Posts Tagged ‘grain’
Iowa Farmer’s Transition to Organic Pays Dividends In Fertile Soil, Healthy Livestock, and Direct Markets
by Roger Blobaum Clarence Van Sant, who farms 135 acres of rolling land in central Iowa, has never put much stock in the advice of economists who insist farmers have to keep getting bigger to make it. Nor has he accepted the suggestions from his land grant university and others that you have to apply…
Read MoreKansas Organic Farmer’s Profitable Operation Bypasses Traditional Market System Entirely
by Roger Blobaum Bennie Unruh of Aulne, Kansas, is an organic farmer who has developed health food market outlets for all his grain and beef and bypasses the traditional marketing system entirely. In additional to producing grain and cattle on a farm that has been in his family since 1872, he has been a registered…
Read MoreOrganic Farmer in Northwest Minnesota Is Operating One of the Nation’s Largest On-Farm Milling Setups
by Roger Blobaum Ray Juhl is one Midwest farmer who sees production of organically grown grain and stone-milled flour as an emerging agricultural industry with strong demand and unusual growth potential. He’s so certain of this that he has built and equipped one of the nation’s largest on-farm milling setups. It is located on the…
Read MoreOrganic Farmers in 17 States Market Commodities At Premium Prices Through New Marketing Agency 1972-1975
By Roger Blobaum Larry Eggen, like many Midwest organic producers, used to talk about getting state or local marketing setups organized to help farmers sell organically-grown production to buyers in big cities. That was when Eggen had a small vegetable and hog operation near Walnut Grove, Minn., and was active in signing up organic farmers…
Read MoreRestored Water-Powered Roller Mill in Minnesota Enables Grain Farmers to Reach National Markets for Organic Flour 1972-1975
By Roger Blobaum The search for more markets for buckwheat and other grains, a continuing challenge to organic farmers in the Midwest, is being met by a group of producers near Winona in southeast Minnesota. They purchased the Stockton roller mill, a water-powered landmark shut down three years ago when the miller retired, and surprised…
Read MoreSouth Dakota Organic Livestock Producers Tell Their Veterinarian: ‘We Didn’t Switch Veterinarians: We Just Don’t Need You Anymore’ 1972-1975
By Roger Blobaum A strong belief that caring for the land means farming without chemicals has maintained the high productivity of a South Dakota crop and livestock farm for the family that has operated it since it was homesteaded. Walter Hobbie, who now operates the original farm northwest of Flandreau, has lived on it since…
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