We don’t use pesticides: Here’s why.

Lately in Iowa, there’s been a lot of conversation around clean water. The discussion is largely about whether lawmakers can fix the problem – and if so, how. The issue is complicated and multi-faceted. However, as farmers, we know that part of the solution is that we need to be careful about what we put into the soil. Part of that problem? Pesticides.

While pesticides may not be the only pollutant in our water, there have been a multitude of studies showing that the chemicals do in fact affect the health of both the ecosystem and the humans who live in the surrounding area. And their influence on the ecosystem makes sense: Because they kill insects, they throw off the natural food chain, which causes an imbalance in everything from the health of the local predators to the abundance of certain plants.

According to Modern Farmer, this problem has seriously influenced the decline of the population of monarch butterflies in Mexico and the U.S. The beautiful insects feed on certain plants that farmers have killed with pesticides for years. In turn, the butterfly population has decreased significantly.

In fact, the butterfly issue is so great that the USDA is dedicating $4 million in funding to improve the butterflies’ habitats on farms.

The lesson here is that pesticides really do make a difference, whether you’re worried about the population of a pretty butterfly species or the cleanliness of the water you drink.

At Heartland, we don’t like to use pesticides, herbicides or other unnatural chemicals on what we grow – we think food is simply better when you know exactly what’s in it, and water is too.