We are now in an era that recycling agriculture, which uses less pesticides and fertilizers and has a low environmental impact, is being reconsidered. In the past, consumers wanted “taste.” Now, “safety and security” is chosen, followed by “health,” and thirdly “taste.” One of the agricultural methods that is attracting attention is organic farming. When it comes to rice, if you plant the rice and spread pesticides, you can harvest it without having to take care of it. Weeding, which used to be hard work, has become unnecessary if you use pesticides. However, rice produced by organic farming, which involves detailed work, has come to fetch a higher price than rice that can be easily grown and harvested.
Husband and wife livestock farmer in the Sanin region runs a fun farming business. Their annual sales are 12.5 million yen, with direct expenses of 4.5 million yen and a net income of 8 million yen. They earn this income through the currently popular duck farming, raising cows and pigs, and selling their meat. Duck farming allows you to grow rice and ducks at the same time in the rice fields. This farming method is classified as organic farming. The couple’s policy is not to use additives, chemical fertilizers, or pesticides. The couple hates chemical fertilizers and pesticides. There are a few people in the world who value safety and security. The farm business is made possible by selling organic rice and meat to this small minority of people.
Duck farming is completed by harvesting organic rice and using ducks for meat. Various ingenuity can be seen in the process of achieving these two goals. When the weeds grow in the rice fields, the ducks will eat them. However, the growth of the weeds is not uniform. When there are few weeds, fewer ducks are put into the rice fields. Conversely, in rice fields where the rice is likely to be overwhelmed by the weeds, they adjust by putting in larger ducks or increasing their numbers. The ducks, which eat weeds and insects, also need to be fed. They do not grow fat on weeds and insects alone. By feeding them well, they become good meat to eat. In mid-August, the ducks are pulled out of the rice fields. After their work in the rice fields is done, duck farming is not complete unless they are eaten by humans.
