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Organic crop farmers learn about marketing cooperatively

Organic grain farmers are benefiting from working cooperatively to market their crops.

National Farmers Organization organic grain program manager Mike Schulist is also a marketer for NF Organics.

“I’ve got plenty of bushels that I can get out there to the market, and I’ll flat out tell a buyer that’s not a fair buck. Don’t give me that price (because) you’re not going to be able to get our bushels at that.”

Schulist participated in a MOSES Organic Farming virtual Conference session called Cooperative Organic Grain Marketing, where he recalled helping an organic corn farmer make a sale.

“And I said it’s going to go to this location and they can take it anytime. And he said ‘that same buyer called me last week and he was a dollar less than what you can sell it for.’ And I said ‘well, we’ve got the bushels to want to do that, and they need the corn.”

Schulist says the organic grain market is active and farmers can take better advantage by not working alone.