Organic rice losing luster

Organic rice production may just not be sustainable for some Mid-Valley farmers this year, they say.

Some growers are abandoning years of production to pursue more reliable yields and higher conventional rice pricing. But other longtime organic farmers are planning to see their commitments through, with the belief the current market is only temporary.

"I certainly have heard that farmers who were producing organic as part of their crop mix have been re-evaluating," said Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the California Rice Commission. "And some have shifted from organic back to conventional."

For most farmers, it's an economic decision based on the return per acre they can expect for organic versus conventional. As conventional prices inch closer to organic, traditional rice may be more attractive to growers.

"Organic does not pay, so we won't be doing it again," said Maxwell rice farmer Joe Carrancho.

Nonconventional rice may bring slightly higher prices, but the grain typically does not produce as well as its traditional counterpart, Carrancho said. This year, his organic varieties produced in the low 80s of hundredweight sacks per acre, compared to more than 100 hundredweight sacks per acre of conventional rice.

"You can't protect yourself from the weeds or the pests," he said. "You are at nature's mercy and there is only so much you can do."

Carrancho has farmed organically on about 10 percent of his 1,200 to 1,400 acres of rice fields off and on for 30 years. But this year he'll be planting none.

"Organic is wonderful for the person who can afford it," Carrancho said. "It may be better for you to eat — I am not going to argue that — but you can't feed the masses on organic."

Some farmers are better suited for organic, based on acreage, water flow and how their neighbors farm, Carrancho said. For now, the practice does not work for him.

Rice grower Ed Sills is sticking with the method he's practiced since 1985. The south Sutter County farmer has been growing 3,000 acres of organic rice, beans and popcorn because he believes in the approach and has a buyer he can count on, even if conventional pricing is competitive, he said.

"With all organic commodities, there is going to be ups and downs, but I think the long-term trend is going to be up," he said. "If conventional does not hold and organic rice is still growing as a market, I think growers will come back."

Overall, organic rice will likely continue to comprise 5 percent of California acreage and increase nominally over the years, Johnson said.

Sills first got into organics because he wanted to try something other than chemicals. And until recently, the price differential with conventional rice has proved a valuable investment.

"Rice is the only conventional crop whose price has increased this much," he said.

But he still won't trade his rice for conventional or eliminate the grain from his farms, where it is a vital part of his organic crop rotations. He is also holding on because he doubts the high conventional prices will hold.

"It would be unprecedented," he said. "I'd be pretty worried if anybody was considering these prices to stay at this level for more than one or two years."

But Sills knows not all longtime organic farmers are continuing their practices. Some who have not had good yields have dropped their crops and others are giving up some organic acreage in lieu of conventional.

"I think they just needed to take advantage of those prices," he said.

Since it takes three years to achieve organic certification, pulling out is not a short-term decision, said Bryce Lundberg, vice president of agriculture for Lundberg Family Farms, which farms 8,000 to 12,000 acres of organic rice, depending on the year and crop rotation.

"But it's a way of farming that meets the needs and desires of a segment of our consumer base that is looking for food that has been grown in a way that is more to their liking and has a respect for the earth," he said.

Organic acreage has been growing steadily for the last 20 to 30 years, Lundberg said. It is no longer totally cost-prohibitive to consumers and even is embraced at stores such as Walmart.

Most organic rice produced in the United States is consumed domestically, and the domestic market has been pretty consistent, which is a good thing, he said.

But right now organic rice is snaring prices only 10 to 20 percent above conventional rice, Lundberg said. When the market is down, it can attract prices that are 50 to 60 percent higher than conventional.

Some growers get into organic because they believe in the farming style, he said. Others are interested in the challenge, opportunity to diversify or price.

But successful organic production relies on all three sectors of sustainability — environmental, social and economical, Lundberg said.

"If an organic farmer can't make any money, sustainability is out the window as far as their operation goes," he said. "They will lose their farm."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat .com