May | June 2018 To Dairy on page 6
By Brittany Olson To Wholesale Market With another year of depressed farmgate milk prices looming on the horizon, and several dozen dairy farm ers having their worlds turned upside down when told they no longer had a buyer for their milk, many dairy farm ers have felt their burning desire for change turn into a raging fire. While organic dairy farmers typically enjoy a much higher pay price compared to their conventional counterparts, they, too, have seen their pay prices being whittled down over the past 18 to 24 months. Darin Von Ruden, an organic dairy farmer from Westby, Wis., MOSES board member and president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, offered some insights into the situation on the organic side. “Up until about two years ago, organic prices have been stable,” Von Ruden said. “But, we’re now seeing more of corpo rate America creeping into the pricing structure with large operations like Aurora Organic Dairy in Colorado. Dean Foods is also becoming a big player in organic, but they prefer to buy from a few larger farms instead of smaller to mid-sized family farms, and the farmer pay price is being eroded. There are also larger farms coming into organic that may not follow standards to a T the way a smaller farm would, either.”
Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education ServiceSocial Justice in Ag 10 ResearchStrawberry 5 FlowersEasy-Care 13 FieldOrganicDays 7
on page 8 Volume 26 | Number 3
While pay prices are vastly different even with downward pressure on markets, Von Ruden said
54767WIValley,Spring339,BoxPO
expires!itbeforesubscriptionfreeyourrenewPlease he was noticing some inefficiencies from mixing the high-diversity nature of CSA and market farming with the high-volume/low-price reality of wholesale production. that organic and conventional are basically headed down the same road. Retail sales of organic milk dropped more than 2.5% in the last year while sales of plant-based milk options rose nearly 3%, leaving the organic dairy sector trying to manage oversupply. Von Ruden took a staggering $7/cwt pay cut at the beginning of 2018. “Five years ago, you still had processors look ing to take on new farmers. Now, the marketing structure is full and processors aren’t looking for new farmers. In past years, organic processors TM
When starting a vegetable farm, farmers first need to consider where they intend to sell their produce. Most new farmers set their sights on direct-to-consumer markets—such as community supported agriculture (CSA) programs and farm ers markets—as their primary sales outlets. There are plenty of good reasons to start with direct markets, rather than wholesale accounts such as restaurants, grocery stores, and distribu tors. Many new farmers are attracted to direct markets because the farmer usually gets a better price for the product, keeping the whole “food dollar” rather than splitting the price with at least one intermediary, such as a retail store. Additionally, direct markets are often more acces sible to new farmers who may lack the credibility desired by a wholesale buyer. Farmers markets provide an ideal outlet to build this reputation, since customers only buy produce when it has been successfully grown and brought to market. Lastly, direct markets are better suited to the small scale typical of new farms. Ariel Pressman, owner of Seed to Seed Farm, started out just like that. In 2012, while work ing part-time at Foxtail Farm in Osceola, Wis., he started his own farm and sold the produce at a farmers market. The next year, he moved his operation to Balsam Lake, Wis., where he started a CSA, attended farmers markets, and sold to restaurants. But after two years running a CSA, he noticed two things: First, he was hav ing a hard time managing 50 crops, and second, Picked up this newspaper at an event? Subscribe now — it’s free! mosesorganic.org/sign-up
The stark difference between the 2014 Farm Bill and the 2018 Farm Bill is that the former was written during much better eco nomic times for agriculture and rural America. Commodity prices were higher, and farmers were spending money because they were making money. That is not the case, now, as Congress writes and works on the 2018 legisla tion. Wisconsin is currently losing 1.5 dairies a day – 390 in 2016 and 500 in 2017. Historically low commodity prices and high input costs mixed with uncertainty in trade, plus extreme weather variability have pushed the issue to crisisIt’smode.timefor a reality check: 2018 will not be the year for a “revolutionary” Farm Bill. As much as we would like to see significant changes, it’s just not going to happen in this Congress and in this current economic climate. This will be a status quo Farm Bill. Expect modest changes designed to improve the current Farm Bill and offer language that provides producers consistency and transpar ency, along with better on-time payment performance.Manyofthe members of Congress who voted for the 2014 Farm Bill are no longer in office because they either voluntarily retired or were “retired” by voters in 2016. The Senate Agriculture Committee has 11 Republicans By Nick Levendofsky 2018 not year for big improvements in Farm Bill
Time to renew? Check the date in the address box below. Renew online or call 715-778-5775.
Dairy farmers face an uncertain future with retail sales down, contract cuts, and an industry-wide surplus of fluid milk. Photo by Brittany Olson To Farm Bill on page 14 Ariel Pressman has found it’s most efficient for his farm to grow larger quantities of vegetables for wholesale accounts. Photo submitted
By Dana Jokela Organic dairy, like conventional, facing tough times
Growing for wholesale accounts creates efficiencies for small-scale vegetable farm
Mesko, Executive Director | john@mosesorganic.org Audrey Alwell, Communications Director | audrey@mosesorganic.org Sarah Broadfoot, Data & Registration Coor. | sarahb@mosesorganic.org Stephanie Coffman, Adminstrative Coor. | stephanie@mosesorganic.org Lisa Kivirist, In Her Boots Coordinator | lisa@mosesorganic.org Lauren Langworthy, Program Director | lauren@mosesorganic.org Matt Leavitt, Organic Specialist | matt@mosesorganic.org Tom Manley, Account Service Coordinator | thomas@mosesorganic.org Jennifer Nelson, Organic Specialist | jennifer@mosesorganic.org Cathy Olyphant, Donation Coordinator | cathy@mosesorganic.org Bailey Webster, Events Coordinator | bailey@mosesorganic.org Board of Directors: David
Dave Campbell Lily Lake Organic Farm, Ill. Dela Ends, Secretary | Scotch Hill Farm, Wis. Charlie Johnson | Johnson Farms, SD David Perkins, Treasurer Vermont Valley Farm, Wis. Molly Rockamann | EarthDance, Mo. Sara Tedeschi | Dog Hollow Farm, Wis.
MOSES Staff:
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Darin Von Ruden, Vice President Von Ruden Family Farm, Wis. Carla Wright, President Savanna Hill Farm, Wis. developed in the organic community. In one way or another, these labels attempt to clarify and strengthen what “organic” means. At the NOSB meeting, when asked how these add-on labels will reduce consumer confusion in the marketplace, the proponents felt the organic consumer is ready to respond to these strengthened standards. Meanwhile MOSES has been discussing our own commitments and thinking through our response to these and other add-on labels. In our recently finalized strategic plan, we’ve committed to emphasizing our holistic definition of certified organic agriculture, including an emphasis on regenerative farming practices and social and economicMOSESjustice.hasfrom its roots adhered to the strongest interpretation of both the letter and the spirit of the organic standard. We want to see the standard enforced as intended, as a reasonable person would expect, and that commitment is not wavering or changing. The potential for confusion if multiple new food labels enter the organic food space at the retail level is very real. While farmers and those sup porting farmers clearly add value to the organic food they produce through careful, even artful food production, it’s consumers who assign value to the USDA Certified Organic label, or any mar keting label. Without a clear understanding in the collective consumer conscience about new labels and the full extent of the practices and farmers they represent, establishing relevance and value will be a heavy effort for groups promoting new labels.MOSES’ mission is to help farmers thrive in a sustainable, organic system of agriculture. As the organic industry changes, MOSES will adapt, while continuing to serve a broad audi ence and expanding the organic farming com munity, helping farmers to start and grow their organic businesses.
By John Mesko, Executive Director of MOSES
Keep, Wis.
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TM Organic label at risk Just before the recent BoardOrganicNationalStandardsmeetingin Tucson, members of the National Organic Coalition (including MOSES) met to discuss current issues in organic agriculture. The discussion highlighted what should give everyone in the organic community pause: the certified organic label is at risk. As the organic food segment has grown steadily over the past 20 years, economies of scale have developed; larger farming, farm input, food processing, and marketing entities have begun to dominate some segments of the organic food value chain. The organic inspection and regula tory structure was built to regulate small family farms, and isn’t keeping pace with the scale of growth in organics. At the NOC meeting, which included represen tatives of organizations from the organic advocacy and support community (such as MOSES), the organic inspection community as well as USDANational Organic Program (NOP) staff, we heard stories of farms being allowed to sell products labeled as certified organic which in fact were not certified organic by most people’s interpretation of the organic rule. We also heard more examples of continued fraud in the organic grain import markets. These challenges have led to confusion among consumers, rightfully so, about the meaning of organic and the value of the organic label. In the past year, several attempts at new “add on” labels have been brought forward by organic leaders who are unhappy with the change in the way the organic rule has been applied to newer, larger entrants into the organic farming com munity. Regenerative Organic Certification, the Real Organic Project, and Regeneration Midwest are just a few of the new labels/standards being John Abazs River Bollinger Root Brook
Volume 26, #3 May | June 2018 Executive Director John Mesko Editor Audrey Alwell Advertising Coordinator Tom Manley The Organic BroadcasterTM is a bimonthly newspaper published by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), a nonprofit that provides education, resources and practical advice to farmers. Opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Inclusion of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of a product. We reserve the right to refuse inappropriate advertising. © 2018 MOSES Content may be reprinted with permission. Contact Audrey@mosesorganic.org Display & Classified Advertising: Thomas@mosesorganic.org or 715-778-5775 Content Submissions or Inquiries: Audrey@mosesorganic.org Free Subscription: mosesorganic.org/sign -up or 715-778-5775 MOSES is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit qualified to receive tax-deductible donations. Please support our programs and this FREE publication with a donation: MOSES, P.O. Box 339, Spring Valley, WI 54767 Online: mosesorganic.org/donate MOSES educates, inspires, and empowers farmers to thrive in a sustainable, organic system of agriculture.
Farm, Minn. Mike
Farm, Iowa Sylvia Burgos Toftness | Bull
Many organic farmers are becoming increas ingly concerned about the growing erosion of stan dards in the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). We have seen the rising influence of big business in the NOP which has resulted in a weakening of some key aspects of the standards. Organic farmers, and our supporting organiza tions, have been working hard to try to stop this weakening of the standards and to restore organic to the level of integrity envisioned by the early pioneers. Unfortunately, we have been unable to match the influence of big business within USDA and Congress. We are not being heard. Now that organic food has become a $50 billion industry, it should be no surprise that big food corporations want to carve out as large a chunk of that market as they can and make it as easy to meet the standards as possible.
Add-On Label Because of these many weakening influences on the USDA National Organic Standards, a group of organic farmers and leaders have created The Real Organic Project (ROP). A list of the eminent members of the ROP Executive Board, Standards Board, and Advisory Board can be found on the ROP website at www.realorganicproject.org. Richard Wiswall, farmer & author The Organic Farmer’s
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In January of this year, the new administra tion rejected the proposed animal welfare stan dards referred to as the OLPP (Organic Livestock and Poultry Production) that the NOSB and the organic community had worked on for a decade. A few industrial poultry operations with hundreds of thousands of chickens didn’t want to change their operations to allow chickens access to the outdoors. They exerted their considerable political might and defeated the OLPP standards, against the wishes of tens of thousands of organic farmers and consumers who had sent USDA written com ments urging implementation of the standards. However, it isn’t just the Trump Administration that is responsible for weakening of the standards. Much of it happened during the Obama Administration. For example, USDA has for years refused to implement a rule on the origin of livestock, which would close loopholes that allow continuous conversion of conventional dairy cows to Enforcementorganic. of the pasture rule of the organic standards has been inconsistent and lax for large CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) dairies. Between lax enforcement of the pasture rule and loopholes in the origin of livestock regu lations, a large and growing percentage of organic milk is coming from CAFO factory dairies.
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By Francis Thicke, Real Organic Standards Board
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Statistics show that in 2016, six certified organic CAFO dairies in Texas produced 23% more milk than all 453 of Wisconsin’s organic dairies combined. This is a mind-boggling reality that reveals the new face of organic milk in America. Even with organic milk surpluses today, some of the large certified CAFO dairies are continuing to expand, flooding the market with cheap milk.
