Organic Broadcaster | September 2022 | Volume 30, Issue 5

RYE

AND WINTER

DRIFT

NITROGEN

WHO WE ARE

Marbleseed, formerly known as MOSES, is a nonprofit committed to supporting the Midwest’s organic and sustainable farmers through farmer-led events and educational resources that help your farm grow.

ORGANIC BROADCASTER CONTRIBUTORS

Editor: Alexandria Baker Graphic Designer: Hannah Miller Advertising Coordinator: Thomas Manley Digital Content Producer: Jo Facklam

The Organic Broadcaster is a bimonthly magazine published by Marbleseed. Opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Inclusion of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of a product. Content may be reprinted with permission.

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COVER PHOTO: Troy Farm Madison, Wis.

CONTENT IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURE

04 Rye Revival Seeks to Elevate Rye’s Place on the Table and in the Field

ARTICLES

08 Nitrogen Fixing Corn

Preparing for Winter: A Guide for Vegetable Farmers

Remembering Paul Bickford

Collaborating with Nature

22 Growing Farmers and Community through Mentorship

24 Engaging Communities of Practice: A Faciliator’s Guide to Grower Groups

28 Inside Organics: Finally: An Animal Welfare Standard for Organic

31 Late Grazing Strategies and Setting Up for Winter Feeding

32 Ask a Specialist: How do farmers manage and prevent drift?

EVERY ISSUE

03 Letter from the Executive Director

News Briefs

Community Calendar

Classifieds

OUR TEAM

Lori Stern, Executive Director

Alexandria Baker, Communications & Development Manager Sarah Broadfoot, Operations Director

Jenica Caudill, Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships

Sophia Cleveland, Administrative Coordinator

Stephanie Coffman, Events Coordinator

Tom Manley, Program Director

Jo Facklam, Communications Coordinator

Hannah Miller, Graphic Designer Victoria Ostenso, Farmer Network Specialist

Sarah Woutat, Farmer Advancement Program Coordinator

On-Farm Organic Specialist Team

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Katie Bishop, PrairiErth Farm, Ill.

Dela Ends, Scotch Hill Farm, Wis. Regi Haslett-Marroquin, Salvatierra Farm, Minn.

Clare Hintz, Elsewhere Farm, Wis.

Charlie Johnson, Johnson Farms, S.D. David Perkins, Vermont Valley Farm, Wis.

Sara Tedeschi, Dog Hollow Farm, Wis.

Darin Von Ruden, Von Ruden Family Farm, Wis.

As summer winds down and we are in the thick of various harvesting activities, I think about all of the conversations, field days and gatherings that have happened this summer. More than ever, the topic of weather has come up, even in my own conversations with folks that are not farming. For farmers, the weather is a constant consideration. I recall my own stress in timing life events and appointments around they cycle of hay cuts, searching for windows of dry weather, a few days in a row- that are required to cut, rake and bale. We have no fewer than three weather apps on our various devices from that time. We would triangulate the data from satellites, farmer neighbors more experienced than we were, and our little on-farm weather station to impose some semblance of control and decision power where there really is none.

And I also recall the heroic efforts sustained in the care of animals in extreme heat, freezing ice cream buckets of water to provide large ‘ice cubes’ to our woodlot pigs (we may have let them eat the ice cream first).

At this point, there are very few people left that doubt human-induced climate change is real. And this summer, as we battle the wet fields and late crops, there were some glimmers of hope. Federal funding for agricultural programs that could benefit small to medium organic producers was available in historic amounts. Marbleseed, in collaboration with several other allied farming organizations, applied. As we await word on the fate of those projects, in June Secretary Vilsack went on record to acknowledge the importance of organic production as the way agriculture can mitigate its impact on climate change. “On the production side, you know, as USDA helps to create climate-smart agricultural commodities with reduced greenhouse gas impacts and carbon impacts, there’s also a need to invest in and to recognize the importance of organic agricultural production. Given its contribution to a sustainable food system.”

The Inflation Reduction Act passed in early August included increased funding for Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) programs that already center climate friendly practices. Marbleseed joined several other organizations in speaking to the importance of funding NRCS as a system with programs and infrastructure already in place to address soil erosion, pollinator habitat, clean water, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Marbleseed staff and board have been committed to addressing climate and centering organic agriculture and the farmers who have been ‘early adopters’ of several conservation practices as leaders who should be valued and modeled in their efforts. We are excited that through a collaboration with the Wisconsin NRCS, we will house a new Organic Conservation Specialist position at Marbleseed. This new specialist will be connecting organic farmers to NRCS resources, but also advising NRCS staff on the Organic Systems Plans and Organic Transition Plans that they are tasked with evaluating to determine eligibility for funding.

For the past year I have also been co-chairing the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s “Farming Opportunities and Fair Competition” committee. This group is taking on some of the mechanisms that are ‘baked into’ the agricultural cake to reward the very large, monocrop and confined animal feeding operations over smaller, organic and regenerative farms. Crop insurance is an example of a program that needs to be re-vamped to provide a safety net for smaller and diverse farming operations. This diversity and scale, along with soil building practices, make farms resilient and actually less ‘risky,’ yet we continue to subsidize farms that are contributing to soil erosion and reliance on fossil fuel inputs.

The coming of fall also brings conference planning. We have been meeting with groups of farmers, stakeholders, and organizational partners to curate speakers, content and conversation opportunities that are relevant and inspiring. Climate change and the role and responsibility of organic systems in meeting climate goals will be woven throughout keynotes, workshops and roundtables. We look forward to seeing you there for a gathering filled with community and inspiration.

To a bountiful and safe harvest with celebrations of life and life cycles, along with deep thanks to the land that provides us sustenance.

Lori Stern, Executive Director

RYE REVIVAL

SEEKS TO ELEVATE RYE’S PLACE ON THE TABLE AND IN THE FIELD

THOMAS MANLEY

If you are ever in need of a reminder of how beautiful Wisconsin can be, just take a drive through the heart of the Driftless. The landscape around Spring Green captures that particular aesthetic in a postcard- worthy kind of way. I had the pleasure of visiting the area in July, having been invited to an unusual and engaging “field day,” of sorts. The event was hosted by Rye Revival on the Savanna Institute’s Spring Green Hillside Demo Farm right across the road from Taliesin, the former home and estate of archi tect Frank Lloyd Wright. You probably know the Savanna Institute’s work to promote and support agroforestry, but you may not yet be familiar with Rye Revival. Their stated mission is to support and expand ecological rye produc tion; provide education about rye for human, animal, and agricultural purposes, advance research on rye, and pro mote the enjoyment of rye to advance health, equity, and culture. This speaks to the interdisciplinary and integrative approach to the work, and this event. The organization is made up of public health experts, chefs and bakers, and life-long farmers. This event convened folks from all these areas of expertise, along with policy makers and other food system advocates to talk about rye as part of a holistic framework of solutions to the overlapping climate and human health challenges before us.

So why rye? What is so special about rye that we need a revival? I already use it as a cover crop, what else do I need to know? To get some insights into these questions, I reached out to Gary Zimmer and Sandy Syburg, two of the “rock star” farmers who are working with Rye Revival and who shared their experiences with the grain at the event with an enthusiasm for the subject that resembles a traveling revivalist sharing the good word. “We have been growing rye on our farm for a long time and what it does

for our soil and our crop rotation is fantastic. I say it is the plant that is here to save the planet! It grows massive roots and is easy to grow. What other crops can you plant in Wisconsin in December and have them there in the spring? You can bulk spread it, it is competitive with weeds, and it is harvested early so there is room for another cover crop that year in the rotation,” Gary said. He frost seeds a clover mix into the rye in March, which always works. In the U.S. rye is utilized primarily as a cover crop, and most of us are probably familiar with the benefits it offers in this capacity. The allelopathic attributes of rye, and its tendency to es tablish and grow quickly, work together to suppress weeds. The drought tolerance and ability to withstand Wisconsin winters make it an almost bulletproof cover crop choice, and many have success rolling and crimping for organic bean production. It also has recognized benefits for soil health, and this was evident in Gary’s almost harvest ready rye fields on the farm. Listening to him share his experi ence while being able to feel and observe the soil structure was enough to make me a believer. The soil clearly likes rye. It was as nice a field of rye as I have seen anywhere. It was a lovely sight and having Taliesin as the literal backdrop certainly added to the scene. There are so many agronomic benefits to planting rye that it would be easy to forget some. It is easy to grow. In many northern climates it is the only thing you can plant after corn and still get a crop. It opens a window in mid-summer for soil amend ing and mineral balancing. It can spread out some of the work yearly workload. It works well with an under-seeded legume crop like clover. And the thing that makes it so valuable are the tangible benefits to soil health, structure, and water holding capacity. These are all valuable benefits to any producer, but especially to organic producers. Sandy Syburg sums up some of these rewards nicely, “Rye is and

has been a valuable tool, especially on transition farms. The grain, as seed, is seeing steady demand for cover crops so economically it works in transition years. It also affords the greatest window of time when weather and soil conditions allow for soil amendments and re-mineralizing, which is often necessary. Rye in my operation shortens the amount of time to get soils alive and functioning to allow for max imum nutrient cycling, water infiltration, and soil stabilization.” That certainly sounds like a plant that has a place in an organic farming system, and even more importantly in the larger food system.

If we are collectively going to realize the potential of this grain, we need to do more than just integrate it as a cover crop. We need to build and expand markets for the grain, and there needs to be a great deal more research undertak en. The grain has long been used in other parts of the world as food for people and livestock, with deeply held cultural beliefs about the health benefits for both. In Scandanavia, where rye is much more common, studies are beginning to show that it does indeed provide some of those ben efits. Studies indicate that regularly consuming the grain can improve health markers like blood pressure, promote positive changes in their gut microbiota, and it has a lower glycemic index than wheat. There are even indications it may have some anti-cancer properties. Rita Hindin, Rye Revival’s President and a Social Epidemiologist and public health professional, added: “The story gets better yet. As we eaters have known for eons, rye is both delicious and particularly nutritious. People’s experience eating rye bread is that it reduces blood sugar spikes after a meal and encourages a feeling of satiety.” Are these positive health impacts due to the extremely limited manipulation of the plant’s genetics over time? Rye is a truly ancient grain. It was first domesticated in the Middle East, likely in or near modern day Turkey, around 6500 BCE. By 4500 BCE rye was grown in Central Europe. It is a much hardier crop than wheat or barley showing greater resistance to frost, poor soils, and drought. The limited alteration by humans, and the ag industry, is potentially a real blessing but also creates some challenges. There need to be investments in the research and trials necessary to adapt and select for the right varieties for a given place and the traits that will help expand demand for the grain as food and feed. Ergot infec tion can be a very real issue with rye, and more needs to be done to identify and improve resistant varieties. Farmers need to know what to expect from a crop in terms of yield and revenue, and they need eager and committed buyers. This requires bakers, brewers, distillers, and livestock farm ers to embrace the grain and connect with those who are growing it. There is work to do and rewards to be realized if that work is done properly. We are lucky to have so many recognized researchers, farmers, and other committed professionals to partner with Rye Revival in this region to see it gets done.

Which brings me back to the unique nature of this event. After spending some quality time hearing from Gary and Sandy in the fields, we returned to the dining room in the farmhouse to enjoy a rather remarkable lunch, not surpris ingly featuring rye and several of the perennial fruit crops the Savanna Institute promotes and supports. A team of folks worked to prepare the food, including noted area chef and all-around food artisan Odessa Piper. The kitch

RYE BERRY SALAD WITH BLACK CURRANT VINAIGRETTE Recipe from Odessa Piper

This salad contrasts tender whole rye grains with a punchy vinaigrette made with black currant preserves. The two make a brilliant compliment for seasonal berries, herbs, and cheese.

INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD

1 C Whole Rye berries Yield 3 C cooked rye. About 8 servings with other ingredients added.

Top rye with 4 C water, cover and cook on lowest simmer 2-4 hours. To shorten cooking time soak overnight. Takes 2- 3 hours in a slow cooker set low. Drain just when some grains start to pop open. Extra cooked grain is delicious in stir fries, or chopped into breading or casseroles.

4 to 6 oz mild cheese such as butter käse, harvarti, baby swiss, provolone, or tofu, Cut in cubes

1 to 2 C Seasonal Fruit such as mulberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, all brambles

½ to 1 C chopped combination of fresh herbs such as anise hyssop, parsley, tarragon, sorrel, purslane, shiso, chervil, burnet, lovage. Plus flowers such as borage, marigold, for garnishing.

