The environmental argument is huge, though. And there must be some monetary value in being able to sell your product as X% more environmentally friendly?
The private farmer is operating on thin margins. They are ecologists to be sure; their soil is their life.
But no, not just to get some enviro-theatre stamp, they'll pay $0 for that.
And there's a lot of FUD about ag chemicals. Check rivers - the chemical problems are downstream from cities, where an urban dweller can dump as much whatever on their lawn as they like (and they do). While ag is restricted and regulated.
No, the farmer is obviously not going to do this "just because". But if there's a market for organic produce sold to consumers at a markup, why wouldn't there be a market for something like this?
Ag is regulated, for sure (and for good reason!), but it's still a huge polluter. And yes, let's regulate domestic chemical use while we're at it!
Oh it's regulate (domestic). Long paragraph on every bottle of weedkiller etc.
You ever read that? Farmers do. But no, residential customers just pull the trigger until the weed starts to curl or whatever, and then the sprinkler runs and it all goes down to the creek.