Editorials by members of the organic community Inside Organics page
Weakened Organic Standards
INSIDE ORGANICS
At the same time, organic family dairy farms that raise their cows on pasture are losing their mar kets and being forced out of business. USDA never implemented the 2010 NOSB recommendation to prohibit hydroponic produc tion. Instead, USDA quietly opened a back door to allow organic certification of hydroponic fruit and vegetable production. Recently, USDA officially gave a full green light to certification of hydroponic production, even though no NOP standards for hydroponic production exist. Estimates are that already about half of the certi fied organic tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers in grocery stores are hydroponically grown, and those numbers are likely to grow rapidly now that USDA has officially sanctioned hydroponic production. Organic farmers overwhelmingly believe that organic farming should be done in soil, not in buckets of water or coconut husks. The many public comments by organic farmers at the fall 2017 NOSB meeting in Jacksonville, Florida reinforced that. USDA has been eroding the authority of the NOSB to fulfill the responsibilities assigned to it by the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). USDA has taken away the authority of the NOSB to set its own work agenda and has weakened the process the NOSB uses to review synthetic materials.
Organic farmers form ‘Real Organic Project’ to ensure strong standards
For the past couple of years, the U.S. grain market has been flooded with grain imports of questionable integrity. Independent organizations have identified whole shiploads of grains com ing into the U.S. that were fraudulently labeled and sold as organic. Those fraudulent shiploads of grain have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for U.S. organic grain growers. USDA has seemed unwilling or helpless to stop these fraudulent grain imports. A further problem in past years has been that USDA has sometimes appointed agribusiness employees to positions on the NOSB that OFPA specifically designated to be reserved for certified organic farmers. Agribusiness has gotten Congress involved, too. Last summer an industrial-scale hydroponic grower was permitted to testify before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. Somehow this outlier with no acceptance by the organic commu nity was designated to represent us to Congress. Of course, he recommended that hydroponics be accepted as organic. But he continued by saying that the animal welfare standards be scrapped, being of no importance to organic. And then he requested that the role of the NOSB be further weakened, and that the board makeup be changed to favor industry and large chain grocery stores.
To
It is sobering that the stated agenda of hydro ponic and CAFO producers has been so successful with the recent allowance of hydroponics and the rejection of animal welfare standards. The trans formation of the National Organic Program is happening at a fast pace. Now their final demand is being fulfilled as Pat Roberts, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is calling for the transformation of the NOSB into a more “industry friendly” body in the upcoming Farm Bill.
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has slackened in sales and volume from its height in 2013, as food companies and producers rushed in record numbers to increase production to meet demand just as the market began to slow and reach the saturation point. Organic milk continues to offer one of the higher price premiums over conventional produc tion; second only to eggs, which encouraged many new producers to consider or actively transition their herds and land to organic production. This added to an already abundant supply and will likely continue through 2018. Organic milk is still a strong pillar of the besieged American dairy industry, accounting for over 5% of total fluid milk sales, but consumers and retailers have a growing preference towards plant-based alternative ‘milk’ like almond milk, coconut milk, etc. Though retailers and industry analysts expect the organic dairy market to rebound to some degree by 2019, producers have some difficult short-term decisions to make. With oversupply still a real issue and price premiums shrinking to $1.32/half gallon (down from $1.57/half gallon in 2017) through 2018, what can organic dairy producers do to help ease their families and their farms through the slump? Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy answers or quick solutions. Some producers are responding by cutting their production or even culling their herds to control costs. That may have to be an option to keep the farm on sound financial footing.
4 | May | June 2018 “Are there any alternative markets for Organic Dairy right now?” Answer by Organic Specialist Matt Leavitt There is no question that dairy producers, both conventional and organic, are feeling the pain of a prolonged down market. Organic milk buyers and cooperatives are not actively taking on new producers and have been on a production quota while existing producers are struggling with low ered prices, stable or climbing feed costs and even resorting to selling their milk on the conventional market.Producers aren’t the only ones feeling the sting. At the Organic Valley annual meeting this April, they reported a $10 million loss; their first in 20 years as a cooperative. This is despite robust consumer demand and sales topping $1.1 billion dollars; 4% growth in 2017 alone. However, when considered in context, the organic dairy market MOSES Organic Specialists answer your questions about organic production and certification. CALL: Organic Answer Line 888-551-4769 or 715-778-5775 SUBMIT: Click “Ask a Specialist” button at mosesorganic.org/ask. READ: Browse answers to questions at mosesorganic.org/ask. DOWNLOAD: Organic Fact Sheets organic-fact-sheets.mosesorganic.org/publicationsat/
Additionally, there may be alternative market ing outlets for organic milk with smaller-scale creameries, cheese-makers or other specialty dairy product manufacturers. These outlets are limited, but it would certainly be worthwhile to contact them; these specialty products often end up in co-op’s and grocery stores in large urban centers. The dairy buyer at these retail locations may have suggestions of who to contact.
There are price premiums available for organic beef and organic markets for dairy cull cattle are limited but they do exist.
For each quarterly policy, the farmer would choose milk-based pricing, which is based on average milk pricing from Chicago Mercantile Exchange milk class futures, or a component-based pricing model. The program has been approved by the USDA and details are being finalized by the RMA with slated availability for purchase mid to late summer at the earliest. It is unclear at this point if organic milk will be considered as a separate track from conventional.
Finally, for those producers with available land and equipment, you could consider diversifying your rotation or raising more crops to fill some of the financial gap. It may be worthwhile to have a trusted financial advisor or banker look over the farm finances and suggest the most feasible ways to control costs. MOSES is happy to connect you with folks that can help. It bears mentioning that if you, your family, neighbors or friends are needing crisis support through this difficult farm market, please see the Farm Crisis Center: farmcrisis.nfu.org or call the Farm Aid hotline (during business hours) at 800-FARM-AID.
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Something for dairy producers to be aware of is Dairy Revenue Protection, an insurance program under development by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Farm Bureau Insurance Services. It would allow dairy producers to purchase risk management protec tion against falling milk prices and/or production.
Research shows wild pollinators’ impact on strawberry production
The story of this research project arcs back to the first time I attended a MOSES Conference in 2012 as a recent biology graduate of Luther College. I was working as a farm intern at Canoe Creek Produce in Decorah, Iowa, and was inspired to attend while dreaming about the bounty of a diversified organic market-garden operation.
Experiment For the past 9 years, the UMN Fruit Research team has been developing an organic strawberry production system that extends the Midwest strawberry harvest from a few weeks in June to the entire growing season. The pillars of this new system are day-neutral strawberries, a variety that flowers and fruits continuously throughout the growing season, and a plasticulture, low-tunnel production system. The low-tunnel design helps to resolve many of the greatest challenges to growing organic fruit in the Midwest: weeds, disease, water management, and a short-growing season. Despite its many benefits, this organic system has been slow to catch on, in part, perhaps, due to the discomfort of many organic growers with input-intensive production. Given my background and interests, I became curious whether a more agroecological approach might have promise. I was able to locate my experiment on organi cally certified land at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris, Minn., in collaboration with Steve Poppe, a former straw berry grower and WCROC’s lead horticultural scientist. We designed the experiment to include less external inputs by seeding winter rye between rows instead of using landscape fabric, and choos ing not to install plastic low-tunnels (Fig. 1).
The next step was to consider how we might add functional biodiversity to this annual produc tion system, specifically, by planting an attractive floral resource to recruit wild pollinators and the pollination services they might provide the straw berry crop. This practice of pollinator “farmscap ing,” where a grower provides additional habitat and floral resources to support wild insect pollina tor populations, is finding renewed interest from many growers and researchers alike. This is especially so given emerging threats to the honeybee industry, including colony collapse disorder. With the knowledge that 75% of global food crops depend on animal pollination at least to some degree, the importance of wild insect pollina tion services in agroecosystems has been a focus of recent research. While pollinator farmscaping practices are finding renewed interest in grower and scientific communities, many questions remain about how these practices can be beneficial to crop production and the agroecosystem. Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), though able to self-pollinate, have been shown to produce higher quality fruit when flowers are more thor oughly fertilized by pollinating insects. A handful of studies have identified the benefit to on-farm pollinator populations when additional floral resources are provided near strawberry fields. My study uses borage (Borago officinalis), a blue To Strawberry Research Fig. 1: The pollinator farmscaping strawberry production system (right) includes a strip of borage to attract pollina tors. The photo on the left shows the University’s plasticulture, low-tunnel organic strawberry system.
While a recent study showed increased pol linator abundance in strawberry rows adjacent to annual wildflower strips, there is as yet no litera ture examining the yield benefits of single-species flower strips in strawberry production, despite evidence that bees may benefit more from flower plantings of single species rather than heteroge neous mixtures. My research investigates the potential of an annual borage flower strip to recruit wild insect pollinators and thereby facilitate pollination ser vices in an organic day-neutral strawberry produc tion system. Research Results I gathered data on strawberry fruit production and insect presence, and examined how these variables changed with distance from the flower patch. My hypothesis was that strawberry flowers closer to the borage flower patch would receive more insect visits, be more fully pollinated, and produce bigger, higher quality strawberries. With increasing distance from the experimen tal flower strip, average strawberry yield and pol linator abundance appear to decrease (Fig. 2 & 3), with a significantly lower average berry weight in the plot farthest from the flower strip, compared to the first 50 feet.
Fig. 2: Average Berry Weight by Location Distance from Flower Strip (g)WeightBerryAverage
At the conference, I was inspired by a presenta tion given by Eric Lee-Mäder from the Xerces Society about farming for biodiversity, integrating resources and habitat for beneficial insects into the farming landscape. This vision of agroecology, of an agricultural landscape that was agronomically and ecologically productive, fascinated me. What if we could steward win-win models where the goals of both food production and conservation were possible? I spent the next three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the high Andes of Peru, and among other experiences, was deeply struck by the rapidly melting glaciers, the reality of impending water scarcity, and the need for biodiverse landscapes that could support more resilient and adaptable farming livelihoods in the face of a changing climate and an uncertain future. I had a forceful realization that, as a global community, we could no longer divorce ourselves from the health of the land—if we are to thrive, we need to commit to a sustainable, resilient, regenerative, productive use of the land we depend on. My drive to learn more about agroecology brought me to the University of Minnesota (UMN) for a master’s degree in Applied Plant Sciences and to further investigate the potential of farming for biodiversity.
Fig. 3: Average Number of Insects Distance from Flower Strip Insectsof#Average
By Nathan Hecht Nathan Hecht, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, won the juried poster session in the Organic Research Forum at the 2018 MOSES Conference. This article explains his research, titled “Recruiting Wild Pol linators in a Strawberry Agroecosystem.”
Photos by Nathan Hecht star-shaped flowering herb, as a floral resource for pollinators (Fig. 1). It is highly attractive to bees, competes well with weeds, flowers continually, is edible, and is considered a companion plant for strawberries in some gardening books, although I’ve found no published research about this pairing.
倀䠀伀一䔀㨀 ⠀㌀㈀ ⤀㈀㠀㘀 ㈀㐀㜀 吀䔀堀吀㨀 ⠀㘀㈀⤀㌀ 㤀 㜀㔀㈀㈀
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on page 12
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At the end of the meeting, Schauf asked how many of the farmers were in favor of some form of supply management or a quota. A cautious major Dairy farmers from across Western Wisconsin turned out for a meeting last month organized by Barron County Farm Bureau and Farmers Union chapters. Photo by Lauren Langworthy
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Discussion has continued after the meeting in Barron, not only locally but also at the state level. Both Wisconsin Farmers Union and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation are working with staff and members to see what kind of solution can be brought forward. “There is hope that something will come of this meeting, and people are still talking about it,” Schauf said. While there is no silver bullet to subdue the many-horned beast that the dairy industry has become in the past several decades, many if not all dairy farmers agree that something has to be done in order to keep the dairy industry from becoming consolidated and vertically integrated like conven tional poultry and pork production.
Brittany Olson is a freelance writer, photographer, and dairy farmer from Chetek, Wis.