Salad Greens: Enough to line plate, or whole leaves to wrap

INGREDIENTS FOR VINAIGRETTE

4 Tablespoons white or yellow miso (mild)*

2-3 teaspoons prepared mustard

3-4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

4 Tablespoons whole Black Currant preserves**

Mash the miso with the mustard and vinegar to soften. Stir in the preserves.

Adjust to taste. The vinaigrette should be pronounced sweet, tangy, savory with a nice bite from the mustard.

TO ASSEMBLE & SERVE

Coat the cooled, cooked rye with vinaigrette. Add more of the vinaigrette ingredients to taste. Just before serving, stir in herbs and cheese followed by the fresh fruit, gently folded in. Serve on whole lettuce leaves lining the plate, or use lettuces as wraps.

*Miso is a salty paste of fermented soy and koji rice, or other grains, and is widely available in the grocery store cooler section. If you are unfamiliar with miso, it is a great umami addition to your pantry! Miso keeps indefinitely in the fridge and has diverse salty uses; dilute to make broth or to brush on fish or meats, use as paste for roasting vegetables or to bind vinaigrettes.

**I use Nature Keepers Black Currant preserves; low sugar and memorably tart. Available online at naturekeepers.com or retail in Madison at Metcalfe’s Hilldale, Jenifer St Market, or Regent St Coop. Or you can make your own quick jam by cooking roughly 2 parts (by volume) black currants with one part each sugar and water. Cook until fruit is glossy.

Recipe developed by Odessa Piper for Organic Arts. September 2022 | 617 637 9122 | organicarts.com

en crew also included another artist who works in food as a medium, Wisconsin State Representative Francesca Hong. I have been lucky enough to enjoy several farm field day meals, but this one was particularly awesome. Among those of us seated around the tables reaping this bounty, arranged in a large square to facilitate communi cation to the whole group, was Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes. There were public health professionals, researchers from the U.W. system and elsewhere, climate experts, farmers, advocates, and educators from all over the state and region. This is what made this such a noteworthy on-farm event, and why I felt compelled to share it here. It was this collection of voices and experiences, engaging to find ways to connect the dots in all the work we are doing, that really struck me as im portant. There was a very clear understanding of the need for a holistic approach to define the path to the system level change we need, and that all our organizations and institutions must be involved. There was a phrase and idea articulated a few times during the discussion, one I was not previously familiar with but have since found in other plac es as well. It is the idea and understanding that there is no “silver bullet,” but rather we must load and aim some “silver buckshot” if we are to deal with the challenges we face. We need all the voices at the table, defining the destination and all the tools at our disposal to make the journey. Mar bleseed, as an organization, is committed to collaboration in all the work we do and recognize that we are absolutely stronger together. This event struck me, not only because of the impressive collection of experiences in the room, but because it was another example of the shared recog

nition among the whole food and farming community to do a better job of connecting and strategizing together. This seems especially true in the last several months as we emerge post-pandemic, knowing there is much to do. A big thank you to the hosts for inviting me to be a part of the discussion and to the Food, Faith, and Farming Network for the funding support they provided to make it possible.

We all understand the urgent need to change the agricul tural landscape, to reverse the environmental degradation brought by current conventional practices and confront the clearly related climate and human health crisis. Rye can be an important tool in our kit to improve water quality, live stock health- and performance, and build the kind of soil that can sequester meaningful amounts of carbon. Any tru ly climate smart rotation in this part of the Upper Midwest is likely to utilize it. How about we all plant some rye!

If you would like to know more about how rye can fit in your rotations profitably, join us at the Organic Farming Conference February 23-25 in La Crosse, WI. Gary Zimmer will be presenting on his experiences with his corn and rye rotation, including its economics. More details coming soon!

Thomas Manley is the Program Director at Marbleseed. Tom and his wife own a 40-acre homestead farm near Spring Valley, Wisconsin. They are working to develop a permanent, woody perennial-based system with alley cropping and grazing.

Horse

NITROGEN FIXING CORN

bY WALTER GOLDSTEIN

Conventional breeders often focus on developing field corn that pro duces maximum yield under optimal nutrient and weed conditions provided by the use of mineral fertilizers, herbicides, and fungicides. They tend to breed corn that has very upright leaves—these leaves enable farmers to plant more seed and pack in more plants per acre. Under optimal rainfall, the resulting high plant densities allow farmers to achieve maximum yields. Mirroring the leaves, these high-yield plants have vertically oriented roots that are especially adept at obtain ing nitrate from deeper levels of the soil. The corn has small tassels which produce little—but adequate—pol len, as excess pollen production is considered to be a waste of energy. Nutritional value and taste are not viewed as being important in these breeds. This combination of traits results in the kind of industrial corn that is considered optimal for conven tional farming. By default, this corn has become the predominant option for organic farmers. However, today’s uncertain and stressful climate condi tions coupled with the need for more nutrient dense food with less nitrogen inputs means organic farmers need other options.

Understanding these needs, The Mandaamin Institute was formed to

focus on breeding crops, especially corn, for organic farmers. Named for the Ojibwe word for corn or corn spirit, The Mandaamin Institute is a non-profit research organization located in the Lake Geneva-Elkhorn region of Southeast Wisconsin. This name is especially fitting because it recognizes where corn originated and promotes the respectful attitude and approach we try to develop in our selves and in our breeding methods. Our overall effort is to couple the treasures found in ancient landraces of corn together with the agronomic achievements of modern corn.

This project started in 1986, when Walter Goldstein met with a group of organic farmers in Jefferson County at a Michael Fields Agriculture Insti tute (MFAI) field day. These farmers wanted Goldstein to breed open pollinated corn that would stand well at modern planting densities. These farmers knew that the ancient races of corn had excellent nutritional qual ity, taste, and mineral content. As a result, Goldstein bred open pollinated corn for 14 years as a part-time hobby at the Institute and on his own farm and supplied farmers with seed of open pollinated corn that would stand better in the field.

Things changed at the turn of the millennium with the widespread introduction of genetically engineered corn. Organic farmers were outraged and afraid of contamination. There

were listening sessions with these farmers at the Upper Midwest Organ ic Farming Conference, the Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference, and the Minnesota Organic Farmer winter meeting. Goldstein asked farmers what kind of corn they needed, the vast majority of them answered that they wanted new kinds of hybrids that had the nutritional advantages of open pollinated corn but the yields of modern corn.

Consequently, Goldstein obtained funding and bred hybrid corn for organic farmers with the help from the USDA and Iowa State University, including professors Linda Pollak, Kendall Lamkey, and Paul Scott. Interested organic farmers helped practice selection and testing of the newly developed hybrids. In 2011, a set of the corn was taken from MFAI and further developed by the newly formed Mandaamin Institute breeding program. This program now has 53 growing seasons, with selection taking place in Wisconsin in the summer and in Puerto Rico or Chile in the winter. Selection occurs under organic and biodynamic conditions with limited or no fertilization and sometimes plenty of organic weeds!

The Mandaamin Institute uses a pedigree breeding program to breed its varieties. This involves crossing two good parents and then self-pol linating the subsequent offspring for many generations while selecting for plants that are well adapted. They should develop useful traits such as good emergence, vigor, grain yield, nitrogen efficiency and grain quality. As the selection process proceeds, the new populations are crossed with an established and reliable parent. The resulting hybrids are tested for yield under organic conditions alongside commercial high-yielding corn hy brids. Only those inbreds and hybrids that have competitive or superior vigor, yields, grain dry down, standing ability, nitrogen efficiency, and nu tritional value get advanced towards commercialization.

This work has broadened to focus on nitrogen efficient field and sweet corn, which possesses partnerships with microbes. In 2009, ancient

landraces were discovered that appeared to be fixing up to half the nitrogen in their grain from the air based on natural abundance of isotopes. The fixation is associated with bac teria that are carried in the seed, infect the seedling, are ex ported out of the root hairs to colonize the soil, and finally, are reabsorbed, partially multiplied, and consumed in the plant’s roots. These bacteria are called endophytes. Endo phytes are non-harmful organisms, often bacteria or fungi, that grow inside plants. The seed-borne partnership with these organisms is called rhizophagy. James White, from Rutgers University in New Jersey, has studied rhizophagy with Mandaamin corn. Rhizophagy strongly stimulates root hair production, root branching, and root tip production. Within these structures, bacteria multiply and N2 fixation occurs—as measured by 15N gas uptake by seedlings. The partnership between the plant and these microbes stimu lates higher levels of plant resiliency and induces microbial fixation of nitrogen, especially in foliar tissues as a protec tive mechanism against oxidation. Studies conducted with Rutgers University show that microbes in the Mandaamin corn live in plant hairs, the plant’s epidermis, and the corn husks.

Conventional corn shows much lower incidence of these beneficial rhizophagy partnerships. Conventional corn also has endophyte communities, but they are dominated by the fungus Fusarium. While Fusarium may provide some benefits to the plant, it also produces terrible mycotoxins in grain and silage. With Mandaamin varieties, selection under organic-biodynamic conditions probably encouraged

and helped evolve the beneficial partnerships with bacteria while dissuading Fusarium domination. These beneficial partnerships enable the Mandaamin inbreds and hybrids to grow well under organic conditions, by fostering min eral uptake and nitrogen efficiency from consumption of microbial biomass and nitrogen fixation. This trait has been incorporated into several of The Mandaamin Institute’s inbreds, including the family C4-6.

The Mandaamin Institute works with the Foundation Or ganic Seed company in Onalaska, Wis.—who are presently selling several of our hybrids. Several individual farmers have also been selling our pollinated varieties. Mandaamin’s work has attracted funding from many different sources, including private donors and smaller foundations. Special thanks go to major funders, including USDA competitive grants, the Ceres Trust, the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, and many generous organic farmers who have con tributed land, help, observations, and ideas to the project.

Mandaamin’s hybrid plants look somewhat different than conventional hybrids. They have broader, more horizon tal, shadier leaves and broader-rooted, finely-branched, healthier rooting systems. This combination, coupled with its unique endophyte partnerships, leads to greater uptake of minerals from the soil and greater competitiveness with weeds. In general, Mandaamin inbreds thrive more under low input conditions than conventional inbreds, making it easier to produce hybrid seed under organic conditions. The inbreds and hybrids are more robust, more flexible in

their body formation, and not as clonal or uniform in their end appearance as most commercial inbreds. Under low density corn plant farm conditions, the Mandaamin hybrids appear to be better at flexing to produce multiple, large ears than some conventional hybrids.

The Mandaamin Institute hybrid 17.46, which has half of its parentage from nitrogen fixing C4-6, was recently com pared with yields of the commercial check FOS8500 on 14 farm sites in Wisconsin over two years as part of OREI and SARE funded projects. Yield averages were 139 bu./ acre and 144 bu./acre, respectively for the two hybrids. The Mandaamin hybrid had approximately a quarter more min erals in its grain (averaged over 15 different minerals) and higher protein and methionine contents. The Mandaamin hybrid yielded considerably better when no manure was used. On the other hand, multiple trials showed that fresh manure, directly applied before planting, seemed to depress yields and nutrient uptake for C4-6 based hybrids while increasing yields of the commercial hybrid or of other Mandaamin Institute hybrids.

Partial confirmation of these results were shown at a Marbleseed/OGRAIN field day hosted at the farm of Randy and Willie Hughes in Janesville, Wisconsin in August, 2022. The Hughes trials with Mandaamin corn enabled the Mandaamin Institute to show the 17.46 hybrid under larger scale field conditions. There were four 20-acre plots. These were:

1. Mandaamin 17.4-6 after wheat + fall application of manure

2. Pioneer 0076 with Terafed/CX-2

3. 17.4-6 after wheat/clover

4. Viking corn + utrishna

The Hughes had not been able to apply their usual rates of chicken manure to plots due to quarantine of manure caused by avian flu.

The Mandaamin corn looked great, with dark coloration and lots of ears, compared to the other corn, which looked nitrogen deficient. Tissue analyses showed this to be true, the Mandaamin corn was nitrogen sufficient while the oth ers were deficient. The corn in plots one and two was also measured for chlorophyll content using a Minolta chloro phyll meter, with ten plants analyzed randomly across each plot. Plot one had a chlorophyll rating of 54, meaning the plants were getting sufficient nitrogen. Plot two had a chlo rophyll rating of 48, meaning the plants lacked nitrogen. At the field day, Willie Hughes explained that the non-appli cation of manure would enable them to greatly reduce the costs associated with growing organic corn.

