How I transitioned to organic crop production — via livestock
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During my first 17 years in agriculture, I farmed 25-45 cow/calf pairs and a 100-sow farrow-to-finish hog operation. We were also in the soybeans and wheat seed business, until the GMO soybeans arrived in 1995 and 1996. I tried to transition to them but found that to be a losing proposition on a seed operation my size. I started raising food-grade soybeans for export to Japan directly from our cleaning facility. I had several farmers growing these for me. I used the seed-cleaning facility to store, package and ship them.
Then I started growing dry beans and popcorn. One of my buyers asked me if I could grow organic popcorn. That was my introduction into organics. I had to do something to survive, with a family of four boys on only 900 acres; commodities were not paying the bill.
I finally had the opportunity to try some organic popcorn once I got out of the farrowing business and sold my sows. They had been on 10 acres of grass for many years, and no chemicals had been applied. It was the short-rows part of an “L-shaped” field that I was growing conventional popcorn on, right across the electric fence.
What Are You Sold to Grow?
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