You are here: Home / Archives for Special Reports / 2013 Events / 2013 MOSES Conference

So, you want to sell your farm produce to a local restaurant…

February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Scott and Angie Taylor have Pedal Pushers Café in Lanesboro, Minnesota. The family restaurant features locally-produced meats, dairy and Scott & Angie Taylorproduce. Scott says they do as much “scratch” cooking as possible and found the more local the food and ingredients the better it is.

So how does a producer go about getting into a restaurant? He says for starters, know the restaurant you are approaching. Stop in, pick up a “to-go” menu if they have one and become familiar with whom they are trying to attract. Don’t try to sell them on something their customer would not be interested in.  Don’t be afraid to suggest something different but keep it within the realm of that restaurant. Taylor says they want a clean, quality product and a little background on the farm that they can feature in the restaurant and on the website; that is part of the appeal of Pedal Pushers Café. Plus, you want to be consistent with supply, be on time with deliveries and be prompt with invoices.

He says over the years, they have become good friends with their suppliers, “They’re like family to us.”

AUDIO: Taylor talks about the restaurant 5:30 mp3

Filed Under: 2013 MOSES Conference, Human Interest, News Tagged With: , , , ,

A corn that won’t accept another’s pollen

February 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

FriesOne of the concerns for organic crop farmers is the potential of contamination from pollen from non-organic crops in neighboring fields. Blue River hybrids have developed a line of corn which will not accept pollen from other corn varieties. Joe Fries with Blue River says plant breeders have known of the characteristic for years but saw no financial reason to develop it until the increase in the use of genetically modified corn. Called “PuraMaize”, the corn’s silks recognize the pollen and accept only its own, maintaining the purity of the corn. Fries says they currently have three maturities with the characteristic but only a 107 day organic at this time.  The hope to have the 114 day available in organic next year.

AUDIO: Fries talks about PuraMaize 4:50 mp3

More information is available here:

Filed Under: 2013 Events, 2013 MOSES Conference, Featured Tagged With: , , , , ,

Organic pioneer says they can feed the world

February 25, 2013 By 3 Comments
U of M photo

U of M photo

It is always interesting to talk to pioneers in agriculture, people who made a change in farming methods or management before others. One of those pioneers is Carmen Fernholz of Madison, Minnesota. He converted his farm to organic production in 1973. Today he rotates corn, soybeans, small grains and alfalfa on 400 acres. It is all certified organic and all sold through the Organic Farming Agency for Relationship Marketing (OFARM). “Most of my products go as organic feed to dairies and poultry but I do raise some organic soybean seed for Blue River Hybrids.”

So what triggered his decision to convert to organic 40 years ago? He says when he was growing up he remembers his father always getting a magazine on organic farming and he often heard his parents discussing the practices. “But the other more visible, hands-on experience was growing up on the farm; the garden would never get sprayed.” They also had a wheat grinder that his mother would use for flour to make bread, “and my dad would always flag-out an acre of the wheat field that never got sprayed. You talk about subtle messages to an 8-or-10-year-old.” After teaching high school for around eight years he decided to farm, “and those things started coming back to me.”

He says the greatest change he has seen over the years has been the growing acceptance of organic, “making it totally acceptable to the public to where it is kitchen-table talk.”

The big question is, with an estimated 9.5 billion people to inhabit the earth by the year 2050, can we feed them organically? “My answer is unequivocally yes we can…provided we can ratchet-up and take a significant percentage of the research dollars that are already devoted to agriculture and dedicate those to organics.” Fernholz cites his farm as an example, “If I have adequate fertility and the equipment that I need, I can compete bushel-for-bushel with my conventional neighbors.” He is quick to point out, “we are not there” but firmly believes it can be done.

While he utilizes all the latest technologies like GPS and other tools in is operation, his message to fellow producers is not to let organics get too industrialized, he believes the best scenario for the long-run is to get more farmers back on the land to revitalize rural America.