Weed competition is a major issue for organic farmers and seed producers. Studies funded by the Organic Farm ing Research Foundation on competition between corn, weeds, giant ragweed, and sunflowers showed Mandaamin corn fostered about 1/3 less weed biomass and weed scores than conventional hybrids. We suspect that the endophytes in the Mandaamin corn, coupled with horizontal,

branched roots, and more horizontal leaves, may increase the ability of the corn to compete with weeds for nutri ents. In general, the poorest weed competition has been observed with commercial inbreds that have upright leaves and vertically oriented roots.

Nitrogen fixation may also help the corn compete with weeds. The Mandaamin Institute’s randomized, replicat ed yield trials in 2020 inadvertently took place in a uni form thistle patch. Only the top Mandaamin hybrids with nitrogen fixing parents were able to produce normal yields for the area (ca. 140 bushels/acre) under these thistle-in fested conditions. In 2021, we regrew some of those same top yielding hybrids on a high fertility site without ma nure, where weed pressure was minor. Those Mandaamin hybrids yielded more than twice as much as the 2020 commercial control when weed pressure was high and yielded the same as the 2021 commercial control when weed pressure was minor.

Selection of the Mandaamin varieties focuses on nutri tional value with emphasis on increasing methionine and carotenoids in the grain. The grain of our varieties has softer seeds with test weights around 54 lbs/bushel. The softer seed is associated with a shift away from alpha zein (the gluten of corn) as the main storage to better quality pro teins with higher contents of essential amino acids, needed for optimal production of animals. Methionine is the major lacking ingredient for organic poultry production—quantities of methionine are often insufficient in feed. Because corn often composes 60 percent of such diets, corn bred with more methionine would reduce dependence on expensive soybean meal, sunflower meal, or synthetic me thionine. Organic poultry producers are allowed by USDA regulations to utilize two pounds per ton of synthetic methionine over the lifetime of layers but these guidelines will sunset in 2028. Carotenoids are also important for poultry producers because orange yolks in eggs and orange skin in broilers are desired by many consumers and that affects price. This orange color can be increased by feeding corn with a high carotenoid content.

Studies with the University of Illinois, funded by OREI (CASH project, professors Ugarte, Wander, Bohn, and Andrade), compared two Mandaamin hybrids with com mercial hybrids on organic farms in 2018 and 2019. Un replicated strip trials were planted on 13 farm sites in the Central (Ill., Ind.) and on 13 sites in the Northern Corn Belt (Wis.) regions.

The difference in yield between the hybrids was not statistically significant. However, the highest yielding Mandaamin hybrid averaged 10 percent less yield than the controls over all sites. The Mandaamin hybrids had 10 to 18 percent more protein, 32 percent more oil, 10 to 15 percent more lysine, 33 to 42 percent more methionine, and 10 to 16 percent more cysteine in their grain than did the com mercial checks. They also had 23 to 25 percent higher me thionine contents in their protein than did the checks. The Mandaamin corn had more carotenoids; 44 to 63 percent more zeaxanthin, 48 to 150 percent more β-cryptoxanthin,

38 to 65 percent more β-carotene.

These differences were all statistically significant at the 95 percent security level. Furthermore, mineral analysis revealed that the Mandaamin hybrids had 17 to 24 percent more iron, 22 to 32 percent more manganese, 13 to 54 percent more copper, and 11 to 12 more zinc in their grain than did the controls.

In summary, the high methionine and carotenoid corn outperformed the commercial corn in delivering significantly more methionine, carotenoids, and trace minerals at comparable yield levels. Pierre Meyer from Alltech mod eled three rations that would meet the nutritional needs for organic layers utilizing corn, soybean meal, and synthetic methionine. The first was a conventional feed with organic corn, the second included Mandaamin corn with 1.2 lbs/ton of synthetic methionine. The third included Mandaamin corn with no synthetic methionine.

The two alternative feeds that included high methionine corn were $29.61 and $31.20 cheaper, respectively, than the conventional ration in cost per ton of feed because use of the high methionine Mandaamin corn reduced the need for organic soybean meal. Based on bushel weight this meant a potential premium of up to $1.29 or $1.36/bushel for sold corn. This premium represents 11 percent more than conventionally bred organic corn and appears to be approximately equivalent to the yield reduction associated with the best yielding of the Mandaamin corn. However, this calculation does not take into consideration any extra value for poultry health, reliability of production, or end product quality associated with other components of the Mandaamin corn such as carotenoids and minerals and any effects on the health of the birds. For example, eggs with high carotenoid content have been observed to bring high er retail price in several cities. Furthermore, eggs from birds raised with no synthetic methionine in their feed could potentially bring a higher price from some consumers.

All this needs to be confirmed by larger scale feeding trials coupled with marketing. Small scale studies in the past, sponsored by Organic Valley and the University of Minne sota (including Nick Levendoski, and Jacquie Jacob), showed the same production for broilers and layers when high methionine corn from the breeding program was substitut ed for corn plus synthetic methionine in the diet. Interest ingly, researchers observed that rations fed with the high methionine corn induced feeding frenzies in the birds. This may mean that nutritional or taste factors in the corn may affect animal well-being, an intangible factor with financial consequences that lies at the core rationale for organic farming.

Walter Goldstein founded The Mandaamin Institute, Inc., a non-profit that has been breeding corn in Wisconsin since 2011, after working 25 years as Research Director at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. More info about his research can be found at mandaamin.org

corn

on Hughes Farm during a recent OGRAIN Field Day.

Credit: Anders Gurda

PREPARING FOR WINTER: A GUIDE FOR VEGETABLE FARMERS

bY NATALIE HOIDAL

After an especially hot summer, it’s easy to feel burnt out at the end of the season and to want a break from thinking about farming. Before taking some time off, there are a few important things that grow ers can do to make life easier when next spring arrives.

TAKE TIME TO GATHER YOUR NOTES FROM THE SEASON

Have you ever made a list of mental notes during the growing season and promptly forgot it by the time February rolls around? I have done this more times than I’d like to admit. Before the season is over, take a walk through your fields with a note book and write down a list of all the insect pests that caused you trouble this year, any diseases you noticed, varieties that seemed to perform better than others, and notes about things like mulches and row spacings. So many of the issues that we deal with on farms are best addressed preventatively with things like resistant varieties and preventative pest management plans. By taking the time now to note exactly what you’re dealing with, you can develop better management plans for next year.

Beyond your own notes, consider asking your crew to weigh in. I

SqUEEzE IN COVER CROpS WHEREVER YOU CAN

When I speak with farmers who are developing climate resilience goals for their farms, almost everyone wants to prioritize planting more cover crops. However, when you’re busy harvesting, weeding, and get ting crops to market, cover crops can easily fall to the bottom of the to-do list.

worked at a farm for a couple of years with a giant map of the farm on the wall covered in plexiglass. Crew members were asked to write notes on the board about things they noticed in the field, and each week we met for 15 minutes to review what we noticed that week. The manager took photos of the board each Friday and committed these photos to a notes folder, which he reviewed each winter. Different people noticed different things, and our weekly brainstorming and discussions led to quite a few man agement improvements on the farm. Even if you’re not doing this regularly, a brainstorming session at the end of the season may provide valuable insights.

Finally, make sure you’re correct ly diagnosing problems. Disease problems and nutrient deficiencies can be very hard to distinguish using just your eyes and online tools. For significant issues, consider sending samples to your local diagnostic clinic or submitting tissue samples to your local soil testing lab for foliar nutrient analysis. This will help you ensure that you are selecting the correct resistant varieties and inputs for next year.

While cover crops are important for long-term soil health, there are also some concrete ways they can help lighten the load next spring. The US Climate Resilience Toolkit reports that across the Midwest, we are seeing heavier rainfall events and more precipitation overall. Over the past few years, farmers have struggled to get into fields on time due to excess soil moisture. One University of Min nesota study led by Dr. Cindy Tong is exploring the practice of preparing beds in the fall and planting cover crops between beds with the goal of absorbing excess moisture and allowing for earlier spring planting. While the study is ongoing, prelim inary data from 2022 showed that plots with a rye cover crop between beds had less soil moisture in the spring, allowing the researchers to enter the fields earlier and under less muddy conditions than in plots with weed barrier fabric or bare soil.

A fall cover crop can also provide nitrogen for spring crops. A common problem I see on organic farms is that the sources of fertility, organic growers have access to often don’t match the nutrient needs of crops. Composted manure is a common fertilizer among vegetable farmers and it tends to have a high phos phorus to nitrogen ratio. This can result in phosphorus build-up in the soil and can make it challenging to meet the nitrogen needs of crops while keeping soil phosphorus at a reasonable level. Cover crops are an excellent way to add nitrogen to your fields without the excess phospho rus or potassium. Depending on the species, amount of time you allow your cover crops to grow, and stand density, cover crops can potentially

provide over 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre. The Uni versity of Minnesota Small Farms YouTube channel has a video showing how to calculate the amount of nitrogen you are getting from a cover crop. The SARE publication “Managing Cover Crops Profitably” is another great tool for this. Estimating your nitrogen credits now will provide insight as you develop nutrient management plans over the winter.

In my experience working on farms and learning from other farmers there are a couple of strategies that seem to help prioritize cover crop management: one is to write cover crops into your succession plans instead of sim ply hoping to find some time at the end of the season. Another is to make cover crops someone’s job duty (this is more practical on a larger farm with a large crew). Just like it might be someone’s job to take care of the cole crops or the solanaceous crops, assigning cover crop duties to a specific person can help them to remain high on the list of priorities.

TEST YOUR SOIL IN THE FALL

While it’s technically fine to test your soil any time, fall is a great option for specialty crop growers. Testing in the fall provides ample time to receive your results (which can often take a few weeks to arrive), develop a nutrient management plan, and order inputs. If you would like assistance reading your soil test or developing a nutrient management plan for your farm, Extension is available to support you. This looks a bit different from state to state; some counties have local Extension educators to support growers with a wide variety of production related topics. Other states have educators with statewide responsi bilities that support growers with specific needs. Most state Extension programs have a general information line where you can ask about how to best receive support for your needs. Most Extension programs also have a state-specific nutrient management guide for specialty crops that walks growers through the steps of analyz ing soil test reports and making management decisions accordingly.

Each fall I receive questions from growers about how they should go about testing soil on a very diverse farm. On a farm with 20 different crops, it can be challenging to decide how many different tests are necessary and how to group fields. For the most part, as long as you are consistently rotating crops, it’s ok to take an average from multiple fields. That said, there are reasons to take sepa rate samples from different parts of the farm. If the soil texture varies considerably across the farm, if one area is on a slope while another is in a valley, or if one was histor ically managed differently from the other (e.g., one area received manure for many years or was cover cropped regularly), these are all good reasons to assess different areas of the farm separately. Another approach is to ask yourself how you will actually use the information from your soil tests. If you will realistically manage five differ ent sections on your farm differently based on soil test

results, then it might be worth taking five different tests. However, if you are likely to use the same practices across the whole farm, then it’s more practical to do one com bined sample. If you’re more of a visual learner, we have a video that covers this topic on the UMN Extension Small Farms YouTube channel.

TAKE TIME TO REVIEW pOSTHARVEST GUIDELINES

Every winter we get calls from growers whose potatoes or squash are rotting in storage. Taking time to review the storage requirements of the different crops you grow and culling damaged vegetables that may spread diseases in storage can help to prevent these problems.

Root and bulb crops like potatoes and carrots are easily bruised and cut during harvest. Proper curing helps to re duce damage, but is not a substitute for taking the time to sort through produce and remove damaged fruit, tubers, bulbs, etc. Once in storage, diseases can spread rapidly, so taking out the major sources of inoculum is an important preventative practice.

In general, there are three groups of vegetables with very different storage requirements. Group one does well with cold temperatures and high humidity (32 degrees Fahr enheit, 95 percent relative humidity). This group includes apples, asparagus, beets, broccoli, carrots, herbs, leafy greens, leeks, and peas. Group two does well with cool temperatures and high humidity (40-50 degrees Fahr enheit, 95 percent relative humidity). This group includes beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, potatoes, and summer squash. Group three does best with cool temperatures and low to moderate humidity (40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, 50 percent relative humid ity). This group includes pumpkins, onions, and winter squash. For more specific guidance, UMN Extension has a postharvest handling webpage (Postharvest handling of fruit and vegetable crops in Minnesota) with recommend ed temperature and moisture guidelines for the major vegetable crops grown in the Midwest.

