Grower Continued from Page 8
In terms of challenges, “The biggest is- sue is weed control, be it organic rice or any organic crop,” Park said. “Weed control is the No. 1 problem, and the best thing that the university and extension can do is give farmers the cultural tools to keep weeds under control.” In recent years, Park has handed the reins of the farming operations over to his son, Brian. The father calls himself an advisor “on the sidelines,” saying, “he is the owner now. I’m just the older parts runner.” But he said the farm continues in “experimenting nonstop to figure out a way to do what we do even better.” Park Farming Organics produces long-, medium- and short-grain rice varieties. Instead of aerial seeding rice into flooded fields, the Parks drill seed their rice. They grow Calhikari, a premium-quality short-grain rice and other certified variet- ies for Lundberg Family Farms. They also produce rice as part of Shumei Natural Agriculture, a global community of farm- ers who use ecologically friendly and sus- tainable farming practices based on a phi- losophy developed by Japanese naturalist Mokichi Okada in the 1930s. The Shumei-inspired rice, Park said, is “grown with zero inputs, not even com- post.” He added, “The yields are almost as good as conventional rice.” He explained that conventional rice
Scott Park of Park Farming Organics in Meridian grows organic rice in concert with Shumei Natural Agriculture, a global community of farmers who use ecologically friendly and sustainable
farming practices. He says yields “are almost as good as conventional rice.”
growing has a much greater emphasis on water management and chemical applica- tion, “whereas organic water management is mostly geared towards high water— drowning the weed species, especially barnyard grass and watergrass.” Park Farming Organics emphasizes crop rotation over monoculture. “With our crop rotation, we’re growing about 15 different crops. We’re going to rice about every six years,” he said. The farm also grows tomatoes, sun- flowers, squash, cantaloupe, honeydews,
wheat, corn, seed crops and oil-seed crops, flax and safflower. “We use a constant rotation: a cereal, a legume and a vegetable,” Park said. “That leads to problem solving. It helps unbeliev- ably on problems with pests and fertility.” In addition to crop rotation, “We also give a lot of value to cover crops, light till- age, using compost and using lower rates of water, nitrogen and seeds.” The farm’s crops are regenerative organ- ic certified, Park said, noting that some re- tail chains such as Whole Foods Market
require growers to be certified. “That’s why we got certified because there are markets out there that we can tap,” he said. “It’s a marketing tool.” He said he has dedicated himself to farming while protecting the environment. But he is quick to add, “This movement of ecology, equity, climate—all this save-the- Earth is worthless and doesn’t work unless there are profits. I’m a practical farmer.” (Robyn Rominger is a reporter in Winters. She may be contacted at robynrominger.com.)
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10 Ag Alert August 23, 2023
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