AUDIO: Fernholz talks about his farm 11:23 mp3

Filed Under: 2013 Events, 2013 MOSES Conference, Featured, Special Reports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals

February 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

DettloffAntibiotics are an essential tool on many dairy farms but not if you are organic. Dr. Paul Dettloff was a conventional large-animal vet for 25 years when some of his farmers converted to organic dairy production, “I had to do a lot of reading.” Dettloff says he went back to “the old literature” studying remedies from the mid-1800’s to the early 1900’s. Today, Dettloff is a staff veterinarian for Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative where he consults with more than 1,600 dairy farmers across the country. He says the key to a healthy animal is healthy soil so a producer can raise quality feed and then build from there.

For the last 11 years of his private practice, Dettloff used his traditional healing methods not only on organic dairy farms but conventional farms as well. He has done displaced abomasum surgeries and delivered calves by cesarean section without the use of any antibiotics. There have been cases where an infection develops and there are organic ways to deal with them but if it does get too bad, they will not let the animal die. As a last resort, antibiotics can be used but the animal can no longer be used for organic production, it must be moved to a conventional operation.

Dettloff has documented all of his findings in a book: “Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals” plus he and his wife have “Dr. Paul’s Lab” making veterinary botanicals, tinctures and treatments.

AUDIO:Dettloff talks about the practice 16:00 mp3

Filed Under: 2013 Events, 2013 MOSES Conference, Featured, Special Reports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Organic farmer driven by more than money

February 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Farmer of the Year is Charlie Johnson of Madison, South Dakota.

“This award that I’m receiving, I think it has more credit or credence to the people who make up the organic industry more so than just recognizing one single individual or producer here from South Dakota,” said Johnson, from his home in eastern South Dakota.

Johnson operates a 2800-acre organic crop and beef farm with his brother, Allan and cousin, Aaron. The brothers first learned chemical-free farming from their late father, Bernard, who first farmed organically in the late 1970s.

“At that time there were no premiums or extra prices for organic,” Johnson pointed out to Brownfield Ag News, but he added that money is not his motivation for maintaining an organic farming operation. “Quite honestly, if there was no extra incentive in the markets, this farm would still be operated as an organic farm because that’s the way my late father would have wanted it.”

Johnson’s organic process begins with his six-year crop rotation, which includes two years of hay, one each of soybeans, corn, again with soybeans, and finally oats planted along with alfalfa.

“Probably our hours will extend quite long in the summer months,” said Johnson. “We do raise row crops on about 50 percent of our acres, so we do a lot of cultivating, weed control, hand roguing, rotary hoeing; it’s a time-intensive operation.”

Johnson’s crops are sold through National Farmer’s Organization (NFO) Organics.

Although they’re not certified organic, Johnson keeps a 200 head Black Angus/Gelbvieh cow-calf herd, which contributes to the operation in more than one way.

“They’re basically our fertilizer factory,” said Johnson, “or at least in part they are.”

Johnson accepted the award at the annual MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

AUDIO: Charlie Johnson (11 min. MP3)

Filed Under: 2013 Events, 2013 MOSES Conference, Featured, Special Reports Tagged With: , ,

MOSES Conference aims to put the culture back in agriculture

February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The 24th annual Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference will be held February 21 – 23, 2012 at the La Crosse Center, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Faye Jones, MOSES Executive Director tells Brownfield that one of the true highlights of the event is the opportunity for farmers to network, talk to their peers and learn from one another.

The MOSES Conference is the largest gathering of organic producers and agriculture professionals in the country. In additional to national known speakers, entertainment, and locally sourced organic food, the conference features 70 workshops, running concurrently, 10 at a time.

The exhibit hall, Faye Jones tells Brownfield, is designed for farmers. “What’s nice about it,” she explains, “is that the exhibitors there only have products and services that relates to sustainable and organic agriculture so it is very focused.”

The more than 150 exhibits will range from seed to equipment, fertilizer and other products as well as educational organizations, brokers, buyers and processors.

The conference includes a special track for new and young farmers, the New Organic Stewards program, which aims to educate, inspire and empower new farmers to succeed as organic producers, and a pre-conference day-long Organic University.

Overall, Faye Jones tells Brownfield, the conference is a positive experience, putting the culture back in agriculture.

For more information on the conference, registration and lodging options, go to the MOSES website.

Listen to Brownfield’s interview with Faye Jones.

Filed Under: 2013 MOSES Conference, Crops, Dairy, Events/Organizations, Featured, Livestock, News, Special Reports Tagged With: ,