SET ASIDE SOME TIME TO ASK THE BIG qUESTIONS AND REFLECT TOGETHER

Every year brings a new set of challenges and questions. At least in Minnesota, in 2019 the main challenges were related to excess water. In 2020 they were pandemic related. In 2021 they were drought related. So far 2022 seems to be a mixed bag. Each new set of challenges brings big questions about things like major infrastructure investments and changes to business models. Spend some time asking questions like: What did you enjoy the most about this farming season? What aspects of farm ing made you feel burnt out? What would save time and allow you to prioritize the things that you had to put on the back burner this season?

Finally, finding time to reflect in community with other growers is invaluable. When I started my job as a vegetable crops educator in 2019, I traveled around Minnesota asking farmers what they needed most. While everyone had specific needs like support with disease manage ment or more information about variety selection, I was surprised by how many farmers told me that what they need most is a stronger sense of community. There are so many ways to connect with other farmers; whether it’s a local chapter of a farming nonprofit in your state, attend ing conferences, or signing up for educational cohorts. If you can’t find the type of community you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to reach out to your local Extension educa tors or farming nonprofits. We are often looking for new ways to connect with and support growers, and hearing from farmers helps us develop programs that meet farm er needs.

Natalie Hoidal is a University of Minnesota Extension, Local Foods, and Vegetable Crops Educator.

Organic Certification

HANDLERS

PROCESSORS

PRODUCERS

WILD CROP

LIVESTOCK

REMEMBERING PAUL b ICKFORD

Ridgeway - Paul Bickford, age 69, of Ridgeway, Wisconsin, a beloved friend and mentor to many, died in a farm accident on Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

Paul was an innovative organic farmer, a generous teacher, and a kind-hearted friend to countless people across generations and geographies. He began farming with his father Melvin in Sauk County before building the Bickford Farms dairy in Ridgeway in 1978. Paul and his family converted their dairy operations from confinement to grazing 1992, becoming pioneers and advocates for that movement. In the last decade, Paul transitioned to organic grain farming and mentorship, bringing on John and Halee Wepking as partners to ensure the farm’s succession and bring new life to its operations as Meadowlark Organics and Community Mill

Paul was a tireless advocate for organic farming and fostering the next generation of farmers, serving on Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection’s Organic Advisory Council and on the USDA Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. His contributions have been many and his legacy is already living on.

Paul’s passing is felt deeply by all who knew him. He was proceeded in death by his parents Melvin and Loretta and son Greg.

He is survived by: his son Levi, daughter Olivia, stepson Lance and their mother Cyd, daughter Michelle; 6 grandchildren; partner Nan Fey; siblings Carol, John, Jim and Bev; business partners/farm family, John and Halee Wepking, and all the Meadowlark Organics team.

A Celebration of Paul’s Life and Legacy will be held on Sunday, September 25, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at White Oaks Savannah, 4352 Hwy 23, Dodgeville, Wisconsin 53533.

To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Paul Bickford please visit our Sympathy Store.

IN ORGANIC NEWS

MARBLESEED’S NEW WEBSITE

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our brand new Marbleseed website, marbleseed.org! The Marbleseed team has been hard at work improving and upgrading our website. We’re excited to offer this new, comprehensive, userfriendly, dynamic resource and hub for our beloved farming community. Dive into resources on land access, farming systems, soil health and more; find out how you can get involved in Marbleseed programs like Farmerto-Farmer Mentorship and Farmer Advancement; explore our extensive Organic Resource Directory to support your myriad farming needs. We are elated to finally share our new website and we hope you find it as intuitive and accessible as we do.

Peruse our new website at marbleseed.org!

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH AND SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER pROGRAMS

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is accepting applications from small businesses and small proprietorships that are in business for profit for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs, Phase I. (SBIR/STTR). The USDA SBIR/STTR programs focus on transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial potential and/or societal benefit. Unlike fundamental research, the USDA SBIR/STTR programs support small businesses in the creation of innovative, disruptive technologies and enable the application of research advancements from conception into the market. The STTR program aims to foster technology transfer through formal cooperative R&D between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. Different from most other investors, the USDA SBIR/STTR Programs fund early or “seed” stage research and development that has a commercial potential. Applications due October 25.

Learn more at tinyurl.com/3bm47tu8

Discover more in organic news on Pages 34-35!

Paul Bickford pictured with John Wepking and John’s son, Henry. Credit: Halee Wepking

COLLABORATING WITH NATURE

bY STEPHANIE HEMPHILL

Standing in sturdy boots in the middle of her 1/8-acre garden plot, Deb Smith, Red Lake tribal member pulls several garlic plants and decides they’re ready to harvest. Among the garlic, grow corn, tomatoes, sunflowers, beans, cauliflower, and amaranth. Smith sells some of these items at local farmer’s markets. It’s her fourth year here at the Gitigaaning, “the place of the gardens,” on the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation near Duluth. “First year, we battled deer; I was joyful when the program put up a fence,” Smith says. “Last year we got running water, and this year we have irrigation pipes. It gets better every year.”

Smith works at the band’s health clinic, Min No Aya Win, and she’s seen diabetes and other consequences of unhealthy eating habits.

“We need to learn how to prevent diabetes; we need to learn how to eat better,” she says. “We need access to land to grow our own food; we need allies to help us keep the water clean for wild rice and fish. We take care of the land, and the land takes care of us.”

Smith is speaking to nearly 50 attendees at a farm tour orga nized by the Fond du Lac Band and Marbleseed, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the Midwest’s organic and sustainable farmers. A mid-August drizzle doesn’t dampen the spirits of the audience, who are here to learn about Anishinaabe farm and garden practices.

We’re shepherded through the day by Nikki Crowe, Tribal Conservation Collaboration Coordinator. She tries to convey a broader idea about gardening than most of us are used to. “Anytime you harvest from the land, you are gardening. Gath

ering is farming.” She reminds us that early European arrivals in North America were astonished at the park-like beauty of the forests. “They didn’t realize the woods were managed by the Indigenous people,” Crowe says.

A sense of reciprocity, central to Anishinaabe culture, perme ates every aspect of the farm and woods here. “We take care of the land, and the land takes care of us.”

Crowe and other leaders at the Fond du Lac Band seem to have a genius for putting together various grants to accom plish their goals. Funding from the U.S. Department of Agri culture (USDA) helped pay for land preparation and training sessions for the gardeners participating in the program. The local Soil and Water Conservation District helped plant three orchards. During the coronavirus epidemic, a CARES grant helped sink wells and erect a fence against the deer. A special USDA program funded by a settlement in a discrimination lawsuit bought farm tools. Minnesota’s Lawns to Legumes program is helping build a pollinator patch.

The Ag Community Outreach Coordinator is Erika Resendiz Alonso. A native of Mexico, she learned traditional methods of agriculture from her grandparents; she has worked at Fond du Lac for six seasons at the Bimaaji’idiwin Ojibwe Garden and four years with the Producer Training Program. Bimaaji’idiwin can be understood as symbiosis, saving one another’s lives, or giving life to one another. The Bimaaji’idiwin Ojibwe Garden Program is community demonstration garden that includes a seed library featuring Native American heirloom crop seeds, the community garden plot, and educational programs for growers. More than 20 families are participating in the Pro ducer Training Program this year at Gitigaaning farm; most are

growing for themselves, their families and elders. A few are selling their produce.

In another part of the garden, band member Jeff Savage takes a break from squishing potato bugs. “Some in my family are interested in farming and selling but not much in weeding or squashing bugs,” he says ruefully.

These 36 acres tell the story of the massive land theft the band has endured. Under the Dawes (Allotment) Act of 1887, this acreage was assigned to an individual band member. Sav age says his name was Peter Beaver, and “probably someone sold the land somewhere along the line so the family could survive.” This kind of hardship was common, and over the years most of the reservation was sold to non-native people. Recently, the band bought the land and returned it to the community.

In addition to the crops Savage is growing here, he has about 100 maple trees around his house, and the family collects 15-20 gallons of syrup each year. “As a boy, my grandpa told me what his grandpa told him, and now I’m telling my grand kids. Adding it up, that’s seven generations.” Given the history of land steals, “Indian people have trouble getting access to land,” Savage says. “And it’s hard to feel the connection be tween the people and the land when you’re not on land that’s been tended by generations.”

This community farm is a big step in a healthier direction. Three acres are devoted to vegetable crops, other land is planted in barley, oats, and clover, and a dome-shaped green house extends the seasons.

Near the fenced gardens is a brand-new building ready to help participants process the ripening vegetables. A large, spotless, garage-like room is for butchering meat. The band hopes to attain USDA certification soon; frozen venison or dried berries could be a business venture for band members. A huge, bright kitchen has an astonishing array of equipment, including a dehydrator, flash freezer, and a special corner for filtering and bottling maple syrup, even a machine for turning it into candy.

Just outside is the entrance to a modern, energy-efficient root cellar. The group had help designing it from a neighbor, John Fisher-Merritt, whose family has operated an organic Commu nity Supported Agriculture farm for many years.

MANOOMIN, WILD RICE

A short ride down narrow gravel roads takes us to a landing on Zhaaganaashiins Odabiwining (Deadfish Lake). Fond du Lac’s Natural Resource Manager, Tom Howes, stands with his back to this 70-acre lake as he tries to convey the importance of wild rice, manoomin, to band members. It’s both a staple and a sacred food. “I feel bound to wild rice,” he says. “It made it

possible for my forefathers to live for so many generations, all the way up to me. It’s a two-way relationship, a close bond between the people and the rice.”

He explains that when the Ojibwe signed treaties that rele gated them to reservations, this band chose to settle here because the forest was studded by a chain of shallow lakes. These five lakes are the only ones that support rice within a 100-mile radius, he says.

Some wild rice lakes in the region were destroyed when the electric company built dams for hydroelectric power. They were flooded, and the rice can’t grow there anymore.

Early in the 20th century, this land was ditched to drain swamps and make it more suitable for growing crops. But that ditching changed the land’s hydrology, contributing to flood ing, making the lakes unreliable for rice-growing. Today we look at a sparkling lake that has only a sparse crop of rice, and the plants that grow are so short, Howes tells us it would be hard to bend them over the edge of a canoe. “This is basically a crop failure,” he says.

The Band has surveyed the lakes in detail to figure out how to avoid flooding. They’ve put water control structures at the top and bottom of the lake to slow the flow and keep it at a more

consistent level. And they’ve begun breaching some ditches for better water control. Progress is slow because the prob lems are complex and the tribe only controls 42% of the land base.

A nearby lake has 400 acres of good wild rice water. It has a rich organic bottom and stays at a fairly constant level of four feet, which is good for wild rice, but unfortunately also good for Ginoozhegoons (pickerel weed, moose ear, pontederia cor data). https://tinyurl.com/mt5t76yy

A native perennial, this aquatic plant has the advantage over wild rice, which grows from seed each year. Howes and his crew use custom-made boats to cut the upper part of the weed, or to cut at the root zone, which requires them to remove the material from the lake to prevent the roots from taking hold again.

“People have been living here for thousands of years,” Howes says. “In the old days, sometimes they wrapped rice in bun dles to claim ownership or to leave the rice for older people to collect.” Late summer-early fall is a happy time for the band. “The community comes together at ricing time,” Howes says. “We talk and joke, we tease each other.”

BLUEBERRIES

As we are learning, controlling the water levels, cutting back weeds, and keeping the water pure are all ways of farming for wild rice. Another farming activity here is burning for blue berries. Along with wild rice, blueberries are a key species for the Anishinaabe. Certain ceremonies include blueberries, and no substitutions can be made, according to Damon Panek. A member of the White Earth Nation, Panek is a Wildland Fire Operations Specialist at Fond du Lac. He chooses his words carefully to convey his thoughts. “Our way of life is from this place,” he says. “We’ve never been displaced without our con sent. We’ve always tried to live the way our ancestors did, but sometimes other agencies get in the way.”

Anishinaabe people have practiced using fire to shape the ecosystem for thousands of years, Panek says. Certain species of trees and other plants thrive in places that experience frequent small fires. Pines, oaks, and blueberries are among them. “We perpetuate the ecosystem that perpetuates our identity, and our identity perpetuates our landscape,” he says.

NEEMESIS

Blueberries grow in a four-to-five-year cycle. They’re rejuve nated by fire, growing and producing heavily for a couple of years, then start to decline until the next fire. Other plants have the same cycle, Panek says, including ferns and many plants the Anishinaabe use for medicines. And it’s probably not coincidence that it takes four-to-five years for the pine needles on the forest floor to accumulate enough to produce another fire.

Since their beginning in the early 1900s, the U.S. Forest Ser vice and state forestry agencies have poured huge amounts of energy into preventing and suppressing wildfires. This is changing now, but Damon says in the past, Ojibwe people would see signs saying, “No Indian Burning.” This kind of inter vention was designed to discourage the traditional practice of burning for blueberries. Panek says in those days, some tribal people would wrap a rock with birch bark, light it and toss it into the woods in an attempt to cultivate berry growth and keep traditions alive.