The dairy crisis has been a deeply personal one for Karyn Schauf, a retired dairy farmer from Barron, Wis., and for every other dairy farmer who has basically been in survival mode since prices declined in 2015. Schauf, who owned and operated the world-renowned Indianhead Holsteins with her husband, Bob, watched as each and every one of their cattle from the oldest milk ing cow down to the youngest heifer calf was led through the sale ring last April. “If we don’t do something for traditional fam ily farms, we may very well end up like western Minnesota with little ghost towns,” Schauf said. “Industries have always had their cycles, but this one is wearing long.” Schauf, who is also the president of the Barron County Farm Bureau, noticed at listening ses sions held across the country to find some sort of solution to the dairy crisis, those most impacted— farmers—were not able to lead the conversation. After speaking with the rest of the bureau’s board of directors, many of whom are either dairy farm ers or have ties to the industry themselves, they got the idea to hold a farmer-led dairy discussion. “We reached out to our county Farmers Union chapter, and they wholeheartedly supported going along with us and sponsoring this meeting,” Schauf said. “We committed to the farmers that would attend that we would forward what was heard that day to the decision-makers in charge, and I worked hard to find the right people to invite to this meeting.” The meeting, which took place April 16 at the Barron Electric Cooperative, involved farmers and elected officials, cooperative staff and leaders, lenders, and agribusinesses. Sam Nelson, a retired dairy farmer from nearby Prairie Farm, Wis., moderated the meeting. When a historic April blizzard came crashing in the weekend before the meeting, organizers worried that attendance might take a hit. Some also worried that, given the hardships many were going through as a result of poor milk prices, the meeting would be nothing more than point ing fingers and playing the blame game. They were pleased to have a full room with more than 90 participants. The conversation and sugges altogether positive. Barron County Farmers Union President Dale Hanson asked how many farmers knew someone who was denied a loan to purchase crop inputs for spring planting. Many hands went up. Hanson then asked if the attendees knew a farmer who was struggling with anxiety, depression, or any other form of mental illness as a result of the stress caused by low prices. Nearly every single hand in the room went up. Dairy farmer Sam Olson of Dallas, Wis., sug gested changing regulations at the federal level to allow checkoff monies, mandatorily deducted at a rate of $0.15/cwt, to go toward more than just dairy food consumption research and uses. Olson pointed out that dairy products imported into the United States are subject to a checkoff rate at half that of domestically produced milk. “They directly compete with our products, and should be subject to the same amount of checkoff deductions if not more,” Olson said. John Peterson of Schuman Cheese, and for merly of Lake Country Dairy, a local processor in Turtle Lake, Wis., stated that while Lake Country Dairy mainly worked with a handful of large farms in the area, something had to be done to preserve smaller, traditional family farms. “Farmers are the original entrepreneurs and bring money to the local economy,” Peterson said. “There are dangers to the national food supply with a [consolidated] system of only large farms. Larger farms are dependent on migrant workers, and we can’t risk losing the backbone of our local communities.”Severalfarmers advocated for some kind of supply management. “Our system doesn’t have to be like Canada’s but something has to be done,” said Adam Place of Clayton, Wis. “Farmers need to take a stand and push together for the survival of family farms.”
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6 | May | June 2018
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Dairy from 1 were able to pay farmers during transition years, but those funds have dried up and making the transition from conventional to organic hasn’t been as enticing,” he explained. As a member of Westby Cooperative Creamery, Von Ruden is now under a quota system to try to keep supply matched with demand and plant capacity. “We can now only ship as much milk as we did last year,” Von Ruden said. “We got a letter with our contracts at the beginning of the year not only talking about the pay price cut, but also the new quota.”
The focus of this field day will be on growing dual-purpose buckwheat as a cash crop and as a cover crop, including weed control strategies and harvesting methods. Buckwheat increases soil health and reduces the need for tillage, and makes a profit! In addition, learn about another cover crop superstar, sorghum sudangrass.
3 Days • 5 Unique Components • 20+ Farms Create Your Own Farm and Culinary Adventure Tour of Farms Sunday, August 5 Visit numerous women-owned farms in the Monroe and Brodhead areas. Free. Green Acres Workshops Friday, August 3 to Sunday, August 5 Learn how to launch your own farm, make cheese, spin fiber, preserve the harvest and much more!
Ticketed events on various farms. Taste of Place Friday, August 3 A local food & drink celebration. Ticketed event.
Farm to Table Dinner Saturday, August 4 Farm-to-table dinner at Dorothy's Range featuring heritage meats. Ticketed event. Dine Fine at Restaurants Friday, August 3 to Sunday, August 5 Sample “locavore” specials throughout the weekend.
In Her Boots: Organic CSA July 26 | Humble Hands Harvest | Decorah, Iowa | $25 Spend the day with an inspiring group of women farmers and educators dedicated to sup porting women to succeed in achieving their farm dreams. This special In Her Boots session will focus on tool use, mechanics and ergonomics from a female farmer lens and how to care for that most important tool: yourself! Integrating Cereal Grains into an Organic Dairy Rotation July 31 | Wilson Organic Farms | Cuba City, Wis. This OGRAIN event takes place at Wilson Organic Farms, a 400-cow dairy with 2,900 organic acres. The Wilsons emphasize the connec tion between soil health, plant health, and healthy people and animals. Learn about the integration of roller-crimped rye into their soybean crop, soil health gains on the farm, and the integration of cereal grains into a dairy rotation as both quality feed for the herd and off-farm sales.
Soil Sisters Farm Tours & Workshops August 3 | Southern Wisconsin | $ Varies Over 20 women-run farms offer tours, food and craft demos, tastings, and more during this jampacked weekend. See www.soilsisterswi.org.
In Her Boots: Advice for Your First Year August 3 | Raleigh’s Hillside Farm | Brodhead, Wis. | $50 Come for an inspiring day of advice, ideas and sea soned perspectives from the Wisconsin Soil Sisters, an innovative network of local women championing organic and sustainable agriculture. Learn from experienced women farmers and gather resources for your farm launch. Stay for the full weekend, which includes workshops, culinary events, farm tours, and more!
| 7mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775
On-Farm Variety Trials: Kale August 7 | Riverbend Farm | Delano, Minn. This trial location features curly kale for midseason palatability. Riverbend Farm is an organic vegetable farm that provides produce to a CSA, restaurants, food co-ops, and schools. Farmer Greg Reynolds also saves seed from, and works to improve, varieties of several crops. Adding Buckwheat & Sorghum Sudangrass to a Grain Rotation August 29 | Lily Lake Organic Farm | Maple Park, Ill.
Wholesale Vegetables on a Small Scale July 20 | Seed to Seed Farm | Balsam Lake, Wis. Learn about wholesale production on a smallto medium-sized farm. If you are looking to tran sition your farm from direct-to-consumer to wholesale, or beef up your wholesale production, this field day is for you. Farm host Ariel Pressman will explain how to grow quality pro duce consistently for larger accounts.
Hallie Anderson explains her production system during a MOSES Organic Field Day at 10th Street Farm & Market earlier this month. Photo by Audrey Alwell MADISON SOIL SISTERS August 3 5, 2018 www.soilsisterswi.org
Sign up for field day to gain farming insights Organic Field Peas Lentils OMRI Inoculants Faba Beans OMRI Seed Treatments Cowpeas Yellow Field Peas Cover Crops Green Field Peas Forages Custom Seed Blending Wildlife Blends Bismarck, ND 701-530-0734 www.pulseusa.com Now Introducing “The Three Pea Band” exclusive to the organic industry. Banjo (yellow), Fiddle (yellow), Flute (green) MOSES Organic Field Days give you the chance to see firsthand how other farmers tackle issues on their farms. These events are free unless noted. Register or see more details and driving direc tions at organic-field-days.mosesorganic.org/ In Her Boots: Dairy & Diversification June 21 | Wylymar Farms | Monroe, Wis. | $25 Get advice and practical ideas from women farmers and educators to help you improve your operation or achieve your farming dreams. We’ll cover a variety of farming topics, including tool use and ergonomics from a female farmer lens, and how to care for that most important tool: yourself! We’ll also share ideas for creating additional income from farming through agritourism, farmstays, on-farm food service, and value-added products. Plus, we’ll learn about the women-run Wylymar organic dairy operation. On-Farm Variety Trials: Broccoli June 28 | We Grow LLC | Westboro, Wis. This field day features hoop house broccoli in a variety trial at We Grow LLC, a produce farm in Taylor County, Wis. The farm grows a wide variety of vegetables using organic certified, nonGMO seeds. The farm also has pastured heritage breed hogs and free-range chickens. MOSES has partnered with the Organic Seed Alliance and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to host several field days this summer to showcase how farmers can trial seeds to find the best vari eties for their particular conditions. On-Farm Variety Trials: Potatoes July 1 | PrairiErth Farm | Atlanta, Ill. This trial location features yellow potatoes for early vigor and yield. PrairiErth Farm is a diver sified operation with field crops, livestock, and 20 acres of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. This is the second field day in the MOSES-Organic Seed Alliance-University of Wisconsin variety trialing series. Small Grains, Modest Grains July 12 | Hughes Farm | Janesville, Wis. OGRAIN (MOSES and partners at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Practical Farmers of Iowa have organized this field day to show how small grains benefit other cash crops in both conventional and organic cropping systems. Learn how cover crops can be green manures and control weeds while reducing soil erosion and improving water quality. Organic Seed Alliance will talk about the Hughes Farm’s food-grade corn and cover crop seed trials, as part of our variety trialing series. To reserve your meal email debra@ practicalfarmers.org by July 6 or call 515-232-5661.
Dana Jokela owns and operates Sogn Valley Farm, a 22acre certified organic farm near Cannon Falls, Minn.
“I don’t wholesale green beans, but you can’t go to a farmers market without green beans,” Pressman said. “To service some of these mar kets, I was growing small amounts of stuff that was disproportionately taking up a huge amount of time. And the whole idea with wholesale is you should be able to be more efficient. At the time, we were getting the lower price from wholesale, but all the inefficiency of growing all the crops that you need for a CSA or farmers market.”
Agreements with wholesale buyers provide no such benefits. “There’s not a single wholesale market on the planet that’s going to pay you for a piece of produce that you don’t have because of disease or hail,” Pressman said. And, most farmers won’t receive payment until 30 days after the product is delivered, meaning the farmer has invested all the costs of production long before being compensated for it. To provide early season cash flow, Pressman takes out an annual operating loan through the Farm Service Agency, a practice he expects to con tinue for the foreseeable future. Since Pressman’s farm is fairly well established, he has reason to trust his pre-season crop production and sales projections. He doesn’t lose sleep over taking on debt each season. But he does acknowledge that some people are very debt-averse. “If having a $100,000 operating loan is going to make you miserable, then that’s real. That’s a real reason to think about not doing [wholesale].”
Pressman wishes there were crop insurance options available to help small, specialty crop growers manage risk. But after much research, he concludes that current options—whole farm revenue insurance, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) insurance—simply don’t make sense for diversified growers selling to local markets, particularly for farms experiencing rapid year-to-year growth in sales. Having no crop insurance, he manages risk by:
2. Over-planting his crops to ensure he has enough to fulfill customer orders in a bad year, accepting that he may only harvest half the field in an exceptionally good growing season.
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3. Using unheated high tunnels for tomato produc tion, decreasing disease pressure and protecting the high-value crop from severe weather. While wholesale production does bring its own set of challenges—cash flow and risk mitigation, in particular—Pressman shows that there are ways to mitigate these on a small-scale wholesale farm. For direct-market farmers interested in getting into wholesale, Pressman had some advice for finding, and keeping, customers. When looking for potential wholesale customers, it’s always ideal to have an “in.” When making cold calls, Pressman advised being prepared with a concise “elevator pitch,” a price list, and a calendar for setting up an in-person visit. For example, “I run Seed to Seed Farm. I’m a first-generation farmer, growing five acres of certified organic produce. My heir loom tomatoes are top notch. I’m going to have them ready in a couple of weeks—maybe I could come in and chat with you?” The in-person meet ing will be much more memorable for the buyer, and gives the farmer an opportunity to provide samples to the buyer. He recommends starting with restaurants. Orders are generally small, giving the farmer a better chance of successfully fulfilling the orders. “You don’t want to hop into markets that are too big for where you’re at,” he advised. “If that mar ket has a bad experience with you, they may not be available in three years when you are ready to sell to them.” Chefs also are generally more willing to give feedback if something isn’t up to their quality or grading standards. And it’s crucial to calibrate grading standards for wholesale markets, as they’re typically higher and more stringent than the standards for produce sold through CSAs and farmers markets. Pressman strongly emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships with wholesale cus tomers. “A small farm can’t afford to have a cus tomer relationship. A small farm needs to have an actual relationship. A relationship means give and take. It means two people are helping each other.” He advises going the extra mile to meet customers’ needs—it’ll pay dividends when the farmer needs flexibility in a bad year or a referral to another potential customer when crops are abundant.
While wholesale can provide production and logistics advantages compared with direct mar kets—CSA, in particular—it does exacerbate the challenges many farmers have with cash flow and risks due to extreme weather. Most CSA farmers would probably agree that one of the most attrac tive attributes of the CSA model is that farmers receive payment at the beginning of the year. CSA members are also usually asked to sign a member agreement, which acknowledges that they are sharing in the risk of farming and will not be refunded their initial investment if crops fail due to unforeseen circumstances such as extreme weather. This means that cash from CSA sales is guaranteed income.
