Hi all,

Except for 3 hours driving in a blizzard last night… sigh… I want to tell you about a couple exciting things happening in farming, or at least at my farm — there is hope if we just don’t give up — 

Non-GMO crop production, I am learning, is more profitable for farmers than raising GMO corn and soy.  Two reasons:  input costs are lower, and livestock producers will pay a premium for non-GMO livestock feed.  And that causes input costs to re-adjust for the livestock producers as well (the animals are healthier when fed non-GMO feed and taken off the antibiotics, saving vet bills, etc.)  And the meats can be sold for higher prices because consumers are demanding to know what goes into their “food”.  Whole Foods, Chipolte, Costco — companies like these are demanding drug-free, non-GMO, no gestation crates, 6 weeks before weaning, outdoor quality time, etc.  

And — by enrolling in the Prairie STRIPS project at ISU, I will have opportunity to convert up to 10% of my slightly hilly farm to native pollinator prairie plants.  Targeted patches of prairie along the slopes of hills will help keep the soil and nutrients in place for the other 90%.  And even one broken tile line that I can leave as a wet spot to attract the water-loving plants and critters.  And with my farms being organic anyway….


Communication experts say we have to keep repeating our message until we are absolutely sick of saying it — and maybe by then, maybe others will have started to hear it — but food is easy:  eat organic, buy local to know your farmer, and always remember, You Are What You Eat.

Happy Spring,
Donna

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