Current forest management activities are aimed at getting the woods back to that stage of healthy production for the species so valuable to the Anishinaabe. Panek estimates that perhaps in about a hundred years the band will have done enough work to recreate the pine barrens that are the perfect place for blueberries.

The people who attended the farm tour say “Miigwech,” “Thank you,” and climb back into their cars for the return home, minds swirling with new ideas about community, reci procity, and what it means to farm.

This field day was supported in part by USDA-NIFA, Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and NCR-SARE.

For more information about Gitigaaning please contact: Erika Resendiz Alonso, Ag Community Outreach Coordinator erika.resendizalonso@fdltcc.edu

This article also appeared in Agate Magazine: www.agatemag.com.

Interior of greenhouse dome

Credit: Stephanie Hemphill

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GROWING FARMERS AND COMMUNITY THROUGH MENTORSHIP

bY SARAH WOUTAT

Sharing of knowledge has always been at the heart of the organic farming community in the Upper Midwest. In fact, it’s part of the reason I moved from the East Coast to a farm in Minnesota in 2010. As a new farmer, both a mentee and a mentor, and now as a retired farmer managing the Marbleseed Farm er-to-Farmer Mentorship program, I am continuously struck by the willingness of farmers to share their knowledge, with no concern for competition. Whether that be shar ing farming systems, packshed de signs, hard numbers on enterprises, record keeping tools, the list goes on. In my experience, established growers have always taken the time to help newer farmers get on their feet and guide them along the way.

Over the past 15 years of the Mar bleseed Farmer-to-Farmer Men torship program, 339 farmers have been mentored by over 275 mentors, many of whom have been mentors for multiple years, at times mentoring more than one farm er in a season. A number of these mentorships have evolved into long-term friendships and informal mentorships. Additionally, folks who were once mentees are now men tors. As we look to the future of the organic farming movement in the Upper Midwest, continuing to help foster these relationships and com munity is essential.

Moving into 2023, Marbelseed is partnering with Renewing the Countryside to establish an en hanced mentorship program, in which mentors will be trained in accessing NRCS and FSA programs and land access strategies, as well as other topics identified as essential to assisting newer growers, beyond production. As a result of this train ing, mentors will be able to cultivate contacts and relationships with staff in federal and state agencies and organizations that can assist farmers, utilize tools for identify ing broader farmer resource needs and match programs and techni cal assistance to those needs, and practice approaches to navigating various systems to include building contacts and advocacy. The goal of the enhanced mentorship is to enable a diverse cohort of mentors able to assist farmers with a variety of resource needs in addition to and beyond production methods.

DAVE CAMPBELL

While reading books, attending conferences, and watching webinars and Youtube videos are great ways to learn, nothing can replace the one-on-one guidance that comes with mentorship and community connection. These connections can take many forms- whether through Listservs or the Ag Solidarity Net work, a digital hub where you can ask specific production questions of other farmers, regional farming groups, or formal mentorships.

We have seen that mentors as well as mentees benefit from mentor ship. One mentor shared that men toring “made me rethink why I am using each of my farming practices. My mentee introduced me to some new technology (finger weeder) that I might invest in.” Another said, “even though I was the mentor, visiting with my mentee helped me reex amine the decisions and procedures we use on the farm.” This exchange of knowledge between different generations of farmers is crucial to the health of our farming communi ty as farming is a life-long education.

A 2020 mentee shared, “It was amazing to be able to talk with a mentor who has been farming for so long and has seen so many changes in the market. We were able to talk about long term change in climate. How to handle wet seasons - e.g. how do you weed in mud, how to handle drought. The ups and downs of farm business in general.”

If you’re interested in being trained under this program, please contact Sarah at sarah.woutat@marbleseed. org. The initial 2-day in-person training will take place in January of 2023, with virtual follow up train ings occurring throughout the year.

IT WAS AMAZING TO BE ABLE TO TALK WITH A MENTOR WHO HAD BEEN FARMING FOR SO LONG...

Space is limited.

From a federal view, in late August, the USDA an nounced the Organic Transition Initiative, to include funding for “wrap-around technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring”. Through this funding, partnering regional organizations, “will connect transitioning farmers with mentors, building paid mentoring networks to share practical insights and advice. Each regional team will also provide community building, including train-the-mentor support; as well as technical assistance, workshops, and field days covering topics including organic production practices, certification, conservation planning, business development (including navigating the supply chain), regulations, and marketing to help transitioning and recently transitioned producers overcome technical, cultural, and financial shifts during and immediately following certification” according to the USDA press release announcing the program on August 22, 2022.

USDA’s acknowledgement of the importance of men torships underscores what we have known for yearsthat farmers are some of the best trainers for newer farmers.

Sarah Woutat is a Farmer Advancement Coordinator at Marbleseed. She operated her own certified organic vegetable farm in Minnesota for nine years.

HOW DID THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM HELP YOUR FARM?

“by connecting us with wonderful, experienced farmers, with whom we have admired for years. We had so many dinners to discuss farm operations, what their history of farming is, and what they did, and where they are going. It was so comfortable to ask whatever questions we had, and we felt very supported and encouraged by them.

It has been a wonderful relationship that will continue even after this program ends. Our farm practices will be changed where needed and suggested.”

— 2014 Mentee

Stay connected with us as we share more details about the Marbleseed Farmer-to-Farmer Mentorship Program!

Stay up-to-date by visiting... agsolidaritynetwork.com marbleseed.org

Interested in becoming a mentor or mentee? Visit marbleseed.org!

Grain Millers is a privately held, family-owned company. We depend on direct farmer relationships and offer farm gate pricing and contracted grower production. We also offer a Sustainable Grower Program – our Crop Science Team is here to help you with any agronomy questions you may have so you can get the best return on your production.

When you sell to Grain Millers, your grain is going directly into some of the most technologically advanced mills in the world!

bY LORI STERN

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: A FACILIATOR’S GUIDE TO GROWER GROUPS

Farmers rely on other farmers for information and advice on practices. Traditionally, this has been through relationships with neighbors and nearby family. With organic agriculture, a beginning farmer or farmer looking to transition to organic might not know any other organic growers in their own neigh borhood or personal networks. Understanding the regulations and best organic practices to follow on their farm can be overwhelming for farmers, especially those without access to a community of other organic farmers. Today’s successful or

ganic farmers were able to reach that sucess by collaborating and helping each other improve their operations.

With the rise in popularity of online communities, the po tential for connection and collective action broadens beyond just physical proximity. Funding from the NCR SARE program “Building Resilient Organic Farms through Communities of Practice” was initially earmarked to enable farmer groups to meet in person, build community around organic and sus tainable agriculture, and sustain themselves beyond the grant based on shared interest and agricultural goals.

However, the pandemic caused a shift in the program. Rather than assuming geography to be the shared identity as we all experienced ‘lock down,’ farmers expressed interest in cross cutting topics like mental health and wellness, anti-racism work, and adding value-added products to extend seasons and diversify income. Planned in-person communities of practice became a variety of distanced, virtual connections. Wanting this initiative to be truly farmer-led, farmers would contact Marbleseed with an express interest in starting a group. We would then use organizational networks and com munication to share the news of a group’s formation. Once farmers convened, they determined how the group would stay in contact and be defined going forward.

One group decided on a Facebook group, another opted for a Listserv, and a couple included Zoom video meetings with presenters and discussion. It was exciting to see people self-organizing and defining their purpose, creating structures that met their group’s specific learning and support needs. However, what became obvious very quickly is that these cross-cutting groups may have had more connections than the issue or concern that brought them together. “Growing Wellness”—formed to address farmer mental health—also included farmers with production concerns as well as rural community resource challenges. But, with the groups all struc tured so differently, there would never be a time when shared challenges would meet shared resources or ideas across the groups.

MO,

FARMER AND EDUCATOR

HOOD.

CREDIT: EARTHDANCE.

As the Grower Groups were meeting in all their iterations, Marbleseed was fine-tuning our five- year strategic plan. The board and staff had deep commitment to democratized, farmer-led education and programming. We envisioned the Grower Groups as a way to capture farmer learning and self-organizing, but we needed a way for these groups to also find each other as the next step to strengthen and even galvanize growers utilizing organic and regenerative pro duction. A social networking platform seemed as though it would provide the opportunity for both networking as well as network building. We began interviewing and vetting various social networking platforms and eventually chose one to put forward to the community.

In the Fall of 2021, Marbleseed reached out to allied farming organizations in the upper Midwest to gauge interest of creat ing an online platform. Beyond social networking, the vision for this network was to engage farmers via the “Grower Group” communities of practice to not only share resources but to activate farmers around the topics that were most relevant. We knew that several organizations were interested, but the cost to purchase the platform and app while having the staff capacity to build out a site was daunting. Marbleseed had re ceived funding for technology from a private foundation and we saw a social networking platform as critical for the Midwest agricultural community. Regionally we have great examples of very active Listservs through OGRAIN and the FairShare CSA Coalition, focused on grain and vegetable production respec tively. After a brief presentation on the merits of the platform, the Artisan Grain Collaborative, FairShare, Organic Farmers Association, and OGRAIN offered to assist in the building of the site via feedback on structure and data we would gather.

After virtual meetings, email surveys, feedback, and a bit of beta testing, in February 2022, the platform named the “Ag Solidarity Network (ASN)” was ready for soft launch. By the spring of 2022 there was an app available for both iOS and Android phones.

The challenge we now face is ensuring that this platform remains relevant and engaging. Moving some of the Grower Groups and active farmer Listserv onto the ASN is ongoing work. Because this is an online community, collectively oper ated and farmer-led, Marbleseed utilized NCR-SARE funding to create a quick-start guide for Grower Group moderators on the ASN but the guide could also be used for other plat forms that convene communities of practice. Although the focus of the Grower Groups shifted to more remote gathering and learning, this guide could also be utilized for groups that decide to create communication and education engagement that is in-person, online, or a hybrid of both.

Communities of practice started in education, as teachers would gather to network and share lessons, and then eventually challenges they were all trying to solve. Group members would go back to their classrooms, try an innovation created by the community of practice, and then report back to the group. This process can also be adapted to the farming com munity. Organic farmers in particular are willing to share what they have learned on their farms. Every farmer is an expert on the land they steward, the businesses they are growing, and the challenges they face-production based or otherwise. There is power in solving problems and concerns as experts of their own experiences.

The facilitator’s guide “Engaging Communities of Practice: A Facilitator’s Guide to Grower Groups” takes groups through a foundational process for convening that includes identifying the group’s purpose and shared values. As the main author of the guide, I utilized my 30 years of experience in adult learning and coalition building to inform the workbook format. Ultimately, I wanted to boil it down to what is essential, what things need to be discussed up-front to avoid challenges in group building down the road.

The guide also has tips for farmer-moderators to keep the group engaged. Marbleseed wanted to be responsive to the virtual convening of groups that tend to be less formal and not based on meetings at a certain time with set agendas. Grower Groups have become ongoing threads of conversation and back and forth that can be engaged in as time and interest allows. Some members will actively post, while others may participate by following topics that are relevant. The modera tor is critical in ensuring the group is vibrant and relevant.

Marbleseed and other organizational partners in the ASN that provide farmer education see supporting farmers as leaders as critical for organic farming, particularly as there is sudden ly more attention being given to small to medium organic operations. There is great opportunity for organized groups of farmers to share their experiences and advocate for their needs as stewards of the land, air, water and the health of plants, animals and humans.

The long-term goals of Grower Groups are to build resilient organic communities throughout the Midwest and possibly beyond. Farmers own and lead the groups, and the groups

organize with minimal support from Marbleseed or outside staff. We hope that this Grower Group Guide: Growing Farmer Communities for Continuous Improvement and Change will enable farmers to engage in groups that meet their needs and are sustainable beyond the founding membership.

If you have questions about this guide or you are interested in forming a Grower Group, you can reach out to info@marble seed.org.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2019-38640-29879 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ONC20-067 USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclu sions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

INSIDE ORGANICS

FINALLY: AN ANIMAL WELFARE STANDARD FOR ORGANIC

A nimal welfare has always been an important part of the organic production standards, with a clear requirement for outdoor access, hu mane living conditions, and expres sion of natural behavior according to the needs of various livestock species. Over time, it has become clear that the organic regulation needs more detailed requirements to consis tently meet this intent. Our organic law should provide a level playing field so all operations have the same economic investment in their organic livestock operations. In December 2008, more detailed pasture re quirements were passed for organic ruminant livestock, resulting in more consistent production practices and contributing to the integrity of the or ganic label. Currently, the USDA’s Ag ricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is

seeking comments about a proposed rule to amend the organic livestock and poultry production requirements, and to expand and clarify existing re quirements. Farmers and consumers can both have a significant impact on what this final regulation will look like by submitting comments to the AMS by October 11, 2022. You can find the regulation and how to submit public comments at: regulations.gov/com menton/AMS-NOP-21-0073-0001.