Farmers markets and CSA programs are great options for many farmers, but Pressman’s story illustrates that wholesale shouldn’t be overlooked as a viable option for small farmers. “When I first started, I wanted to look and feel like my friends’ farms and the farms I used to work on,” Pressman added. “Farms can, and should, change.”
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8 | May | June 2018 Wholesale Market — from page 1
Pressman dropped his CSA program after two years and made a big push to pick up new whole sale customers, which provided an increasingly large proportion of his annual sales. He dropped farmers markets in 2017—five years after he started his farm—and now grows 14-acres of pro duce exclusively for wholesale markets. Pressman grows 8-10 crops, rather than 50, which he feels allows him to do a better job of managing his crops (and staying sane).
1. Growing a diversity of crops (compared with the average Midwestern crop farm). So a disease or ill-timed weather event may damage one crop, but likely not all of them.
“I always found with the CSA that I couldn’t keep an eye on everything. With [a wholesale] model, I’ve been able to get really familiar with my crops,” he explained. “There are just things you’re going to see when you’re growing 13,000 Brussels sprouts plants every year that you’re probably not going to see if you’re only growing a bed of it for the end of the season for your CSA.” But Pressman clarified that it’s not only about the farmers’ attention; it’s a scale thing. You simply get to observe a lot more plants when you’re grow ing a crop on a larger scale. He feels the wholesale model also affords him the ability to take advantage of some tools and systems that aren’t as easily justifiable for the smaller, more diversified farmer. He has purchased some equipment to streamline aspects of production, such as a brush washer for postharvest cleaning of cucumbers, peppers, and other crops, and a “veg-veyor”—a conveyor belt mounted to a flatbed wagon that is pulled slowly down the field perpendicular to the beds, allowing harvest ers to place produce on the belt for it to be carried out of the field. He has hired out his delivery to a trucking company that picks up his produce at the farm in a refrigerated truck and makes deliveries to his Twin Cities wholesale customers. Since the company charges per stop, this model would only make financial sense when each customer is buying a large volume. While this may seem like an expensive delivery option—he admits that it is a large line item in his budget—he makes two compelling arguments in favor of contracted deliv ery services: First, it allows for expansion and contraction of production—if he increases in scale and can no longer fit all orders in one truck, they just send a second truck; second, and perhaps more importantly, it improves his quality of life. “If there’s stuff other people can do better, within reason, why not let them do it?” he added. “It’s the same reason I have an accountant… It frees me up to pay attention to the details on the farm that need me to be there. I don’t need to be the truck driver…but I do need to be the guy that’s doing the quality control in the pack shed, and scouting for pests and disease in the field.”
“Now that I’m in my 60s, I practice yoga every Lisa Kivirist uses a flexible desk so she can stand or sit as she works. Changing positions frequently, whether at a desk or weeding a row, is one of the expert tips for healthy body care. Photo by John Ivanko (605)-260-0784
“Female farmers naturally take good care of our animals, soil and crops, but it’s easy to overlook ourselves,” shared Dr. Josie Rudolphi, an associate research scientist at the National Farm Medicine Center in Marshfield, Wis. Rudolphi will be one of the “resources in the field” at these In Her Boots workshops to bring a scientific per spective to health and farm safety. “When we talk about sustainability, we focus on the farm itself and other resources, but not the farmer. That equation needs to change, especially for women farmers who also often take primary responsibil ity for other demanding roles like child care.”
“Prevention is the best strategy to protect our bodies,” Rudolphi added. “Vary tasks and don’t keep your body in any one position for too long. Prevention is important because we want farmers to do what they love for as long as they can. If you take care of yourself, you avoid injury that can not only hurt yourself, but hurt your bottom line, too, if you can’t work to get your harvest in. Unlike other professions, farmers don’t get sick time or readily have someone else do their job.”
NUTRITION to make your SOIL WORK
for women farmers. “Personally, now that I’m in my 50s, I’m more acutely aware of my body after I’ve been working in the same position for too long and know to change tasks.” Break up longer chores into smaller segments: If you are moving a large compost pile to your vegetable rows, after every couple of wheelbarrow loads, change motions, squat and find a row to weed for a while. Minimize Risk “A core learning for us is that too many women take physical risks out of necessity,” explained Ann Adams, the other co-founder of Green Heron Tools and a former nurse. “We simply want to get the job done as fast as possible and don’t think that we should do something a different way, like using a lever as opposed to lifting something directly.” Stepping back and thinking through a task before jumping in can go a long way in pro moting safety and health and shrinking risk. “Farm safety often is more of an afterthought than a priority and it’s easy to forget how hazard ous an industry agriculture is,” Rudolphi added.
By Lisa Kivirist Holistic approach to farm chores keeps women’s bodies strong longer
| 9mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775
“I’m excited to host an In Her Boots workshops this summer for women farmers because so often it’s intimidating to learn about machinery from men, who tend to just do things instead of allow ing you to be capable and learn yourself,” said Hannah Breckbill of Humble Hands Harvest Farm in Decorah, Iowa, who hosts the July 26 session. “I love to create a space of mutual learn ing, of figuring out what we need to know and then figuring out how to learn it together.” Need a dose of pragmatic inspiration as we kick off the growing season? Here’s a sneak preview of the themes we’ll be covering at the In Her Boots workshops with five tips for practicing healthy body care in daily farm routines. Plan Your Day Plot your farm tasks so you can scatter a diver sity of tasks throughout the day. “Varying your activities and not doing any one thing for too long is one of the best strategies you can do for your body,” advised Liz Brensinger, co-founder of Green Heron Tools, an agricultural entrepreneurial venture that creates ergonomically correct tools
As we jump into the thick of the busy summer farming season and the daily to-do list is long, it’s easy to lose sight of our most important tool: ourselves. Prioritizing body care and approaching tool and machinery use in a pro-active manner reaps benefits way beyond our farm’s bottom line. By cultivating a holistic approach to our daily chores, we ramp up safety, efficiency, and longev ity and the ability to keep doing what we love into our later years. Understanding and prioritizing ergonomics and body care will be covered at our MOSES In Her Boots women farmer workshops this sum mer, providing a unique opportunity to delve into these issues from a female farmer lens. These In Her Boots workshops offer a welcoming setting based on peer-to-peer networking with expert advice. Whether you’re a seasoned woman farmer needing to reprioritize care for you or a beginning farmer ready to launch, there’s something for you to learn here this summer. (See details on page 7.)
The In Her Boots sessions will be going over the basics on tractor safety, the piece of machinery that causes the most fatalities within agriculture, yet is ubiquitous on farms.
Don’t try to do too much at once or be preoccu pied thinking about your next task. Fully engage in and enjoy the task at hand and complete it suc cessfully and safely before moving onto something else. If it’s a big task, break it up and intersperse other activities for diversity.
Many short-term as well as chronic aches and pains are a result of too much repetition of the same movements or postures. Whenever possible, stand for a while, sit for a while, and then stand again. When standing, periodically shift your weight from side to side and do some knee bends. When sitting, it’s best to have your legs uncrossed to facilitate optimal blood flow and avoid putting pressure on any particular area. Break up your static motion with short breaks. Know Your Body
www.soilworksllc.com -
Take the time to understand your body and be able to recognize what your body needs and what works for you. “To do self-care well, I’ve had to be really intentional about it,” Breckbill said. “I do this mostly by prioritizing sleep and making sure I eat real food at regular intervals. Being aware of how my body is moving and thinking through how I can switch up the movements to keep everything in balance is also key.”
To Holistic Approach to Chores on page 16
Be Conscious “When our bodies are hard at work on the farm or in the garden—and our minds are dis tracted/busy elsewhere—we’re much more likely to hurt ourselves. And, the older we get, the longer it takes to heal,” Brensinger explained. “The main way to avoid getting hurt—whether by falling or cutting oneself with a pruner or getting a sore back from doing the same task too long—is to be fully present in your body and conscious of your surroundings and what you are doing.”
10 | May | June 2018
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National agriculture coalition works to create socially just organization By Jade Florence Working in the field of sustainable agriculture is both exciting and challenging. In addition to the research and development that goes into making our agricultural systems regenerative and profit able, we must also think about the sustainability of these systems for the communities they serve. Equitable access to healthy foods, productive lands, and the resources needed to build these systems are just a few of the challenges we face. But there is one central tenant of sustain able agriculture that may be its saving grace. Biodiversity is a major strength of our natural ecosystems. It’s what safeguards us against wide spread crop failure caused by disease, pests and natural disasters; it supports a healthy diet; and it can increase the productivity of individual species though symbiosis. Just as biodiversity strength ens ecosystems, human diversity, as supported through social justice, strengthens communities by contributing and valuing unique perspectives, experiences, and ethics. However, the United States has a poor history of valuing social justice in its own food systems. From the nearly 250 years of forced AfricanAmerican slave labor on agricultural lands to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that gave way to The Homestead Act of 1862, the U.S. has had a long history of human exploitation and cruelty in the name of profit, with these examples only scratch ing the Moresurface.modern forms of racial injustice have also plagued agriculture in America, namely within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both program delivery and the treatment of employees within the USDA have been found to be tainted with discrimination, according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1965. Later reports in the 80s and 90s showed that USDA dis crimination has historically had a direct impact on declining minority farm ownership. In the late 90s, the USDA was subject to a class action lawsuit and entered into a consent agreement to repay black farmers for the damages associated with the discrimination they faced in USDA pro grams. This famous consent agreement became known as Pigford I. Furthermore, the USDA has also been the target of discrimination lawsuits by Native American, Hispanic, and women produc ers. The history of USDA discrimination has been further cemented by a USDA Civil Rights team’s 1997 report which found that in addition to the infractions themselves, the agency was also failing to process the very complaints filed by farmers and employees that documented the discrimination. This brief history of agricultural exploitation and discrimination in the U.S. is provided, not to sadden the heart (although it should), but to provide context to why diversity, equity, and inclu sion work in the field of sustainable agriculture is vitallyThankfully,important.the USDA has already begun to make the changes needed to become a more socially equitable and just agency. While the USDA Office of Civil Rights was eliminated due to budget cuts in 1983 under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, it was reopened in 1996. And in more recent years, the USDA has undergone a sizable overhaul, particularly under the direction of President Barack Obama and former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who made civil rights their top priority for the USDA. In 2009, Vilsack suspended foreclosures for 90 days on all Farm Service Agency loans in order to review any that may have been subject to dis criminatory conduct. In addition, Vilsack learned of the over 14,000 USDA civil rights complaints filed between 2001 and 2008, and that only one had been found to have merit during the time period they were filed. He assembled a task force and called for the retroactive review of nearly 80% of those and found that nearly 3,800 could have merit. Under Vilsack, the USDA also completed a Civil Rights Assessment of program delivery, which took 18 months to complete and included recommendations for improving service to minority and socially disadvantaged farmers. These exam ples are just a small glimpse into the progress the USDA has made to correct past wrongs and move towards supporting a more equitable agricultural landscape, but there is still a long way to go. Advocacy groups can play a key role when it comes to holding these federal agencies accountable, but only if they themselves actively value social justice. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is an advocacy group comprised of over 100 member organiza tions (including MOSES) that come together to craft and promote sustainable agriculture federal policy. NSAC was founded in 2009, and is the result of a merger between the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture (NCSA) and the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (SAC). Prior to this merger, both parent organizations had been in operation since the 90s and 80s respectively. NCSA was a pioneer in bringing together a wide variety of voices to support environmental stewardship and social justice in agricultural systems. Partners included the Sierra Club, National Farmers Union, coops, and farmers markets. SAC, on the other hand, was a major driver of policy change and successfully developed programs includ ing the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Value-Added Producer Grants program, the National Organic Certification Cost Share, the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, and the Farmers Market Promotion Program. The strength of both organizations was combined in the merger, and NSAC has been a major player in sustainable agriculture policy devel opment and lobbying ever since. The social justice lens of these parent orga nizations led NSAC to establish the Diversity Committee soon after the merger. The under standing that agriculture cannot be sustainable unless it is both environmentally and socially just was not lost on this organization. The goal of the Diversity Committee has been to instill social justice and diversity as operational elements of NSAC’s activities and committees, which include the Organizational Council, Policy Council, Issue Committees, any ad hoc committees, and other operations of NSAC. As the Diversity Committee has evolved, it has also increased its role as an entity that ensures the organization incorporates a social justice lens when setting policy priorities, advocacy strategies, communications, and other NSAC-approved or supported activities.
