By Dorinda Anderson

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Prairie Grains is the official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat, Inc., and the Minnesota Barley Growers Association.

The organic market is consumer driven. Part of the reason organic farming is growing so fast is that people are more conscious of what they put in their bodies, says Chuck Walker, a broker/wholesaler from Hudson, Wis. People also have more disposable income to put into food purchases.

About 100 people attended a day-long informational seminar on organic farming recently in Twin Valley, MN. Growing crops organically means using no chemicals starting 36 months before a crop is ever sold as organic. The 36 months is considered a transition period toward becoming a 100% organic farm. Experts in organic farming and those producing organic crops talked at the seminar.

Some of those who spoke started farming organically about 25 years ago, when there was no information available from outside sources to aid them in their new farming practice. Now information is available not only from those trailblazers who learned by trial and error, but from agencies such as the Extension Service, the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. These agencies can also provide information on grant and loan money that is available for individuals or groups to start organic farming.

Even if you are thinking organic farming isn’t for you, Clay County Extension Educator Jim Stordahl says, conventional farmers could save some money in reduced chemical use by using some of the practices of organic farming.

"One thing I learned is anything you can do conventionally you can do organically. The tools, or methods, are different," says Lynn Brakke, an organic farmer from Comstock, MN, whose entire farm is certified organic. "We’re used to a different mindset and believe this can’t be done. We have to figure out why the weeds and bugs are there and what has to be changed to get rid of them."

The three-year transition period can be expensive because it can be a time of reduced yields, but that will depend on the methods of weed and insect control the farmer chooses to use, Brakke says.

However, Carmen Fernholz, an organic producer from Madison, MN, said he started producing crops organically in 1975. During the 1980s when many farmers were going out of business, Fernholz says using organic methods saved his farm. He explained he had already learned to lower his input costs, such as the typical $50 to $70 an acre for weed management, so the lower prices of the 1980s were less threatening to his operation.

Though his farm is not certified as organic, Jaime Derosier, a Red Lake Falls, MN, farmer, says it has been 10 years since he’s used chemicals on his farm. He said to learn more about organic farming, he talked to his grandfather to find out what he used as cover crops to reduce weeds and incorporate nitrogen and protein in the soil.

Crop rotation for organic farming requires greater planning, between three and five years ahead, says Derosier. Different rotations may be used and it is possible to have a rotation within a rotation, such as rotating the crops used to smother weeds. Some good smother crops include buckwheat, alfalfa, soybeans, sunflowers, rye, sweet clover, field peas or hairy vetch.

As an example, the vetch not only smothers out the weeds but also produces nitrogen in the soil, leaving the field ready for corn or soybeans. The vetch or rye can also be seeded in corn to control weeds. Rye that is planted in the fall can be tilled and green manured in the spring and soybeans can then be planted, for example.

With organic production, it is more difficult to monitor the amount of nutrients such as nitrogen in the soil, so it is important to implement a good soil-testing program. A crop rotation strategy suited for your farm, and good manure management practices are also needed. The success of the program will be measured by the health of the crop, the yield and the soil quality, says Glen Borgerding, a resources consultant of nutrient management from Freeport, MN.

Contract, records needed

To sell crops as organic, a contract with a certified organic organization is needed. Once the three-year transitional period is over the crops can be sold as organic. But it is important to remember that once you have signed with a contractor to become an organic farm, it requires that within five years your whole farm be converted to organic. Contracts are by the acre, not the bushel, says Curt Petrich, a Crookston, MN, farmer who is working toward becoming 100% organic certified. He is in his third transition year.

To become certified, a farm plan on what you plan to plant, how you will handle the weeds and insects and even the size of grain bin is needed, Brakke says. Keeping good records is important. Once certified, an audit trail is developed. For example, there is a lot number on each package of tofu sold in Japan. That lot number can be traced back to the farm the soybeans were produced on, and it can even identify which truck the soybeans were hauled in, Brakke says. "This way if there is a problem with the produce it can be traced back to the point of origin."

The contracting firm audits the farms’ procedures, not the product, once a year before harvest. The auditor wants to see the crop when it is up and germinated, says Lisa Gulbranson, organic inspector from St. Paul, MN. The audit is an information gathering session that lasts a couple of hours to determine if improvements suggested the year before have been made, to see how you cultivate weeds, fertilize, and that a 30-foot buffer zone is around the crop to help prevent spray drift. It will also help to place signs around the field indicating to others that the field is organic.

Good documentation is important. If an auditor wants to check something that was done three years ago, the farmer has to be able to prove it, Gulbranson says. The auditor will not allow chemicals to be sprayed around grain bins where organic produce is kept.

To show you haven’t applied chemicals for 36 months, farmers can sign an affidavit saying the chemicals have not been applied. Crops must also be stored chemical-free in a clean, residue-free bin. To reduce insect contimination in a grain bin, Bill Wilcke, U of M extension ag engineer, in St. Paul, suggests pulling out a couple of loads of grain from a bin and cleaning it. This will eliminate insect potential, since it is generally contained in the upper one-third of the bin. Following this with cold shocking will also help. To cold shock, quickly drop the temperature in the bin by running the fans on cold days.

Once the auditor’s check is completed, the auditor submits a report to the certifying agency and that agency decides if certification should be granted, Gulbranson says.

Finding a market

Organic experts stressed the importance of finding a market for your crops before planting. There are several reputable contracting firms, including the Organic Crop Improvement Association, Jordan, MN, and the Organic Growers and Buyers Association, Fridley, MN. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture accredits these companies and others.

To find available markets to sell to and to find out who is buying, the farmer has to do some investigating, Walker says. In the Red River Valley, companies like Roman Meal and the North Dakota Mill buy organic grains, he says. In central Minnesota there are four or five broker/wholesalers who buy organic. Walker says he works with other countries to sell organic commodities and each country is interested in a different product. For example, Japan is interested in soybeans for tofu, but is now also becoming more interested in organic vegetables.

"I believe marketing is the biggest challenge," Brakke says. Commodities that are sold to the organic market have to be food grade; they can’t have dirt or stains on them. "Quality is everything. Scabby organic wheat is not worth much more than scabby conventional wheat," Brakke says.

The yields may not be up to par during the transitional period and the farmer will still get the conventional price during this time. But once the crop is certified as organic the profits will be greater. The price of organic commodities is generally two and one-half times higher than conventional commodity prices, according to information from the Minnesota Extension Service.

For example, high protein wheat can be contracted for $5.50 to $8 a bushel. Corn can be contracted for $4 to $4.50 a bushel, oats can be contracted for $3.20 to $5 a bushel, and Hylum, Tofu and Natto soybeans, which are popular in Japan, can be contracted for $16 to $24 a bushel, according to information from the Minnesota Extension Service. Organic milk and eggs are also big sellers and would work well with some organic crop farms, Petrich says.

But organic farming may not be for everyone. Those marketing organic crops caution that with too many suppliers, the market could drop out of organics. Walker says those involved with brokering have to be careful about what crops they contract. There are about 10 companies that do most of the contracting, Walker adds. "Each company has only so many contracts available so in a sense it is self-limiting." Fernholz suggests coordinating organic production with other growers, so one crop isn’t overproduced.

"The cost of production could be higher and it could be lower, it depends on your practices," sayd Brakke. "Even if there wasn’t more profit I’m not sure I would switch back to conventional farming. Organic is a process I enjoy."