WHY AN ORGANIC ANIMAL WELFARE RULE IS NEEDED

Our current regulation for organic animal welfare is weak. One example of this weakness; over the past two decades the National Organic Pro gram has not required certifiers to enforce meaningful outdoor access standards on all organic poultry

operations. This means operations using enclosed “porches” or very small outdoor areas with limited exit doors, resulting in few to none of their birds going outdoors, are competing directly with operations that have invested in large and/or rotated grassy areas that provide shade, water, and meaningful access that entices birds to be outside. Market research has shown a clear consumer preference for humane treatment of all species of livestock and that consumers are willing to pay more for products that come from non-confined livestock. Because of this, some marginally organic operations have benefitted from the organic label while not fully meeting the intent of the organic standard.

If this all seems familiar to you, it’s likely because you’ve heard this same discussion before. The National Organic Standards Board and the greater organic community have been discussing organic animal welfare provisions since 1994, with numerous recommendations and hundreds of public comments that culminated in a comprehensive recommendation in December 2011. This eventually became a proposed and final rule entitled the “Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices” or OLPP. The OLPP was implemented in the waning days of the Obama presidency. When the Trump administration took over, they decided to withdraw that specific organic animal welfare regulation to the great dismay of the vast majority

bY HARRIET bEHAR

IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE OVERALL INEGRITY AND MEANING OF THE ORGANIC LABEL THAT ALL ASPECTS OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION MEET A HIGH STANDARD, AND THAT CONSUMERS CAN TRUST THAT LABEL.

of organic consumers, producers, and marketers. The Biden administration, under USDA Secretary Vilsack, has brought back this regulation with a few small changes and named it the “Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS).”

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OLpp AND OLpS: A 15 YEAR IMpLEMENTATION TIMEFRAME

The most significant difference between the previous OLPP and the new OLPS is the proposed implementation period for existing avian operations to provide meaningful outdoor access to their flocks. Originally proposed to allow for existing operations to come into compliance within five years of the rule’s implementation, the new OLPS now offers a choice between five years or 15 years. The vast majority of organic advocacy groups, producers, and marketers who’ve commented on this rule have stated that allowing the current status quo to continue for another 15 years is “excessive,” “absurd,” and completely unnecessary. The National Organic Program discussion on the proposed rule clearly states there has been a “market failure” con nected to the differing practices on organic poultry opera tions, which results in consumer “uncertainty about product quality.” Improving the regulation’s consistency would “prevent consumer deception and fraud.” Why should this uncertainty and fraud be perpetuated for 15 more years when the organic regulation in its entirety has only been in place for 20 years? Additionally, it is well known that many organic operations are dual certified with other programs that have humane standards in order to differentiate them selves in the marketplace. The OLPS is supposed to rectify the financial burden of multiple certifications with an organic standard that is equivalent to, or even more strict than, those other humane treatment certifications. The justification for the 15 year proposal is based upon the IRS depreciation of large poultry houses that might have been recently built under their assumption that outdoor access is not mandated for organic poultry. These operations may not have the space or landscape for outdoor access with soil and vegetation. A response to this depreciation argu ment could include that this outdoor requirement was im plemented in January 2017, before being withdrawn, so it is not a surprise. Many aspects of organic production require improvements to existing infrastructure on the farm or in processing facilities, in order to meet organic requirements. It is important that the National Organic Program hear from many voices opposing this 15 year allowance before meet ing the avian outdoor requirements, since there are pow erful large-scale operations that want 15 years to maintain their current systems without outdoor access.

The new OLPS does not specifically state how bright the light must be inside the houses. This statement from OLPP was removed: Natural light must be sufficient indoors on sunny days so that the inspector can read and write when all lights are turned off.

Birds should not be allowed to be kept in dark or dimly lit conditions during the daytime. It is common in nonorganic duck confinement systems to keep the birds in buildings with no windows, in very dimly lit or dark conditions. Provi sions for natural light or sufficient artificial light intensity is present in numerous humane animal standards.

VAGUE WORDING

There are sections in the OLPP that are still present in the OLPS that are vague and could easily lead to inconsis tent interpretation by operations and certifiers. Since the OLPS’s intent is to bring clarity to producers as well as to meet consumer expectations for humane treatment, these areas need better, clearer, and more accurate descriptions. Areas to clarify specifically include avian outdoor access and physical alterations in pigs.

AVIAN OUTDOOR ACCESS

The regulation requires 50% of the outdoor access area to be soil and that “maximal vegetative cover must be main tained as appropriate for the season, climate, geography, species of livestock and stage of production”. The term “maximal vegetative cover” is not defined and could be subjectively determined, with low rainfall areas having min imal cover. In addition, since the remainder of the outdoor access area could be concrete or gravel, with no specifica tion on how far the soil with vegetation is from the build ing, this soil and vegetation access may never actually be used by the birds if it is too far or obscured from view from the building. Some gravel or concrete may be useful in avi an outdoor areas, but 50% seems excessive. Wording that requires living vegetation, which can be achieved through irrigation, rotation, reseeding and renovation to allow for plants to recover after a period of use provides producers with more description of what is expected and allows for them to develop site specific solutions. Soil and vegetated land must be within a close distance (such as 20-30 ft) of the building to encourage use.

The OLPS allows for temporary confinement indoors when the outside temperatures go below 40 degrees and are above 90 degrees. Most birds can tolerate a larger temperature range. It would be useful to have producer examples where their poultry is outdoors with no ill effects outside of this temperature range.

Outdoor areas for broilers are set at 1-1.25 sq ft per bird, for mature layers are set at about 2 sq ft per hen, and for pullets are set at about 1 sq ft per hen. Indoor areas for mature layers is set at 1-1.5 sq ft per bird depending on the type of housing and for broilers 1.1.25 sq ft per bird. The actual numbers in the regulation are based upon the average weight of the bird in the flock, so these numbers are approximate. Most other humane treatment standards are similar to these numbers, additionally the European organ ic standards have a maximum allowance of 3000 laying hens per “single compartment” in a poultry house.

pHYSICAL ALTERATIONS IN pIGS

Needle teeth clipping and tail docking in pigs is not typically allowed in humane standards. In this regulation, they are only allowed when documented that “alternative steps to prevent harm fail.” This area could be strengthened with more descriptive wording to provide more space and better living conditions which remove the need for these alter ations. Swine producers are encouraged to provide further descriptions that have worked in their operations.

It is essential for the overall integrity and meaning of the

organic label, that all aspects of organic production meet a high standard, and that consumers can trust that label. Producers need clear descriptions of what is expected of their production systems and they should feel confident that all products with the organic label are meeting the same standard. If you are an organic livestock producer, a consumer of organic livestock products, or have any reason to care about the meaning of organic in the marketplace please consider submitting written public comments on this important rule.

Harriet Behar is currently an advisor to the National Organic Coalition, and a member of the policy committee and govern ing council of the Organic Farmers Association. She is a former chair of the National Organic Standards Board and a former employee of MOSES. She and her husband have a small or ganic egg CSA, as well as an organic vegetable and herb farm near Gays Mills.

Tony Schiller

Luke DoernemanNick Nelson

LATE GRAZING SEASON STRATEGIES AND SETTING UP FOR WINTER FEEDING

bY KEVIN MAHALKO

One of the goals of any grazier is to maximize forage production and livestock harvest of that forage through out the year. The late growing season can set up the amount of forage available to graze in the fall and grazing manage ment will influence growth of the pasture the next spring. The amount of stockpile pasture produced depends on species growth in August and September as well as the frost survival of the pasture species. Stemmy grasses can last longer as fall and winter stockpile than clovers or finer grasses that wither and desiccate after a frost or after growth stops.

I am writing this from North-Central Wisconsin in mid-August where we have had a relatively dry growing season with 3.4 inches of rain from the beginning of May to late July. We have had several 1 inch rains recently and are seeing a rebound of pasture growth, breaking dormancy and growing rapidly. There has been a lot of strategizing and changing plans to deal with the dry period. We did not harvest as much pasture for hay as typical and we utilized spring stockpile to carry youngstock on 100 percent pasture this grazing season. We fed some hay strategically in early May to allow the pasture to grow rapidly and to full volume on a high percentage of acres, all while setting up a grazing wedge for the dairy cows and heifers. The concept of rest and recovery is always the most important factor in maximizing production; plant leaf and cover fol lowing grazing determines how quickly pasture can regrow depending on root energy reserves, soil cover, moisture, and soil temperature.

Fall management is critical in extending the grazing season. In mid-August it is good to assess the maturity of pastures and consider a balance of grazing, stockpiling, and making hay. Some cool season perennial pasture species can grow after frost, when warmth and sunshine allow. If any seeding for fall grazing is done August would be a good time for oats as a cov er, planted with a wide range of perennial grasses and clovers (e.g., legumes). There will typically be enough time for the oats and new diverse seeding to produce some quality fall forage. It will be critical to harvest oats at proper maturity and in good weather and field conditions.

Triticale, winter wheat, and winter rye need to be planted early enough to overwinter and provide the potential for early spring grazing. Brassicas hold quality and can grow in cooler weather. Legumes can help provide pasture nitrogen to pro mote grass growth. It’s advisable to use caution when feeding livestock legumes, as they need to adjust the feeding routine for wet or frozen conditions to avoid potential bloat. Stock piling of perennial species usually requires around 60 days of deferred harvest to allow the stockpile to grow and mature. Annuals and perennials which have enough stem to survive freezing and weathering can provide some valuable feed into the winter.

According to Jason Cavadini, UW Extension Grazing Outreach Specialist, “Stockpile grazing trials were conducted for consec utive years at the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station. Pastures were rotationally grazed from May - August and then allowed to accumulate forage for 2 months. Liquid dairy ma nure was applied at the beginning of the rest period to supply 40 lbs per acre of nitrogen. Tall fescue and orchard grass accu mulated more late-season forage than meadow fescue, with yields ranging from 1.4 - 2.0 tons per acre. A separate fertility trial indicated that higher nitrogen rates can increase yield an additional 35 - 50 percent in the absence of legumes. These trials suggest that the season can be extended up to 60-80 days with expected average daily gains of 1.9 - 2.2 lbs over that time with stockpile grazing.”

Fencing and the ability to move livestock are critical in fall and winter. Heavy rain can cause mud and the need to move livestock more often. Snow and ice cause their own manage ment challenges. Forage can withstand some snow events and possibly grow late into fall. Typically, it is best to graze forage before heavy snow and have a hay reserve on hand as needed. There are some graziers who can graze year-round or through snow in certain climates, but the livestock and pasture must be adapted to this. Adapted pastures will contain grasses like tall fescue and cocktail mixes that can carry stockpile through winter. NRCS has resources for this practice and can make recommendations about the appropriate species for your area.

Leaving some residual grass after fall grazing will help the swards survive winter. Therefore, it is critical to maintain movement, rotation, and back-fencing to keep livestock from overgrazing and continuous grazing, even in fall and winter. Feeding a combination of remaining pasture and hay also pro vides flexibility in movement. Bales can be fed by preplacing or matching forage moves. This is done more easily with por table feeder wagons or bale feeders. When it gets to the end of forage available to graze, it is probably best to pick some sacrifice fields that need fertility to choose as outwintering spots. This can also be done by simply rotating feeding areas from paddock to paddock through the years. These spots can be reseeded in spring and provide an opportunity to grow and graze new pasture species!

Kevin Mahalko is a Marbleseed Organic Specialist and has an or ganic dairy herd in Gilman, Wisconsin, producing milk for the Or ganic Valley Grassmilk program. Kevin is president of Grassworks, a grazing educator for River Country RC&D, and an educator for the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship Program.

bY CURT HADLEY

HOW DO FARMERS MANAGE OR PREVENT DRIFT?

The issue of off-target spray drift on sensitive crops is a concern that has only grown in the past few decades with the increase of or ganic crops and farms, as well as the growth of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in commercial agriculture. This is why the Drift Watch registry was established in 2008 by the Purdue University College of Ag and Biological Engineering. This registry was just the beginning of what has become now a non-profit called FieldWatch, which has created many other registries since 2012 to meet specific needs of crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators. These registries act as a communication tool to help increase stewardship of pesticide applica tions with awareness of sensitive crops and honeybees.