Our
At a nationwide meeting of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, members listen to perspectives from people of color, including Lydia Villanueva (NSAC Diversity Committee co-chair), Qiana Mickie, Jade Florence (NSAC Diversity Committee co-chair), Hannah Jo King, and Nelson Escobar. Photo submitted
Jade Florence works for the Northwest Center for Alterna tives to Pesticides in Boise, Idaho, and co-chairs the Diversity Committee of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
In order to come to a deeper understanding of what it means for NSAC to be a socially just organization, one of our foundational events was to hold a coalition-wide panel of people of color (POC). The purpose of this panel was to share some key points with the broader coalition while centering current POC perspectives. Key topics included racial equity in food and agriculture, representa tion and leadership of POC, the how of working with POC members, and which resources/support are critical for POC in the sustainable agriculture movement. Panel questions included: What do you see as the primary challenges to racial equity in food and agriculture? What do you view as key opportunities? And how can the coalition and its members best support racial equity in food and agriculture? The panel session concluded with input from members about their thoughts regard ing these questions. The discussion was robust, and the Diversity Committee found that many member organizations were eager to understand how they could serve a more diverse base of farm ers in their home states. This led to the develop ment of a special session during the next in-person meeting, in which coalition members brainstormed about topics to help NSAC move its racial equity work forward. Topics included how to increase collaboration with farmers of color (FOC)/ POC coalitions/increase representation of FOC and POC members, how to ground our racial equity work in accurate data and use metrics to assess our success, and training/resources that member organizations require. We found this collaborative brainstorming and planning process to be invaluable, and it led to many initiatives to move NSAC’s social justice work forward. We furthered our data and metrics work by having each committee research what demographic data is already being collected by the USDA, and used that to determine which communities may be underserved. NSAC has also begun the process of using available data during the policy priority setting process and in order to strategize ways to increase the collection/availabil ity of such Anotherdata.critical next step has been NSAC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training series which has been offered to member organizations and staff. An example of this training comes from another in-person meeting in which NSAC member organizations were invited to take an organizational assessment and then brainstorm as a group ways that their individual organizations could become more racially equitable and socially just. NSAC staff and key stakeholders have also undergone numerous group training sessions and are actively working towards strengthening the organization and its promoted policy priorities through equity and inclusion. NSAC and the United States agricultural system as a whole have had a long history of grap pling with social inequality and developing new ways to address and correct these issues. Although the history of agriculture in the U.S. has been fraught with exploitation and cruelty, all members of the agricultural community have a unique oppor tunity to build a new food system—one that equita bly serves the needs of all workers and eaters. From my experience as the NSAC Diversity Committee’s co-chair, there is no one universal path to increasing the racial/social justice of our organiza tions. Each organization is unique, and so is each path. The best advice that I can give is to make the changes as genuinely as possible. Setting quotas for number of POC reached or engaged looks good on paper, but unless there are meaningful relationships behind that engagement, these relationships can prove to be extractive and empty. The real change comes when the members of organizations under stand where they’ve been, what they’re working towards, why they’re working towards it, and come together to take that journey one step at a time.
Over the years, the Diversity Committee has learned one major lesson—there is no one-size-fitsall solution for becoming an environmentally and socially just organization. The journey is always evolving, and the communities an organization serves, as well as their needs, shift.
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Socially Just Organization — from previous page
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The Real Organic Project website has the fol lowing description of its purpose and goals: The Real Organic Project has been created to help edu cate and connect those who care about organic farming as practiced around the world. Our mission is to grow people’s understanding of traditional organic values and practices. One of our goals is to create an add-on label to USDA certified organic to provide more transparency on these farming practices. USDA organic certification is a prerequisite to participate in the add-on program.
Many farmers now feel the USDA organic label no longer adequately reflects how we farm, and many in the organic community feel a loss of identity within the label. Our community worked for years to build an organic label that people can trust.
Francis Thicke is an organic farmer from Iowa. He recently completed a five-year term on the NOSB and is currently serving on the Real Organic Standards Board.
Strawberry Research — from page 5
Nathan Hecht is a graduate student in the Organic and Sustainable Horticulture Lab at the University of Min nesota. His research is funded in part by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. To discuss his research, contact him at hecht072@umn.edu.
Concluding Thoughts As we work to manifest the vision of diverse, productive, resilient agroecosystems, collaboration and knowledge-sharing will become increasingly important. The education and networking efforts of organizations like MOSES are critical, in that they connect more people to the conversation on supporting biodiversity in agriculture, myself included. As a graduate student, I am continu ally inspired by the many collaborations I see happening between growers and scientists, each bringing their own expertise to find new and creative solutions to complex challenges. I am hopeful that these partnerships will continue, with growers reaching out to extension professionals and professors to share their experience, and sci entists reaching out to growers to develop research projects that are more directly associated with the needs and interests of local farming communities. Although there are countless challenges, I am encouraged by visionary growers, researchers, and leaders who have the power to create a world where both ecology and economy can thrive.
The farmers involved in the Real Organic Project wish it would never have come to this. We would much prefer that USDA would uphold the integrity of the NOP seal. However, we feel that at this point we have lost too much ground with the USDA organic program. There appears to be no end in sight for the erosion of the USDA organic standards. Our hopes are that sometime in the future the organic community will be able to bring the National Organic Program back to serve and protect the original vision, which would make the Real Organic Project unneeded.
The Real Organic Project standards are provisional standards that will be used in a pilot implementation of ROP certification in the summer of 2018. In fall of 2018, the Real Organic Project will publish these provisional standards more widely within the organic community and will ask for comments on refinements of the stan dards.
12 | May | June 2018 Inside Organics — from page 3
The Real Organic Project is an add-on organic certification. Farmers certified ROP will also be required to be certified by the NOP. The goal of the project is to restore the integrity that was the inspiration for the Organic Foods Production Act. In April 2018, the Real Organic Standards Board met to draft the ROP standards. These are add-on organic standards that participating organic farmers will follow, in addition to the NOP standards. The standards approved in April will be provisional standards that will be used in a pilot program this summer. This fall, the organic community will be invited to comment on the standards for further refinement. The provisional standards can be found on the ROP website.
Much about the National Organic Program is a suc cess, and most of the farms being certified deserve to be called real organic. But the farm products from a tiny minority of factory farms now being certified are at odds with the original intent of organic farming. Unfortunately, these few factories produce a large, and growing, proportion of the food labeled organic on the market today. With this add-on, farmers are creating a new way of communicating our practices to consumers who care. Our simple goal is transparency in the marketplace. Through this effort, we have brought together farmers, scientists, eaters, and advocates whose common inter est is to support real organic farming.
Primary strawberry flower visitors were hoverflies (Syrphidae) and native sweat bees (Halictidae), suggesting strawberry pollination may rely more on fly (Diptera) species than bee (Hymenoptera) species. The borage patch itself hosted a wide diversity of insect pollinators includ ing those mentioned above, as well as an impres sive abundance of bumble and honey bees. Looking Ahead Although these results are only from the first year of data, it appears there may be a berry weight benefit for those strawberry plants located closer to the borage flower patch, due to increased insect pollinator activity. Many questions remain about how best to design pollinator farmscaping elements on a farm in order to reduce issues like space limitations, pollination competition, or pest hosting. Still, there is mounting evidence to sug gest that adding floral diversity to a pollinationdependent cropping system may benefit both the farmer and local beneficial insect populations. There are many ways to incorporate these sorts of pollinator farmscaping practices into your own plot, whether that is in a home garden or a large-scale production operation. This can begin with simply mowing less, to allow early season flowers like clover and dandelions to thrive when floral resources are low. Planting annual flowering species can be one way to experiment with flower plantings at low cost, with little risk. Some flower strips could even serve as secondary crops, as many flowers are edible, have medicinal proper ties, or can be sold as cut-flowers. More long-term permanent establishments include perennial flower plantings or even restored prairie land scapes. The Xerces Society (xerces.org) has many resources available to help design and integrate these sorts of practices on farms.
The Real Organic Project is family farmer-driven and embraces centuries-old organic farming practices along with new scientific knowledge of ecological farming. We believe that crops grown in soil and livestock raised on pasture-based systems are fundamental to organic farming. Healthy soils equal healthy crops and livestock, which equal healthy people and a healthy climate.
Jennifer Nelson, Humble Pie Farm, cuts zinnia for a bouquet. Zinnia is her top pick for an easy-to-grow flower for busy market farmers. Photo by Claire Campbell along with their nour ishingHarvestfood. and postharvest handling are key to ensuring longevity and quality in all products,farm-grownespecially flowers. Be sure to wash and sterilize your harvest tools and buckets before using. Flowers do best if they are harvested during the cool of the day, either early morn ing or late evening. If possible, most flowers like to go into a cooler right after harvest to lose that field heat. Flowers that aren’t kept in coolers to reduce field heat will not last as long as those that are, with a few exceptions.
Tithonia – Also known as Mexican Sunflower, this beautiful branching flower has bright orange-red blooms. Beneficial birds and insects love the nectar of this sweet and colorful flower.
Branching Sunflower –Soraya, Sonja, panache and chocolate are all varieties that will add that happy sunflower bloom to your field row in various colors and sizes. Branching sunflowers, like many flower plants that produce multiple blooms, need to be harvested frequently, or the plants will die quickly.
Giant Marigolds – These beauties are used in other cultures’ celebrations for good reason. The giant orange, yellow, and gold balls last a long time, and are a lovely addition to any summer bouquet. The foliage also lasts a long time, and serves as a great green filler for bouquets. Jedi Orange and Giant Yellow are reliable varieties.
Rudebeckia – There are many varieties of this stan dard perennial commonly known as Black-Eyed Susan. Once a stand of this peren nial is established, it mostly takes care of itself. The only threat can be powdery mildew, so plant away from other susceptible plants like zinnias. Herbs – Bronze fennel, dill, basil, borage, catmint, chamomile, bee balm, hyssop, lavender, and sage all have beautiful flowers that can be put in bouquets, and smell delicious.Don’thesitate to get creative with your mixed bouquet fillers. Cover crops, woody bushes and tree fruit branches can all make great additions to mixed bouquets. Weeds like Persian cress and yellow dock can also add beautiful greenery to mixes for your CSA members.
At this year’s MOSES Conference workshop on growing and marketing flowers, many farmers asked about easy-to-grow flowers that would add value to a veggie CSA or farmers market stall. Realizing other farm ers would like to know about those, too, I’ve compiled a list of easycare, beautiful blooms to add to your mix. Flowers add diver sity to your crop rota tion, and biomass to improve soil tilth. Plus, they attract the beneficial pollinators that make your veggies taste so deli cious. Flowers in a vegetable rotation are a win for all. And, your CSA members and farmers market customers will appreciate the additional beauty Zinnia – Who doesn’t love a bright, cheerful zinnia? There are many different varieties that are lovely, and so easy to grow. Benary’s giant mix will give you a mix of colors, and they tend to be more resistant to powdery mildew - one of the main problems that can arise with this accommodating bloom. Oklahoma or State Fair mix are also good choices. Zinnia is the exception to the “flowers in the cooler” rule. They like to stay no lower than 50 degrees or so, and only harvest when the petals are dry, or they literally melt.
Calendula – Mow down calendula after harvesting the flowers, and it’ll come back with a second flush of blooms.
Dianthus – There are many perennial varieties of dian thus also known as Sweet William, as well as those grown as annuals. The annual with the longest stem length is the Amazon series, and these are commonly grown for cut flowers. The seed is very expensive, but they are vibrant, easy to grow and last a long time in a vase.
Phlox – Perennial phlox is a wonderful cut flower that smells lovely, and lasts a long time in a vase. Echinacea – While it can challengingbe to germinate as it requires stratification, this tried and true, beauti ful perennial lasts a very long time after cut. It’s also a great source of pollen for beneficial birds and insects.
These easy-care flowers offer burst of color to CSA boxes, market stands
By Jennifer Nelson
Build Soil Health, Economically Free Soil Building Consultations
Photos by Humble Pie Farm & Johnny’s
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Jennifer Nelson grows flowers for her Humble Pie Farm. She’s also a MOSES Organic Specialist. For the audio recording of the flower workshop from the 2018 MOSES Conference, see mosesorganic.net.
www.sustane.com 800-352-9245 Cannon Falls, MN Organic Fertilizers & Soil Amendments
It’s also a wonderful edible and medicinal plant to use fresh or dried. While most of the blooms won’t last more than a few days, some of newer varieties like Greenheart Orange and Princess Sapporo have longer vase life.
