What does organic mean to organic farmers?
Eugene Wyatt, Catskill Merino Sheep Farm, Goshen, NY
For 26 years I have been farming sheep. We just had about 300 lambs, so we have about 800 now. I used to be certified organic. I rescinded my certification two years after the USDA took over. I don’t like the word now because it’s branding. What they have done is taken the word and made it like “natural” or “whole,” so I don’t use it. People ask me if my sheep are organic, and I respond by saying, “Even more so, because the federal government is not involved in my sheep. They are more pure than what you think.”
The intention is so important. Whether certified organic or not, it’s a question of how does a farmer farm. I wanted to produce something that was good, do something that was correct, and produce food that I was proud of, food that was pure.