Today the FieldWatch registries are available in 23 US states, Washington DC, and Saskatchewan:

Registering and mapping your farms and crops on the DriftWatch registry is one of the best tools to inform pesticide applicators of your sensitive crops, and it also provides pesticide applicators the opportunity to modify their behaviors and practices near these sensitive areas. As of early 2022, outside of seasonal seed corn fields that are mapped across the corn-belt, just over 50 percent of the 1.1 million acres mapped were either Cer tified Organic or in transitional status to certified. Com mercial commodity crop growers, as well as pesticide applicators, are becoming more aware of the extreme sensitivities and risks that are present when working near any organic crop. Using the FieldWatch registries is one step to help your neighbors become aware of sensitive crops. Another step is increasing adoption, in an effort to inform crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators of these critical tools that can foster essential communication.

The recent growth of GMO commodity crops and the use of herbicides such as glyphosate and dicamba have also brought about changes to these registries. All states with commodity row-crops now have the ability to map both GMO (pesticide tolerant) as well as non-GMO crops, in order to raise awareness about these crops amongst pesticide applicators. Short of mapping there is no other way for the applicators know what crops and specific tolerances (or lack thereof) are present.

If a producer suspects an incident regarding a pesticide application, we recommend the following:

•

First, record the date, time, location, and any appli cator information (including company name and aircraft tail number.)

• Then visit your state’s DriftWatch registry page: Navigate to the Contact Us tab, where you will find your State Data Steward contact info as well as a link to your state’s page for pesticide resources.

• And finally, remember that timely actions and connecting with your state as soon as possible are critical in these types of situations.

Learn more by visiting fieldwatch.com. On the home page, you can find links for creating an account as a grower in participating states.

Curt Hadley is the Business Development Manager at Field Watch where he maintains FieldWatch’s registries and implements marketing and development strategies to enhance support from our diverse agricultural stakeholders. Curt also works to strengthen relationships with the Certified Organic certifying agencies through outreach and education.

ASK A SpECIALIST!

Marbleseed Organic Specialists answer your questions about organic production and certification.

CALL

Organic Answer Line: 888-906-6737

LEARN MORE ON OUR NEW WEBSITE

Access all of our Ask a Specialist resources at Marbleseed.org. Submit your own questions or browse the online searchable archive, and find fact sheets, videos, audio, and more in the brand-new online Resource Directory!

NEWS BRIEFS

NCR-SARE ANNOUNCES 2023 CALL FOR pARTNERSHIp GRANT pROpOSALS

The 2023 North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Re search and Education Program (NCR-SARE) Partnership Grant Program Call for Proposals is now open. NCR-SARE’s Partner ship Grant program is intended to foster cooperation between agriculture professionals and small groups of farmers and ranchers to catalyze on-farm research, demonstration, and education activities related to sustainable agriculture. Individ ual grants are limited to $50,000. NCR-SARE expects to fund about 20 projects in the twelve-state North Central Region with this call. A total of approximately $1,000,000 is avail able for this program. The deadline for Partnership Program proposals is October 20, 2022, at 4pm CDT. Apply for a grant here: bit.ly/3DiKiKT

NCR-SARE ANNOUNCES 2023 CALL FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION pROpOSALS

NCR-SARE’s 2023 Research and Education Grant Program Call for Pre-proposals is now open. NCR-SARE’s Research and Education (R&E) program supports sustainable agriculture innovators with competitive research and education grants. Individual grants range from $50,000 to $250,000. For the 2023 funding cycle of the R&E Grant Program, NCR-SARE will again be accepting preproposals for long-term projects. Recognizing that some research/extension systems work is complex and requires collaborative interdisciplinary work that takes many years to complete, applicants will indicate that they are applying under the long-term option. The deadline for Research and Education Program preproposals is October 13, 2022, at 4pm CDT. Apply for a grant here: bit.ly/3ASmLgP

ALBERT LEE SEED HOUSE ACqUIRES BLUE RIVER ORGANIC SEED

Albert Lea Seed House, owner of Viking Corn & Soybeans and one of the largest suppliers of organic field seed in the U.S., today announced it has acquired Blue River Organic Seed, the nation’s longest-established organic seed corn brand from the Farmers Business Network (FBN). Founded in 2005 and based in Ames, Iowa, Blue River’s product line includes organic corn, silage, soybean, alfalfa, forages and sorghum. Albert Lea Seed is headquartered in Albert Lea, Minnesota. In addition to organic seeds, its product line also includes small grains, cover crops, wildflowers, and native grasses. The acquisition will: elevate Albert Lea Seed as the largest organic field seed sup plier, producer, and commercialization expert in the U.S., bring experienced industry leaders to the Albert Lea Seed team and will expand the organization’s relationships in the organic farming market, and add Blue River’s 40,000-square-foot, climate-controlled seed warehouse and office for support and distribution of the combined Viking/Blue River Organic Seed brand. Read more at prn.to/3qiBFrT

ANNUAL ORGANIC OVERSIGHT AND ENFORCEMENT RE pORT NOW AVAILABLE

The National Organic Program (NOP) develops and enforces standards for organically produced agricultural products sold in the United States. USDA and accredited organic certifi ers work together to enforce the standards, ensuring a level playing field for producers and protecting consumer confi dence in the integrity of the USDA Organic Seal. As part of the reporting requirements outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill, NOP published the 2022 annual Organic Oversight and Enforce ment Report. The report includes a summary of investigations and compliance actions, an update on the work of the Organic Agricultural Product Imports Interagency Working Group, and an overview of organic import oversight. Read the full report at bit.ly/3TLPD2Y

USDA TO INVEST Up TO $300 MILLION IN NEW ORGANIC TRANSITION INITIATIVE

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced details of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) $300 million invest ment, including with American Rescue Plan funds, in a new Organic Transition Initiative to provide comprehensive support for farmers transitioning to organic production. This initia tive will deliver wrap-around technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring; provide direct support through conservation financial assistance and additional crop insur ance assistance, and support market development projects in targeted markets. Read the full press release at bit.ly/3RBM9yJ

USDA FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION FOR SpECIALTY CROpS pROGRAM

The FSCSC program provides financial assistance for specialty crop operations that incur eligible on-farm food safety pro gram expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification in calendar years in 2022 or 2023. This program helps offset costs to comply with regulatory requirements and market-driven food safety certification requirements. FSCSC provides up to $200 million to specialty crop operations that incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification in calendar years 2022 and/or 2023. For each year, FSCSC will cover a percentage of the specialty crop operation’s cost of obtaining or renewing their certification, as well as a percentage of their related expenses. The FSCSC application period for program year 2022 will be June 27, 2022, through January 31, 2023. Learn more at farmers.gov/pandemic-assistance/food-safety

USDA pUBLISHES ADVANCE NOTICE OF pROpOSED RULEMAKING

The USDA National Organic Program previewed an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) that asks the public to comment on options to update how the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) references inert ingredients in pesticides allowed for organic production. The National List currently uses Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inert ingredient lists, but these lists are no lon ger maintained by EPA and are out of date. USDA is asking the public to comment on options to revise the National List, in cluding several derived from NOSB recommendations. USDA will use feedback gathered from public comment to inform any future rulemaking about inert ingredients in pesticides. The public comment period closes on November 1, 2022. Read more and comment at bit.ly/3wZyLf8

NOSB FALL MEETING

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will meet on October 25-October 27, 2022, in Sacramento, California. NOSB will meet to discuss substances petitioned for addition to or deletion from the National List of Allowed and Prohibit ed Substances (National List), substances due to sunset from the National List in 2024, and recommendations on organ ic policies. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) typically meets twice per year in various locations around the United States. During meetings, the NOSB listens to public comments, discusses agenda items, and votes on recom mendations to the Secretary in a public forum. The meetings are open to the public, and no registration is required, except to sign up for oral comments. Times shown for face-to-face meetings are always in the meeting location’s local time zone; Webinars and commenting deadlines are always based on the Eastern time zone. Find out more at bit.ly/3RjVpqQ

pLEASE JOIN US IN WELCOMING ALEXANDRIA BAKER, JO FACKLAM, AND VICTORIA OSTENSO TO THE MARBLESEED STAFF

Alexandria, based in Baraboo, Wisconsin, is our new Commu nications and Development Manager and has a background in grant writing, and book publishing. Jo Facklam, our new Communications Coordinator, worked as a worker-owner in the country’s oldest collectively owned and operated restau rant, Seward Cafe, in Minneapolis and now lives in Portland, Oregon. Victoria Ostenso, our new Farmer Network Specialist is a community organizer, food systems researcher, and aspiring farmer from Ladysmith, Wisconsin. We are thrilled to have them on staff!

FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR ORGANIC TRANSITION AND CERTIFICATION COST-SHARE

Organic agriculture continues to be one of the fastest grow ing sectors of American agriculture. In 2020, the organic food market experienced incredible growth, with sales over $56 billion, a 12% increase from 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, certified organic and transitional operations faced numerous challenges including loss of markets, increased costs, labor shortages, and expenses related to obtaining or renewing their organic certification. Transitional operations also faced the financial challenge of implementing practices required to obtain organic certification without the premium prices associated with certified organic commodities. Pro ducers who are certified organic, along with producers who are transitioning to organic production, can now apply for USDA’s Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) and Organic Certification Cost Share Pro gram (OCCSP). These programs help producers and handlers cover the cost of organic certification, along with other related expenses. Applications for OTECP and OCCSP are both due October 31, 2022, through local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. One-on-one support is available by calling 877508-8364. Find out more at bit.ly/3QglFRz

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

HARVEST YOUR CONSERVATION pOTENTIAL

Sept. 23 | 1 - 5 p.m. | Wild Hills Winery, Muscoda, Wis. Sept. 29 | 1 - 5 p.m. | Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, Green Bay, Wis. Oct. 7 | 3:30 – 6:30 p.m. | The Creamery Inn, Downsville, Wis. Oct 25 | 12 - 3 p.m. | River Bend Nature Center, Racine, Wis.

Hosted by Wisconsin Women in Conservation (WiWiC). Come celebrate fall and harvest season with other women who share your commitment to land conservation! Gather ideas and information for establishing your land conservation plan and how to use the upcoming winter months for planning, research, and connections with NRCS. RSVP at wiwic.org

VIRTUAL FENCES: LIVESTOCK CONTAINMENT WITH NO pHYSICAL FENCES

Sept. 23 | 3 - 6 p.m. | Center City, Minn.

Join The Munch Bunch for this research project that is evaluat ing the effectiveness of no fence containment in a variety of locations and vegetations. Hosted by The Ecological Service Livestock Network. The Ecological Service Livestock Network is a collaboration of the University of MN Extension and the Sus tainable Farming Association of MN. Register at bit.ly/3Bi22Vb

FARM AID 2022

Sept 24 | Raleigh, N.C.

This event is an all-day celebration of music and family farmers featuring a unique lineup of artists and genres, along with family farm-identified, local and organic foods and the Homegrown Village, where festivalgoers explore hands-on activities that engage all of their senses in the Farm Aid mission. Register at farmaid.org/festival

LAND ACCESS WORKSHOp SERIES

Sept. 18, Sept. 25, Oct. 9, and Oct. 16 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Columbus, Ohio

Co-hosted by OEFFA and Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice, this four-part series will offer on-the-ground ap proaches to finding and financing land, leasing and purchasing land, and assessing land. Participants will clarify their personal and business goals, assess their financial position, and learn what resources are available to find and finance land. Register at oeffa.org/news/farm-tours-2022

SEARCH ENGINE OpTIMIzATION (SEO) FOR FARM WEBSITES

Sept. 28 | 12 p.m. | Online

Hosted by FACT. In this seminar we’ll go over the basics of SEO and how to implement simple but impactful changes on your website to bring in leads for months or years to come. Register at foodanimalconcernstrust.org/webinars.

AGROFORESTRY FOR CONSERVATION & AGRICULTURE pROFESSIONALS

Sept. 29 | 10 a.m.-12 p.m. | Monticello, Ill.