Recommended Varieties
Achillea – This lovely peren nial is often the first to green up in spring. Also known as Yarrow, this sweet bloom is a great filler in mixed bouquets, and can hold its own in a lovely bunch, too. Colorado is an organic variety.
— from page 1
To Farm Bill on page and 10 Democrats, while 26 Republicans and 19 Democrats serve on the House Agriculture Committee. The margins are fairly tight, so these folks have to work together in a bipartisan effort to pass legislation. If, for some reason, the Farm Bill discussions go through 2018 past the November election, and we see some changes in either one or both houses, we’ll see some new faces/leaders on these committees. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) is the current chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is the ranking member. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) is the current chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) is the ranking member. These four individuals wrote the last Farm Bill, so we know they can work together well, for the most part. In early 2018, Sen. Roberts said, “I’d like to see us vote (as a committee) in February, but we seem to have a few things to get out of the way: like a continuing resolution, something about a wall, and all those questions about immigration. I think that’s going to eat up all of the time in February and will push the Farm Bill into March.” As I type this, it’s late April, and the Senate has not introduced their version of the Farm Bill, while the House Ag Committee introduced and passed their bill in mid-April. I truly believe they will kick the can down the road. We may see some thing happen on the Senate side in May, but politi cians who are running for re-election will want to get home and campaign. So the Farm Bill will get put on the back burner, or more likely, back in the fridge.Alittle over a year ago, I read an article on LinkedIn entitled, “What Coalitions Matter Today in Food Policy?” written by Matt Herrick, former USDA spokesperson during the Obama administration and current managing director of communications at The Rockefeller Foundation. In his article, Herrick highlights five of the most critical coalitions that will shape the nation’s next Farm Bill. I’ve taken the liberty of adding some of my own thoughts to Herrick’s original article.
If you take SNAP out of the Farm Bill, that will be the last Farm Bill, ever. We need the support of urban legislators whose constituents utilize SNAP benefits to vote for things like crop insurance and conservation programs that benefit farmers and rural people. The reality of SNAP is, many rural citizens utilize those benefits, too. Out of 435 Congressional districts, only about 35 are considered “rural.” Our voices as rural citizens are significantly diminished with every census. Rural districts grow larger because we have fewer people, but our voice gets smaller. Removing food programs from the Farm Bill essentially removes them from USDA. Taking that large chunk out of USDA’s budget leaves the agency a shell of its former self and makes the agency worthless on a Cabinet level. All of the programs brought forward by the Farm Bill could literally be “farmed out” to other Cabinet agencies. Farmers Union supports keeping food programs in the Farm Bill.
This group is identified closely with small farms, local food, organics, equitable pay for farm workers, food justice, and environmental sustain ability. The Good Food Movement is a hodgepodge of progressive food policy advocates and organiza tions with growing influence in Washington, D.C. and beyond. Although the movement has no offi cial head, its spokespeople are many. From farmer fair practices, to GMO labeling, to cage-free eggs, the Good Food Movement uses grassroots and grasstops (when you focus narrowly on opinion leaders and folks who have connections to elected officials) strategies fueled by digital advocacy (social media) to achieve their goals. Budget Hawks and the White House Early in the Trump Administration, it’s clear fiscally conservative think tanks are working hand-in-glove with White House officials and key members of Congress, such as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), to bring greater scrutiny to the federal appropriations process. It’s still an open question how influential this coalition will be in shaping the federal budget, but that will become clear as we move further along in the session. If the coalition proves effective, it may go after key titles in the Farm Bill—commodity payment
Conservation-Crop Insurance Coalition
USDA NOP accredited Organic Certification Crops, Livestock, Wild Crops and Processing / Handling Farm Bill
Georgia/Southern Coalition President Trump chose former Georgia gov ernor Sonny Perdue to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He’s a business man who has been highly involved in global commodities trade. Perdue has deep interests in inputs, specifically fertilizer, and has owned grain elevators across his home state. He is close friends with another key player: American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. Duvall has been AFBF’s president for a little over two years. He is a thirdgeneration Georgia farmer, who, along with his wife, raises 400 head of cattle, hay for feed, and 750,000 broilers. He served nine years as Georgia Farm Bureau’s president and was appointed to Georgia’s Agriculture Advisory Committee when Perdue was governor. While the Farm Bureau often plays a key role in shaping the Farm Bill, the organization will have significant influence on this particular Farm Bill, given the established relationship between Perdue and Duvall. Aside from Perdue and Duvall, there is a large presence from the South on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Boozman (R-AR), David Perdue (R-GA and Sec. Perdue’s first cousin), and the newest member of the coalition, Cindy HydeSmith, who replaced longtime Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, all make up this coalition. This group will likely push for cattle, poultry, rice, pea nuts, and cotton fixes in the Farm Bill. Keep your eye on the Senate bill for these possible changes.
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Nutrition-Production Ag Coalition Sometimes called the bedrock of modern-day Farm Bills, this collection of farming and com modity groups aligned with nutrition and hunger organizations, which represent a rural-urban coalition that often preserves the heart of the leg islation. The idea here is that SNAP—also called food stamps—appeals to urban constituents while commodity payments and crop insurance programs appeal to rural audiences. Nutrition programs take up anywhere from 80-85% of Farm Bill funding. Total outlays for the 2014 Farm Bill totaled $489 billion, and that’s after we took over $20 billion in cuts due to auster ity. SNAP is in the Farm Bill, primarily because of two men who served in the U.S. Senate over 40 years ago: Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) and Sen. George McGovern (D-SD). The two came together during a time in our history when there was a glut of ag products on the market and too many hungry people, so they linked them together through the Farm Bill. When asked by a reporter why you would put food stamps in the Farm Bill, Dole answered, “Hmmm… food and agriculture, do they have something in common with each other?”
Good Food Movement
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14 | May | June 2018
When it comes to conservation, the Farm Bill mostly provides voluntary, incentive-based opportunities rather than mandates for private landowners. The Farm Bill’s conservation compli ance requirement is one major exception. In order to receive federal crop insurance subsidies (up to 60%) and payments under federal disaster assis tance and some commodity support programs, the Farm Bill asks producers to sign an agreement promising they will not farm on highly erodible lands or wetlands. This agreement is cherished by hunting, fishing, and conservation groups, like Ducks Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Commodity farmers often call on these groups to help protect federal crop insurance from budget cuts; for that favor, commodity groups have greater incentive to pro tect conservation programs. The other thing about members of these groups is they are very active voters. If there’s an issue they care about, such as conservation, they’ll let their legislators know about it, and vote accordingly.
By Bailey Webster When I picked up The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables, my first question was: “How is this different from The Lean Farm?” The cov ers of the two books have a very similar look; I was skeptical that author Ben Hartman had new things to say. I was pleasantly surprised, however. While there is some redundancy between the two books, Growing Vegetables moves on pretty quickly from the principles developed in The Lean Farm to new material. As with his first book, Hartman pulls the reader in quickly. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables is a visually rich book, with lots of relevant photos and good captions. It’s laid out in a way that lends itself well to skimming, with logical section headers and comment boxes. For those reading cover-to-cover, Hartman keeps the reader interested with personal stories about his family farm, as well as little-known historical tidbits.Perhaps most alluring is the book’s insistence that farmers actually can—and should—work reasonable hours and take regular vacations. Hartman’s annual week-long July vacation is nothing short of revolutionary in a community that prides itself on the 60+ hour work week and sees lack of vacation as symbolic of commitment.
CHELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING CHELSEA GR EEN PUBLISHING the politics and practice of sustainable living facebook.com/chelseagreenpub @chelseagreen @chelseagreenbooks WWW.CHELSEAGREEN.COM Since 1984, Chelsea Green has been the leading publisher of books about organic farming, gardening, homesteading, natural building, sustainable living, socially responsible business, food, health, and more. Based in White River Junction, VT, Chelsea
NOTE ABOUT MOSES BOOKSTORE: Our online store, mosesorganic.net, now offers only a limited selection of hard-to-find titles. See News Briefs for more details.
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is now employee-owned. STAY CONNECTED WITH OUR AUTHORS AND LEARN ABOUT NEW RELEASES SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER CHELSEAGREEN.COM/NEWSLETTER-SIGNUPAT THE LEAN FARM GUIDE TO GROWING VEGETABLES More In-Depth Lean Techniques for Efficient Organic Production By Ben Hartman SILVOPASTURE A Guide to Managing Grazing Animals, Forage Crops, and Trees in a Temperate Farm Ecosystem By Steve Gabriel 920.684.0227 Fax: 920.684.4499 ORDER 800.258.0848 Manitowoc , WI • U.S.A. www.FishFer tilizer.com DRAMM® RPRODUCE OW PCROPS ASTURE Extremely high levels of available Calcium & Phosphorus for Organic & Sustainable Crop Production Natural Fish Fer tilizer s The Ahimsä Alternative, Inc. For all things Neem & Karanja INSECTICIDEBIOLOGICAL 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil (3750 ppm azadirachtin) Controls Aphids, Army Worms, Beetles, Stink bugs, Caterpillars, Leaf hoppers, Leaf miners, Whitefly, Mealy bugs, Midges, Nematodes, Spider mites, Weevils, Scale, Thrips. www.nimbiosys.com100%ColdPressed,Wild Harvested Neem Oil, Karanja Oil,Neem & Karanja Cake TerraNeem®EC Order @www.neemresource.com or call 1-877-873-6336 Biological Insecticide, Miticide, Fungicide, Nematicide Cold Pressed Neem Oil Ready to Use For Organic & Sustainable Use 4-hour REI Zero days to harvest Improve and protect your organic farming profits Sustaining organic producers by coordinating the efforts of marketing groups. Oren Holle, president 979 Second Road Bremen KS oholle@bluevalley.net785-337-244266412www.ofarm.coop The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables By Ben Hartman 2017 | Chelsea Green 272 pages
It’s always illuminating to see how other people run their farms, and The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers a great view of a good way to farm. Bailey Webster is an organic vegetable farmer and the events coordinator for MOSES.
The Lean system—originally developed for industry in Japan—is designed to cut out waste and increase profits with less work. The book is quick to point out that lean does not mean cheap. “More fundamentally it is about discovering what customers value and pivoting your actions toward that“Ourvalue.”goal” Hartman writes, “is to grow, every year, precisely what each customer wants, no more and no less.”
Growing Vegetables is about just that. By walk ing the reader through the five lean principles most relevant for farm ing, Hartman not only shares his tried-and-true practices, but trains the reader to think lean. The five principles are: 1. Keep only the tools that add value. 2. Let the customer define value. 3. Identify the steps that add value. 4. Cut out the muda —anything that does not add value. 5. Practice kaizen—continuous improvement. For those wary of a dogmatic approach, Hartman invites the reader to think of the book not as a one-size-fits-all way of farming, but rather an approach that works for one farm and can be adapted to suit the needs of other vegetable farms. “While in the pages that follow I show you the particular techniques we use, my intent is not to convince you that this is the best way to farm. I do not think that there is such a thing as a model farm—nor should there be… The pages that fol low merely reveal a snapshot of what works for us in our context. They show where we have landed in our production at this time—after years of thinking lean.”
In fact, much of what Hartman advocates flies in the face of conventional veggie grower wisdom. In a comment box toward the beginning of the book, he explains “lean math.” The formula is simple: eliminated waste = capacity. He explains, “If you find a way to shave just one hour per week off your work, over a period of 20 years you will have freed up 6 months of time. Shave four hours per week and you free up an entire year every 10 years.”Farmer sabbatical??? Count me in!
The book has just two parts – Part I: Leaning the Timeline and Part II: Staging for Flow. The first part addresses specific farming jobs, from planning the year to collecting cash. It stays pretty high level, so even if he’s talking about tomatoes, the general principles could be applied to any crop that is lucrative for your farm. The second part is all about choosing land, setting up infrastructure, and greenhouses: “setting the stage” for a successful farming operation. Beginning and experienced growers alike will get something out of Ben Hartman’s latest book.
NEW FROM Green
Second book on ‘lean’ farming digs deeper into techniques, philosophy
Holistic Approach to Chores — from page 9
Nick Levendofsky is the director of external affairs at Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. He was the government relations associate at Wisconsin Farmers Union.
eventually. Successful lobbyists agree that pro viding accurate information is essential to being influential.
