Organic in Farm Bill
Tips for Organic Inspection
Farm’s Organic Transition
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Farm Finances Page 15
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Volume 27 | Number 1
Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service
January | February 2019
Illinois organic corn project shows promise, but needs more farms in trials By Lauren D. Quinn
What if organic corn were developed for and by organic farmers? For farmers getting by with the limited options currently on the market, it may seem like a pipe dream. But a year-old University of Illinois project has big plans to make this happen. “I think it’s super important to develop new varieties for organics rather than trying to make a conventional hybrid fit into an organic system,” said Will Glazik of Cow Creek Farm in Paxton, Illinois. “So when we were approached by the university, I thought this would be a fantastic idea, a way we could help. We offered support and land where we could trial new varieties and find something that’s going to work for organic growers.” The concept, known as participatory research, pairs farmers with agronomists and plant breeders to select and test crops that fit the landscape, benefit the soil, and meet farmers’ specific market needs. Farmers grow experimental lines using everyday practices and feed information back to breeders, who make adjustments until the crops are ready for market. But it doesn’t stop there. “Our project is unique because it integrates all the components of the food system, from the field to the table; it connects researchers, producers, consumers, and
markets,” said Carmen Ugarte, the University of Illinois researcher leading the project. “Traditionally, farmers stop worrying about what happens to their corn after it is delivered to the grain elevator. But we’re trying to select cultivars with the end product in mind. And, we are keen to connect producers and consumers.” The underlying goal of the project is to identify high-yielding, nutritious, nitrogen-use efficient, weedcompetitive genotypes adapted to organic systems and compatible with market opportunities. It’s a tall order, given the wildly different soil conditions, management practices, and philosophies of the organic sector. To make it happen, they need more farmers.
Mario Nunez digs up root samples to bring back to the Univesity of Illinois lab to analyze for the organic corn research project the university is running in partnership with organic farmers.
Photo submitted
On-Farm Research In 2018, 16 farmers stepped up to participate. Most of them—13 farms in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana—set aside about a quarter of an acre for strip trials, to test the performance of eight to 10 varieties on-farm under normal management. “From a farmer side of things, this is a nice, easy trial to put in,” said Glazik, whose family farms 640 acres and To Organic Corn on page 6
MOSES to honor organic trailblazers at conference By Dana Jokela
PO Box 339, Spring Valley, WI 54767
Each year, MOSES honors organic farmers who practice outstanding land stewardship, innovation, and outreach through the MOSES Organic Farmer of the Year award. The 2019 recipients, Jim Riddle and Joyce Ford of Blue Fruit Farm in Winona, Minn., exemplify all three award criteria to the fullest. Jim and Joyce have a long and multifaceted career in organic agriculture, not just as farmers, but also as educators, policy advocates, and consultants. In doing my homework before writing this article, I found the breadth and depth of their contributions to the organic movement—on both local, national, and global levels—so staggering that it left me feeling paralyzed. Where do I start, and how could I begin to capture all this in one article? Jim and Joyce started farming in the early 1980s as Wiscoy Organic Produce. They were certified by the Organic Growers and Buyers Association, before the existence of the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). Long before organic and local food
were mainstream terms, they were pioneering this approach in their farming and marketing. They used cover crops from the get-go, including innovative applications such as interseeding winter rye into standing sweet corn during the last cultivation. They marketed some of their produce through a home delivery subscription program before Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) existed in the United States. During that time, Jim and Joyce also helped found the still-thriving Winona Farmers Market, an achievement they are proud of to this day. They took a two-decade intermission from active farming to work in organic inspection and other realms, but returned to farming in 2009. Their decision to farm again was partly spurred by the beckoning of a piece of land. During their farming hiatus, they had rented out a 5-acre field to another organic grower who constructed an 8-foot-tall deer fence around the perimeter, with the understanding that the fence would remain when they stopped renting the field. Well, that grower stopped renting the field, leaving Jim and Joyce with a fully fenced 5-acre weed patch. Surely there was a better way to use this land, they thought. They looked around at what other growers in the region were producing in order to determine what was missing from the market. The answer came in all shades of blue—blueberries, for sure, but they eventually expanded to black currants, aronia berries, elderberries, honeyberries, juneberries, and plums. The soil on their perennial farm is covered with vegetation throughout the year, an intentional approach to virtually eliminate soil erosion. Their fruit is marketed fresh and frozen, mostly in bulk 5-lb boxes and bags, along with a smaller amount in clamshells. Two-thirds of their sales are wholesale, mostly to restaurants and breweries, with the remainder being sold directly to consumers at the farm or through pre-arranged deliveries. They also make jams and juices and sell them under Minnesota’s Cottage Food Law, which allows individuals to sell up to $5,000/year worth of processed goods made in a home kitchen. All of their fruits are high-antioxidant, nutritional To Farmers of Year on page 10
where farmers grow Feb. 21–23, 2019 in La Crosse, Wis.
Save $ by registering by Feb. 7:
mosesorganic.org
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