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Not necessarily. There is a demand for products that are more natural, humane, and use sustainable production methods. Sometimes the extra cost is justifiable since production costs can be higher and yields lower or the demand for such products is greater than the supply. There is a demand for organic eggs and I am supplying them... 'nuff said.
As far as the rat poison, I am restricted to using certain inputs. I can't just pick anything off the shelf. I had searched before for rat baits that would be suitable in organic production, but didn't find anything specifically marketed as such until this came on the market. After doing a little research I have found that the USDA has allowed the use of Vitamin D3 based baits for some time now. It wasn't until the recent problems that I had that I decided to search again for something suitable in controlling them in our operation.
As far as the people who scratch their head at "organic" rat poisons. There are a number of natural inputs used in organic production that aren't necessarily harmless. The first thing that comes to mind is elemental sulfur used to spray organic apple crops. Sulfur is a natural, non-synthetic substance, but you still need to suit up and use a respirator to apply it. Other natural inputs, such as arsenic, are restricted for obvious reasons. While the Vitamin D3 bait is a listed synthetic input I can only assume that the USDA has found this to be least hazardous product to effectively do the job.
The rat bait seems to be working well. They are still scarfing it down, and the rats are definitely slowing down after three days of eating it. I expect them to be gone in another couple days. Last night I walked into the barn and found one just standing in the middle of the litter. I walked up to him and shined the flashlight right on him and he just stood there. He met the bottom of my boot. I was shining the flashlight down between the walls of the barn tonight and could see a half dozen of them standing there. They weren't too rambunctious. Just kind of stood there a little bit and then slowly started climbing up the walls.
Not necessarily. There is a demand for products that are more natural, humane, and use sustainable production methods. Sometimes the extra cost is justifiable since production costs can be higher and yields lower or the demand for such products is greater than the supply. There is a demand for organic eggs and I am supplying them... 'nuff said.
As far as the rat poison, I am restricted to using certain inputs. I can't just pick anything off the shelf. I had searched before for rat baits that would be suitable in organic production, but didn't find anything specifically marketed as such until this came on the market. After doing a little research I have found that the USDA has allowed the use of Vitamin D3 based baits for some time now. It wasn't until the recent problems that I had that I decided to search again for something suitable in controlling them in our operation.
As far as the people who scratch their head at "organic" rat poisons. There are a number of natural inputs used in organic production that aren't necessarily harmless. The first thing that comes to mind is elemental sulfur used to spray organic apple crops. Sulfur is a natural, non-synthetic substance, but you still need to suit up and use a respirator to apply it. Other natural inputs, such as arsenic, are restricted for obvious reasons. While the Vitamin D3 bait is a listed synthetic input I can only assume that the USDA has found this to be least hazardous product to effectively do the job.
The rat bait seems to be working well. They are still scarfing it down, and the rats are definitely slowing down after three days of eating it. I expect them to be gone in another couple days. Last night I walked into the barn and found one just standing in the middle of the litter. I walked up to him and shined the flashlight right on him and he just stood there. He met the bottom of my boot. I was shining the flashlight down between the walls of the barn tonight and could see a half dozen of them standing there. They weren't too rambunctious. Just kind of stood there a little bit and then slowly started climbing up the walls.