Adams advised. For example, even though you may have been able to lift that 50-pound bag of feed single-handedly in the past, as you get older, divide that feed bag into two 25-pound loads or use tools to help you lift and move, such as a wheelbarrow.
16 | May | June 2018 morning and attend yoga class one night a week in town,” shared Denise O’Brien of Rolling Acres Farm in Atlantic, Iowa, and founder of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN). “The stretching movement helps support my joint health and the whole experience of getting off farm and going somewhere else where I only need to fol low the teacher’s instructions relaxes my mind. I barter vegetables with my yoga instructor, so it’s a win-win for both of us. We’ve become good friends.”
“Changes in muscle mass are a completely normal part of the aging process, but it is impor tant to be aware that our bodies simply do not have the same level of strength we used to have and to find alternative ways to accomplish tasks,”
• Find allies issue-by-issue, not philosophy-by-phi losophy. For example, environmental groups and farm groups have wide philosophical differences, but both support the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
Policy-making in a democracy requires a major ity vote. Therefore, a minority must build a coali tion into a majority in order to get a bill passed or a policy adopted.
• Be positive and reasonable, and work within the system. Picture a football field. Look to the cen ter of the field. If you’re standing in the center of a football field, you can look to the left and right and see the whole field. In the policy world, this means you can see both sides of an issue. Now, move down to either end of the football field. You can only see part of the field, primarily the side you are standing on. Remember that policy is determined between the 40-yard lines, not in the red zone.
Lisa Kivirist runs the MOSES In Her Boots project and wrote Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers. She also runs Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B near Monroe, Wis. programs, crop insurance and nutrition. Farmers Union has determined that the best coalition we can align ourselves with on the 2018 Farm Bill include the nutrition and conservation groups. Farmers as Minority I want to shift gears and touch on minority political principles. Farmers are now less than 1 percent of the population, and are considered a minority group when it comes to policy discussions and decisions. Over time, we have learned to prac tice the politics of the minority. Successful minority politics includes five basic principles:
• Adopt a nonpartisan strategy. Policy-making eventually occurs across party lines. Interparty compromise eventually occurs. If an organization adopts a partisan strategy, it will either be in or out of power at a give point in time. If it develops contacts and provides support to a member of Congress, for example, based on issues rather than party affiliation, the organization is always in power. This is absolutely necessary for a minority such as agriculture. As we move further along in the policy process leading up the next Farm Bill, whether it’s in 2018 or 2019, we’ll do well to keep all of these coalitions and principles in mind. By following these prac tices, we’ll find it’s much easier to navigate the uncertain and sometimes uncharted waters of agricultural and food policy.
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• Build coalitions; look for common ground; compromise first within and then among; deescalate arguments with adversaries; play down small differences; and play up mutual interests.
• Base a case on the facts, not on myth or emotion. Policy makers are faced with a multitude of diverse issues on a daily basis. They must rely on professionals and organization lobbyists for accurate, timely information and analysis. It becomes a matter of mutual respect and trust. Misinformation designed to support a cause, whether deliberate or accidental, will backfire
Women’s joints are looser than men’s depend ing upon where we are in our menstrual cycle, which may make us more vulnerable to injury, from exposure to vibration. Bone density also naturally breaks down as we age, so it’s important to consistently exercise to keep our bones strong. Fortunately, farming gives you the types of exer cise you need to keep bones strong, such as reason able lifting. “Anything that puts stress on the bone will keep it strong,” Adams added. At the In Her Boots sessions, we will have a variety of ergonomically correct tools to try out, as well as tips for adapting equipment for safety and better body care.
Invest in Proper Tools Think of any tool, whether it’s a simple shovel or mechanized chainsaw, as an extension of your body, something that should work in tandem with the rest of you. Keep in mind the key ways female bodies are different than men’s when it comes to farm work: • less upper body strength • narrower shoulders and wider hips • proportionally shorter legs and arms • greater flexibility • shorter than the average male — five inches on Theaveragetrickis to recognize these physical differ ences and account for them, particularly as we age.
MOSES Staff Update
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NEWS BRIEFS
Changes to MOSES Online Store The MOSES online store, mosesorganic.net, now carries only a limited number of hard-to-find titles: Before You Have a Cow by Teddy Gentry and Allen Williams; Fearless Farm Finances by Jody Padgham, Craig Chase, and Paul Dietmann; The Northlands Winter Greenhouse Manual by Carol Ford and Chuck Waibel; Organic Dairy Farming by Jody Padgham; Raising Poultry on Pasture by the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association; and, When Weeds Talk by Jay McCaman. We’ll continue to carry a large assortment of farming and food books at the annual MOSES Organic Farming Conference. The online store continues to offer audio record ings of MOSES Conference workshops from the current year and the prior four years. Each work shop is $5 for an MP3 download, or $75 for a USB drive of the complete set/year of 65 workshops. T-shirts from the 2018 MOSES Conference, ball caps, and reusable MOSES shopping bags are available through the online store, too. The store also stocks signs to identify fields as organic. The signs are 18” wide by 23” high UV-resistant corrugated plastic with waterproof ink. The cost is $15/pair plus shipping. Purchases made through the MOSES online store support our programs that help farmers get practical advice on organic and sustainable farm ing practices. Please place orders at mosesorganic. net or call MOSES at 715-778-5775.
Free Admission to MOSES Conference
In Her Boots Podcast The MOSES “In Her Boots” podcast is back to weekly episodes for the summer with new content released every Friday, plus over 35 archived epi sodes—binge-listen while you work! Host Lisa Kivirist shines the spotlight on women farmers and activists who are transforming our food system. Each woman is featured in four 15-minute episodes released weekly over the course of a month. The current spotlight is on Kirsten Jurcek of Brattset Family Farm in Wisconsin. Upcoming guests include Clare Hintz of Elsewhere Farm, and Sylvia Burgos Toftness of Bull Brook Keep. For details, see mosesorganic.org/in-her-boots-podcast.
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Planning for 2019 MOSES Conference MOSES is implementing a new planning process for the 2019 MOSES Organic Farming Conference. To include more voices in the pro cess (especially busy farmers), we’re doing away with the annual in-person planning meeting in La Crosse. Instead, we’ve developed a survey process so that everyone can vote for their favorite workshop topics. The survey is open now through Aug. 31, 2018. Participants may submit ideas, too—we’ll refresh the survey topics every two weeks. Bookmark www.surveymonkey.com/ r/2019workshops, vote, and check in to vote again.
Farmer of Year Nominations
Your free ticket to MOSES 2019 could be in your farm’s Instagram or Facebook account or camera—enter your farming photos in the MOSES Conference Program Photo Contest! We’ll feature the winning photo on the program cover, and give the winner a free pass to the conference, a T-shirt and mug. Every photo contest entrant who comes to the conference gets a free mug, too. This fun contest recognizes farmers in our community, and gives MOSES authentic farming photos to promote organic and sustainable farming. When we use the photos, we identify the farm and state, so your farm gets additional exposure. As you’re working on the farm this summer, take photos of field work, your growing crops, happy livestock, your barn—whatever says “organic farming” to you. To submit photos (by Sept. 15), go to mosesorganic.org/conference and click on the photo contest link.
The nomination period is open for the 2019 MOSES Organic Farmer of the Year. The award recognizes a Midwest certified organic farmer or farm family for practicing outstanding land stewardship, innovation and outreach. It will be presented at the 2019 MOSES Organic Farming Conference Feb. 21-23 in La Crosse, Wis. The nomination form is online at mosesorganic.org/ organic-farmer-of-the-year. Deadline for nomina tions is Sept. 15, 2018.
Longtime MOSES staffer Cathy Olyphant is retiring at the end of May. Cathy has been with MOSES for nearly 15 years, and has done just about every job we have— and always with a smile. We have appreciated her knowledge of MOSES lore, and will miss her cheerfulness in the office and at the conference. Cathy is an avid birder, and is excited to have more time to photograph birds, conduct bird sur veys, and travel with her husband. Happy trails!
Soil Sisters
Kent Kraft, AFM Managing Broker Rob Woodrow, AFM Managing Broker Office: 217-496-3500 FarmlandSolutionsLLC.com
See
Tools for On-Farm Variety Trials
Farm Law FAQs Farm Commons has released a set of FAQs about the legal issues facing direct-to-consumer and organic farm operations. Topics include good contracts, food safety liability risks, and agritour ism. See farmcommons.org/resources-search.
Changes to National List USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has opened a 60-day public comment period on proposed changes to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. The changes would allow use of elemental sulfur as a pest repellant for organic livestock, and require handlers to use organic potassium acid tartrate. The com ment period closes June 29, 2018. See bit.ly/ Changes2NatlList.
Farm Production Recordkeeping Workbook with nine forms to track infor mation about crop rotations and inputs, storage and sales, and income and expenses. Download the workbook or forms at farm-production-recordkeeping-workbook.mosesorganic.org/ Minnesota Organic Research Fund Farmers in the northwest region of Minnesota can apply for research or conference fee funds from the new University of Minnesota Stordahl Fund. For information about the fund or how to donate, email frosa001@umn.edu or call 701-212-2471. COG Pro | Organic Certification… Simplified —Harley Soltes Bow Hill Blueberries Bow, WA “ ” withNowGAPrecords! COG Pro Try it for FREE www.cog-pro.comat We use monitoringtooptimizationsmartphonetherecordpestphotos and data directly into the logbook from the field. That is real slick!
18 | May | June 2018 NEWS BRIEFS No Organic Checkoff
the annual August Soil Sisters Tour, sponsored by Wisconsin Farmers Union, MOSES, and Renewing the Countryside. See www.soilsisterswi.org.
How to Manage Flood, Farming Risks
FARMBuyBROKERAGE&Sell
The USDA has terminated the proposed rule to establish a national research and promo tion program for certified organic products (the Organic Checkoff). The decision was based on lack of consensus within the industry and divergent views on how to resolve issues in implementing the proposed program. Details about the termina tion are posted at organic-marketing-board.usda-finds-lack-consensus-among-farmers-new-www.ams.usda.gov/content/
Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG) has a new resource to help organic farmers deal with flood and manage risk. The report points out that disaster assistance can come long after the disaster. Organic farmers’ well-maintained records can help document losses and establish eligibility for late-enacted programs. farm-revenue-crop-insurance.organic-farmers-in-disasters-flooding-and-whole-www.flaginc.org/MOSESoffersthe
The Soil Sisters group of women-owned farms in southern Wisconsin recently received the 2018 Edible Madison Local Food Hero award for championing women farmers. The group hosts Professional Farm Management Including Organic Farming FARM MANAGEMENT Organic and Conventional 320 South Crossing Road - PO Box 69 Sherman, Illinois, 62684-0169
The Organic Seed Alliance, in partnership with MOSES, USDA, and others, has created a workbook to help farmers conduct trials to find varieties best suited to their growing conditions. The 55-page Grower’s Guide to Conducting On-farm Variety Trials includes instructions, trial design examples, resources for seed sourc ing, and worksheets for planning and data collec tion. See seedalliance.org/publications.
Red Dragon Row Crop Flamer Unit, model 6-RU. 6-row, 3 point attachment. Excellent condition. Used one season. $12,000 OBO. Leave message with Greg. 269-267-8527. Moving Sale: T-tape, approx. 8000 ft. $350. 2” flat tube oval hose, approx. 700 ft. $300. Hay wagon used to carry rd. bales, $500. 8ft. John Deere Van Brunt seeder, wood wheels w/steel band, works, $100. Wood Chip per, WW Grinder Corp. Model 5-20-N. Belt driven, no motor $100. swansonc608@g-mail.com 920-723-0226. FALC G 4000 Rotovator. 13 ft., two speed transmis sion, gauge wheels. Excellent Condition - limited use, pictures available upon request. 715-874 6024.
