Evaluation of Soil Amendments for Certified Organic Pepper Production

Introduction Based on the interest among organic farmers in Iowa for an unbiased analysis of the many natural soil amendment/fertilizer and compost products on the market for certified organic vegetable and herb crop production, several experiments have been conducted (Delate 1999). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, statistics on organic production in the U.S. lag far behind those complied for conventional agriculture. In the last USDA census in 1995, there were 4,050 organic farmers reporting 1.5 million acres of production (Greene 1999). The Organic Farming Research Foundation (1998) estimates that there were 10,000 U.S. organic farmers in 1998. In Iowa, 120,000 acres of organic production were reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS 1999). This figure reflects only acreage reported by those farmers who returned their survey; thus, more acres are believed to go unreported. This increase in organic acreage represents a doubling from the previous year, and a four-fold increase since 1993. The organic industry has been experiencing a 20% annual growth rate, with U.S. sales listed at $4.5 billion in 1998 (OTA 1998). The organic industry is a consumerdriven market based on consumers' belief that organic products are safer for human consumption and beneficial to the environment (Bourne 1999). Once the transition is complete, comparable yields to conventional systems can be obtained (NRC 1989). Organic price premiums average 57% over conventional prices (Bourne 1999), but premiums can range from 20 to 400%, depending on season and availability. Organic soybeans, for example, currently average a 250% premium price over conventional soybeans.