Join Savanna Institute and Canopy Farm Management for a walking tour of the Memorial 4 H Demonstration Farm. We’ll explore the benefits of incorporating trees into conventional grain systems to support water quality, carbon sequestration, soil health, and wildlife habitat. There will be plenty of time to

ask questions and connect with Agroforestry Technical Service Providers. Register at savannainstitute.org/events

RACIAL EqUITY IN FARM TO SCHOOL TRAINING SERIES

Sept. 30 | 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. | Online

The Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina is hosting a free, five-session virtual workshop series on Racial Equity in Farm to School. Topics include implicit bias, language analysis, history and policy, curriculum and school meals, and commu nity praxis. Register at attra.ncat.org/events

EXpERIENCE AGROFORESTRY!

SAUK COUNTY FARM/ART DTOUR

Oct. 1 | 10 a.m. | Spring Green, Wis.

You can explore the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of agroforestry for yourself during the Savanna Institute’s North Farm Open House on October 1st! Members of the public are encouraged to visit E6828 State Rd. 60 Spring Green, Wis. to learn more about how agroforestry can fit into the Sauk Coun ty landscape. Register at savannainstitute.org/events

OpEN pOLLINATED CORN FIELD EVENT

Oct. 1 | 12 p.m. | Lewiston, Minn.

Stan Smith and Frank Kutka are holding a field event to high light a multistate open-pollinated corn project funded by a SARE Farmer Rancher grant. The event will be held at Stan’s farm on October 1st starting with a light lunch at noon and plot viewing and discussion beginning at 1 p.m. Stan’s farm is located at 20975 Echo Ridge Drive, near Lewiston, MN. If you would like to attend, please email Frank at dakotacornman@ yahoo.com to help us prepare. This is a public event, so please share the news.

AUTUMN MILL FARM WALK & pERENNIAL pOTLUCK

Oct. 2 | 1 p.m.-4 p.m. | Argenta, Ill.

Join Tammy and Mark Allen for a walking tour of their perennial cropping systems and perennial potluck-style tasting event!

Tammy and Mark planted 50 chestnut trees on what was once a small, degraded pasture. It is not a lush, productive, perennial multi-cropping system. Register at savannainstitute.org/events

DAIRY GRAzING AppRENTICESHIp WALK

Oct. 4 | 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Canton, Minn.

Great River Graziers and Kickapoo Grazing Initiative conclude their pasture walk series with this visit to Springside Farm. Topics include late fall and early winter feed strategies for a dairy herd and harvesting kura clover seed. Learn more atkick apoograzinginitiative.com/events

REGENERATIVE GRAzING WITH MOBILE INFRASTRUCTURE AND LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOGS

Oct. 4 | 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Wilton, Iowa

At this Practical Farmers of Iowa field day in Wilton, Iowa, join JR Jenkins of Pleasant Prairie Stock Farm to learn about rota tionally grazing cattle and sheep on pasture and cover crops. JR solely grazes on leased land. He also breeds and trains live stock guardian dogs, direct-markets grass-fed beef and lamb and owns a custom fence company. Register at practicalfarm ers.org/events or call 515.232.5661.

FARM LIABILITY & INSURANCE BASICS

Oct. 4 | 12 p.m. | Online

Hosted by FACT. In this webinar we’ll discuss the essential points of liability and property insurance that every producer needs. Register at foodanimalconcernstrust.org/webinars.

HUDSON FARM FIELD DAY

Oct. 8 | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | Sidney, Ill.

Join Savanna Institute and Canopy Farm Management for a field day focused on agroforestry design and establishment.

In partnership with a private landowner through a long-term lease structure and the current row-crop farmer, this site deploys multiple forms of alley cropping, three different windbreak designs, and hosts both an elderberry and hazelnut variety trial. Register at savannainstitute.org/events

INTRODUCTION TO pASTURED pIGS FOR pROFIT

Oct. 18 | 12 p.m. | Online

Hosted by FACT. Join us for an introductory conversation about the production and marketing of pigs raised in pasture settings. Register at foodanimalconcernstrust.org/webinars

EORGANIC FALL WEBINAR SERIES: NURTURING CITY SOILS FOR HEALTHY ORGANIC FARMS

Oct. 19 | 1 p.m. | Online

This webinar is the first in a series about Nurturing City Soils for Healthy Organic Vegetables. Topic: Testing Soils for Heavy Metals and Developing Effective Remediation Strategies. Register at bit.ly/3D3nHBI

FALL NOSB MEETING

Oct. 18 & 20 | 12 - 5 p.m. | Online – Public Comment Days Oct. 25 - 27 | 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Sacramento, Cali.

The National Organic Standards Board typically meets twice per year in various locations around the United States. During meetings, the NOSB listens to public comments, discusses agenda items, and then votes on recommendations to the Sec retary in a public forum. Learn more at bit.ly/3Bk4A5g or email

NOSB Advisory Committee Specialist Michelle Arsenault at Mi chelle.Arsenault@usda.gov or call 202-997-0115 with questions.

EORGANIC FALL WEBINAR SERIES: NURTURING CITY SOILS FOR HEALTHY ORGANIC FARMS

Oct. 26 | 1 p.m. | Online

This webinar is the second in a series about Nurturing City Soils for Healthy Organic Vegetables. Topic: Exploring Behaviors and Interventions to Reduce Soil Contaminant Exposure Among Community Gardeners and Farmers. Register at bit.ly/3KT1x6U

ACCESSING NEW MARKETS THROUGH DISTRIBUTION

Oct. 28 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Urbana, Ill.

Hosted by The Land Connection. I This all-day intensive work shop designed and led by farmers and distributors will provide a deep dive into what it means for a small produce farm to work with distributors to sell into new end markets. Register at bit.ly/3BjPZ9C or call 217-840-2128.

NEW FARMER U

Oct. 28 & 29 | Urbana, Ill.

This training is designed with beginning-intermediate farmers in mind, covering multiple aspects of farm business. Expect to connect with your community around workshops covering fi

nancing, access to new markets through distribution, insurance, alternative financing options, marketing and labor manage ment. Register at thelandconnection.org/event/new-farmer-u

EORGANIC FALL WEBINAR SERIES: NURTURING CITY SOILS FOR HEALTHY ORGANIC FARMS

Nov. 2 | 1 p.m. | Online

This webinar is the third in a series about Nurturing City Soils for Healthy Organic Vegetables. Topic: Design And Man agement Strategies for Regenerating Healthy Soils Through Urban Agriculture. Register at bit.ly/3cUsnz1

WINTER HIGH TUNNEL pRODUCE FARM TOUR

Nov. 6 | 2 p.m. | Johnstown, Ohio

This tour will focus on using tunnels to grow produce through the winter, particularly looking at the cost and benefits of us ing supplemental heat in a high tunnel for winter production; a project funded by a NCR-SARE grant. Register at oeffa.org/ news/farm-tours-2022

EORGANIC FALL WEBINAR SERIES: NURTURING CITY SOILS FOR HEALTHY ORGANIC FARMS

Nov. 9 | 1 p.m. | Online

This webinar is the fourth in a series about Nurturing City Soils for Healthy Organic Vegetables. Topic: Understanding Labora tory Soil Health Tests: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going? Register at https://bit.ly/3AUwNxQ

EMERGING FARMERS CONFERENCE

Nov. 12 & 13 | Shoreview, Minn.

The Emerging Farmers Conference is a collaborative event organized by local, state, and federal organizations, led by Big Riv er Farms, a program of the Food Group. This conference is for farmers, by farmers, and led by farmers. The goal is to empower emerging farmers with knowledge, resources and connection. For the first time, this conference features a field day! Register at bit.ly/3ASNXMz

EORGANIC FALL WEBINAR SERIES: NURTURING CITY SOILS FOR HEALTHY ORGANIC FARMS

Nov. 16 | 1 p.m. | Online

This webinar is the last in a series about Nurturing City Soils for Healthy Organic Vegetables. Topic: Combining Soil Amend ments and Varietal Development to Prevent Pathogens and Heavy Metal Uptake. Register at bit.ly/3qgRCPi

IOWA ORGANIC CONFERENCE

Nov. 20 & 21 | Iowa City, Iowa

This annual conference is hosted by the University of Iowa. This year’s focus is building resiliency through biodiversity and conservation in organic farming. Keynote speaker is Dr. Rattan Lal, Ohio State University and World Food Prize Laureate: “Why Soil Health Matters”. Register at regcytes.extension.iastate.edu/ iowaorganic

ECO-AG CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

Dec. 5 - 8 | Covington, Ken.

Hosted by ACRES. Register today to learn from eco-agriculture professionals, connect with peers and engage with the best trade show in the industry. Every year, we set a new standard for innovative and practical learning in modern agriculture. Register at ecoag.acresusa.com/fees-registration or call 1-800355-5313.

CLASSIFIEDS

EqUIpMENT

For Sale: John Deere 55 combine with 2-row cornhead. Very good original condition. Always inside. Toledo, IA. 641-7518382

For Sale: 605M Vermeer Round Baler. Good condition. 608-574-2160.

For Sale: Lilliston double bar rolling cultivator. 8 row wide (adjustable to narrow settings), stabilizer disk, adjustable gauge wheels. $1450 or offer. Onalaska. Loading help avail able. 608-780-5460

GRAINS

For Sale: Winter Rye 2022 crop MOSA certified. 715-977-0602. Ask for Ron.

For Sale: 2022 OCIA-certified organic winter rye. Danko va riety. 95% germ. High yielding. Good straw strength for cover crop. 320-491-0788. Minnesota

For Sale: OCIA-certified organic corn. Toledo, IA. 641-751-8382

For Sale: Dry organic hay - big bales. Corn and rye straw. Can deliver. 608-574-2160

LIVESTOCK

FARMS/LAND

Seeking New Lead Farmer for the oldest, continually operated biodynamic farm in the US. The farm has 164 certified organic acres, beef, pork, poultry enterprises, and healthy soil. Onfarm housing is available, and a strong consumer group has formed that is developing an innovative CSA type model for the future of the farm. Visit zinnikerfarm.com for more info or to apply.

Organic Maple Syrup Farm. 158 acres southeast Ashland County. Maple tubing system w/7000 taps, potential for 3000 additional. Includes syrup house with bunk room, RO system, holding tanks, 10,000kw generator, vacuum system with two pumps, garage w/electricity, 3-stall garage. Close to Turtle Flambeau Flowage. MLS#:6126834 Make an offer. Email: mnelly326@yahoo.com

Looking to rent: Wanting to rent organic farm ground in North west Iowa and/or extreme Southeast South Dakota. Would also consider transitioning conventional ground into organic. Been farming organically for over 20 years. 712-229-0161

For Sale: Two Angus Hereford cross bulls. Southwestern Wisconsin. 609-574-2160

FORAGES

For Sale: Dry organic hay - big bales. Corn and rye straw. Can deliver. 608-574-2160

Certified Organic Hay For Sale. Multiple types and qual ities. Small squares in bundles of 9, 18, or 21. Rounds and big squares also available. Sold individually or by semi-load. Brian@suttoncattle.com

Certified Organic Hay For Sale, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Crop. Deliv ery may be available. Sno Pac Farms, Caledonia, MN 507725-5281

MISCELLANEOUS

Poultry Processing: The Stacyville Poultry Processing facility, a division of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance, has capacity to process your chickens or turkeys. They are USDA inspected, organic certified, and currently scheduling processing. You can find more information and schedule your birds on their website at https://www.stacyvillepoultryprocessing.org/. Call (507) 7033643 or email poultryprocessing@regenagalliance.org.

Books For Sale: “Born to Be a Farmer” by Stan Szymanski. My life of farming and family. Also, my travels around the world. Call 715-443-2662 and leave a message.

For all your large animal processing needs, including vacu um-sealing and smoking, contact Integrity Meats. Federally inspected. N3825 County Road P, Elroy, WI 53929. Call Sandy 608-572-4303.

Natural Tanning Services: Driftless Tannery offers natural tanning services for sheep and goat hides. Affordable and quick turnaround. All information on our website at driftlesstraditionaltannery.com.

Alfalfa seed for sale! Good prices on high-producing certified organic and non-GMO varieties with excellent disease resis tance and winter hardiness. Will deliver or help pay shipping costs to your farm. Call Ben at 563-880-6232. Pleasant Valley Supply.

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. packaging. Humates OMRI-certified, liquid and dry. Can be shipped anywhere via UPS. Frommelt Ag Service, Greeley, IA, 563-920-3674.

OMRI certified organic fertilizers. Available in liquid, dry flow able or pelleted formulations. Sold by the ton, tote and tanker. Call Dan Beck at 308-940-2020. Nature Safe Organic Fertiliz ers.

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 $69.00. If you need glass, now would be a good time! Arctic Glass, https://kissourglass.wordpress.com, 612-860-8083.

CLASSIFIED AD pLACEMENT

NON-PROFIT ORG

PAID