EQUIPMENT 2017 Einbock 15’ tined weeder. Looks like new. $5200. kpeyton@fsb1879.com 319-404-3682. Gary McDonald cultivators for sale. Currently retrofitting 153 cultivators with Gary, who is known for successful weed control. For more information contact Jeff Franklin; cell 815-953-8897. deercreekorganics@ gmail.com
| 19mosesorganic.org | 715-778-5775 New ads posted weekly online. • Equipment • Farms/Land mosesorganic.org/organic-classifieds • Livestock • Jobs • Forages • Grain CLASSIFIEDS Place an ad at Organic Classifieds or call 715-778-5775. mosesorganic.org (under Farming tab) For Sale: Oregon Certified Organic Nursery Busi ness. Owners retiring, selling Eugene area wholesale/ retail nursery business. Active accounts, 5 greenhouses plus associated equipment, materials and historical data. No land, must relocate. Great customer base and great business opportunity. Owners will share business planning and operation experience. $165,000 min bid. OGNursery4Sale@gmail.com Farm/CSA Marketing and Photographer-Looking to help promote and establish web presence for local organic farms. Website sarahlouisechampeau.com Please contact sarah.champeau@gmail.com or call 612-584-8689. ORGANIC FISH FERTILIZER 15-1-1, 100% dry water soluble, 5-7 times more nutritious than liquid fish. Will not clog drip irrigation. One lb., 5 lb. or 55 lb. packag ing, can be shipped UPS. Frommelt Ag Service, Greeley, IA, 563-920-3674. For Sale: Tempered, insulated, double-pane glass. Large panes for sunrooms, solar homes, ag buildings, greenhouses or ??? One hundred fifty thousand sold since 1979; 32” x 74” x 1” double-pane only $49.00. We will be closing or selling Arctic Glass in 12 months. If you need glass, now would be a good time! Arctic Glass, www.kissourglass.com, 715-639-3762 or joseph4249@gmail.com. Hiniker 5000 6 row 30” cultivator, barring off discs, good condition. Can text pics and deliver. $2500 317-431-6302. Tyler Moonwalk fertilizer spreader. 5 ton capac ity. 50 foot spread. Like new condition. $4850. Call 920-860-2118. Allis Chalmers G tractor with electric conversion, hydraulic toolbar and cultivator. Recent conversion, ready to work. Pretty enough for a parade. farmers@ sapsuckerfarms.com 612-849-7335. Mora, Minnesota. 12 row 30” hyd. weed puller. Purchased units new in 2017. $32000 701-640-3476. Looking to rent organic farmland in northwest Iowa or southeast South Dakota. Looking for at least 100 acres or more. Already farming organically. Daniel 712-229-0161. Organic farm for sale/rent. 325 acres in NE Starke Co. Indiana. 2 pivots, 12” well, systematically drained, 255 tillable, balance woods, creek & pasture. $2,250,000 purchase, $350/ac rent. 574-241-3350. Organic Sorghum Sudan round bales. 5x5 inline wrapped. $100 a bale. Weigh 1700 -1800 pounds. Cuba City. 608-732- 3807. Organic corn, organic oats. Can deliver. 608-574-2160. Kune Kune & Ossabaw Hogs, Central Iowa. Contact Nick 641-481-6336 or turkeyfootfarms@gmail.com. Breeding stock and feeders. Reasonable prices- relocat ing farm and reducing herd. All are pastured, drug-free, non-GMO feed. Great mothers, excellent foragers - ideal orchard hogs.
15’ Heavy duty smooth roller. Hitch folds up for transport, will hold water for added weight, good condition and paint. Can text pictures and deliver. Make offer. 317-431-6302. Lilliston 6 row 30” cultivator. Very good condition, spiders good and bearings are good. Can text pictures and deliver. $2000 317-431-6302. Buffalo Cultivators and Planters. 320-221-2266. GRAINSLIVESTOCKFARMS/LANDFORAGES MISCELLANEOUS H U M A T E S blackearth.com HIGHEST QUALITY HUMIC MATERIAL in North America Increased Microbial Populations in Soil Minimum 80% Humic Acid Content Better Crop Residue Breakdown Reduced Soil Erosion Better Soil Aeration Assisted PH Balancing Increased Water Retention Higher Germination and Emergence Increased Root Count and Root Size Increased Nutrient Efficiency & Availability For a FREE DVD call Frommelt Ag at 563 920 3674 Or email frommeltag@iowatelecom.net Place your ad to be seen by 15,000 readers! $20 for up to 30 words; $5/additional 10 words www.cornucopia.org Protecting What We Have All Built Together Promoting economic justice for family-scale farming MINNESOTACertificationOrganicCROPIMPROVEMENTASSOCIATION1900HENDONAVE,SAINTPAULMN55108855-213-4461www.mciaorganic.org•HANDLERS•PROCESSORS•PRODUCERS•WILDCROP•LIVESTOCK Serving the Upper Midwest Ensuring Organic Integrity Since 2002 committedresponsivelocal to service
Webinar: Building a Forage Chain for Livestock May 30 | 2 p.m. CT | Free | Online Kent Solberg will discuss options for creating a forage chain by sequencing annual, perennial, and stored forages to feed your ruminant animals. Growing Garlic and Marketing the Farm May 31 | 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Free | Johnston, Iowa The day will begin in the field, discussing garlic production and soil fertility using mobile chicken coops. After a break for lunch, farmers Jordan and Whitney will discuss their farm’s branding and marketing techniques and materials. PFI: 515232-5661 Upper Midwest CRAFT Field Day: Livestock Tour June 3 | 1 - 5 p.m. | $20 | Elkhorn, Wis. Tour four different livestock farms. The day will focus on man aging various types of livestock including hogs, cattle, and sheep! Free to members. Angelic Organics Learning Center: 815-389-8455 Webinar: Variable Rate Irrigation and Nitrogen in Corn June 7 | 3 p.m. | Free | Online Dr. Tim Shaver of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will discuss the possibilities and issues presented by the use of variable rate irrigation and variable rate nitrogen application in the production of corn. MFA: Lawyer on the Farm June 11 | 5:45 – 8 p.m. | $20 | Marine on St. Croix, Minn. This is the third of a series of interactive sessions on farm law, and will focus on topics of interest identified by farmers. MFA: 651-433-3676
Building Resilient Agricultural Communities June 20 | 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Free | St. Paul, Minn. An interactive, working forum to address the unique chal lenges and opportunities related to stress and resilience among Minnesota farmers, farm families and agricultural workers. UMASH: 612-625-8836
Farm Tour: Uproot Farm - Farming with Focus July 9 | 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. | $20 | Princeton, Minn. Learn from an Organic vegetable farmer about her deci sion to scale back her production and markets this year for improved efficiency, profitability, and a better work-life balance. MFA: 651-433-3676
COMMUNITY CALENDAR Find details and event links online: mosesorganic.org/community
Small Grains, Modest Grains: A Pragmatic Approach to Profitability and Sustainability July 12 | 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Free | Janesville, Wis. MOSES field day - See page 7 Grain Place Foundation’s 25th Annual Summer Farm Tour and Field Day July 14 | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | Free | Marquette, Neb. Organic farmers, food producers and enthusiasts will gather to learn and share ideas about best practices in organic farming and food production. Email: jay@grain placefoundation.org Co-op Farm Tour July 14 | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | $20 | Marine on St. Croix, Minn. Come celebrate the beginning of the season, meet your farm supporters, and party with food, music, games, and more. MFA: 651-433-3676
Minnesota Agroforestry Institute June 19 – 21 | All day | $100 | Lamberton, Minn. The Minnesota Agroforestry Institute is a three-day training that includes classroom workshops and on-farm visits of Agroforestry practices in the field. Call Diomy: 612-626-9272
Upper Midwest CRAFT Field Day: Grazing Planning June 15 | 1 p.m.-4 p.m. | $20 | Brodhead,
Vegetable Integrated Pest Management June 12 | 5 – 8 p.m. | $15 | St. Paul, Minn June 14 | 5 – 8 p.m. | $15 | Waseca, Minn. June 19 | 5 – 8 p.m. | $15 | Alexandria, Minn. Integrated Pest Management emphasises combining diverse techniques for more sustainable and effective pest manage ment. Email Annie: kloddann@umn.edu.
Minnesota Farmers Union Women’s Conference June 30 | 9 a.m. -3 p.m. | $ | Ulm, Minn. Spend the day connecting with women agriculturalists from around the state, empowering one another. Featured speakers will be Meg Moynihan, Barbara Heen and Sarah Lloyd. Learn more.
20 | May | June 2018
Restoration Agriculture Workshop May 25-27 | $175 - 350 | Spring Valley, Wis. Mark Shepard will be teaching this hands-on two day work shop at the Horner Family Farm. You will learn designs to make you land more resilient in times of flood and drought, planting and selection of tree crops for your site, and how to cash flow until your tree crops start to produce. Upper Midwest CRAFT Field Day: Biodynamic Spring Prep May 26 | 1:30 p.m. | $20 | Elkhorn, Wis. Attendees of this field day will tour Zinniker Family Farm, unearth biodynamic preparations that were buried last fall and prepare new ones for summer. Potluck supper. Angelic Organics Learning Center: 815-389-8455
MFA: Food Safety Field Day May 29 | 5:45 – 8 p.m. | $20 | Marine on St. Croix, Minn. Put concepts and lessons-learned into practice during a hands-on food safety field day. Learn about water testing, manure application, packshed sanitation, pest control, worker training, and recordkeeping. MFA: 651-433-3676
Webinar Series: Pasture Project – Adaptive Grazing 101 May 24, 29, 31 | 7-8:30 p.m. CT | Free | Online Learn the essential principles of using adaptive grazing man agement practices to build healthy soil and profitable farm enterprises.
How to Conduct On-Farm Variety Trials Workshop June 28 | 2 – 4 p.m. | Free | Westboro, Wis. MOSES field day - See page 7 Mid-Season Cover Crops June 28 | 5:45 – 8 p.m. | $20 | Marine on St. Croix, Minn. Cover crops are a basic practice in organic systems essential to productive and healthy crops. This class will showcase a summer cover crop installation, and encourage ways you can begin cover cropping in your own plot. MFA: 651-433-3676
Wis. Tour a multi-generational farm using sustainable grazing practices, hear from grazing planning consultants, and receive consultation on your grazing plan. Angelic Organics Learning Center: 815-389-8455 Farm Tour: Cala Farm - Summer High Tunnel Production July 16 | 10 a.m. - noon | $20 | Turtle Lake, Wis. Learn from organic farmer & MFA graduate Rodrigo Cala about his farm. He will focus on his use of different hoop house styles and reviews, crop selection, and best man agement practices. MFA: 651-433-3676 CSA and Diversified Livestock Field Day July 19 | 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. | Westboro, Wis. Hosted by We Grow LLC, N7975 Zimmerman Rd, Westboro, Wis. WFU: 715-723-5561 Wholesale Vegetables on a Small Scale July 20 | 9 a.m. - noon | Balsam Lake, Wis. MOSES field day - See page 7 Sheep pasture walk and FAMACHA Workshop July 20 | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Omega, Wis. Hosted by Autumn Larch Farm LLC. Call Jane Hansen: 715767-5958
Farm Day at Four Elements June 11 | 5:45 – 8 p.m. | $20 | North Freedom, Wis. Visit a working organic herb farm and get a glimpse into the seed work that has grown this business for 31 years. Four Ele ments: 608-522-4492
The GrassFed Exchange Conference June 20 - 23 | $ | Rapid City, South Dakota The conference for regenerative ranchers and grassfed indus try supporters. Call Kathy: 256-996-3142 In Her Boots Workshop: Wylymar Farms June 21 | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. | $25 | Monroe, Wis. MOSES field day - See page 7 Growing Mushrooms Outdoors via Log Inoculation June 24 | 1-4 p.m. | $80 | Chaska, Minn. If you have ever taken a walk in the woods, chances are you’ve seen fungi growing on fallen logs. Wood is a natural medium to grow mushrooms, and has been used for centu ries! You will leave with an inoculated log and a comprehen sive handout. MN Landscape Arboretum: 952-443-1400
Upper Midwest CRAFT Field Day: Chainsaw, Tractor, Small Engine & Equipment June 26 | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | $20 | Roscoe, Ill. At this field day you will learn and watch demonstrations on chainsaws, tractors and implements, miscellaneous small engines and equipment!! Free to members. Angelic Organics Learning Center: 815-389-8455
MFA: Plastic Mulch & Transplanting with the Tractor May 24-26 | Appt. only | $20 | Marine on St. Croix, Minn. Learn how to use a tractor to apply plastic mulch and trans plant! This is a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity. MFA: 651-433-3676
Diversifying the Farm with Cover Crops and Small Grains June 19 | 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Free | Weldon, Iowa Learn about the benefits and challenges of cover crops, especially corn production following rye and the challenges of seedling diseases. You’ll also learn about incorporating small grains production into traditional row crop rotations and the unique cover crop opportunities this provides. PFI: 515-232-5661
