Rob guest blogs for RealAgriculture.com and the Genetic Literacy Project in addition to maintaining his own blog, The Fanning Mill.
Studies, Articles and Answers
Showing 3 out of 3 results
Question
Q: How long prior to harvest can you use BT spray on organic crops?
A: Pesticides labels generally specify a "pre-harvest interval" (PHI) which indicates how much time must pass between pesticide application and crop harvest in order to ensure that the crop doesn't have pesticide residues that exceed the safe limits. In the case of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) sprays for organic crops like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and many others, there is no pre-harvest interval (more on that later!). Theoretically, this means that crops could be sprayed with Bt up until harvest. Practically speaking, this is unlikely. Here's why: When Bt bacteria is [...]
GMO Basics Health & SafetyQuestion
Q: How do big commercial organic farms, like Earthbound Farms, control the weeds in their fields?
A: Weed control on organic farms is accomplished using a number of integrated short and long-term strategies. An infographic I recently posted on my own blog illustrates the wide variety of approaches available, but obviously not every strategy will apply to every farm. On large-scale organic vegetable farms, weed control starts with ensuring a healthy soil with fertility levels matched to the particular crop being grown. (Low fertility will often give weeds an advantage over the crop, while excess fertility allows the weeds to flourish alongside the crop.) Fields are usually rotated [...]
A: Weed control on organic farms is accomplished using a number of integrated short and long-term strategies. An infographic I recently posted on my own blog illustrates the wide variety of approaches available, but obviously not every strategy will apply to every farm. On large-scale organic vegetable farms, weed control starts with ensuring a healthy soil with fertility levels matched to the particular crop being grown. (Low fertility will often give weeds an advantage over the crop, while excess fertility allows the weeds to flourish alongside the crop.) Fields are usually rotated [...]
Business Practices GMOs & FarmersQuestion
Q: How do big commercial organic farms, like Earthbound Farms, control the weeds in their fields?
A: Weed control on organic farms is accomplished using a number of integrated short and long-term strategies. An infographic I recently posted on my own blog illustrates the wide variety of approaches available, but obviously not every strategy will apply to every farm. On large-scale organic vegetable farms, weed control starts with ensuring a healthy soil with fertility levels matched to the particular crop being grown. (Low fertility will often give weeds an advantage over the crop, while excess fertility allows the weeds to flourish alongside the crop.) Fields are usually rotated [...]
A: Weed control on organic farms is accomplished using a number of integrated short and long-term strategies. An infographic I recently posted on my own blog illustrates the wide variety of approaches available, but obviously not every strategy will apply to every farm. On large-scale organic vegetable farms, weed control starts with ensuring a healthy soil with fertility levels matched to the particular crop being grown. (Low fertility will often give weeds an advantage over the crop, while excess fertility allows the weeds to flourish alongside the crop.) Fields are usually rotated [...]
Business Practices GMOs & Farmers