Dear Concerned Iowans,

As a farmer concerned for the environment, I have followed the Thompson's
operation for years.  I have nothing but admiration for the Thompson's
efforts towards farming and the environment.

When my father started farming in 1961, his goal was to make a $50 per head
profit (return to management) on the cattle that he raised.  Today in the
year 2000, a $50 dollar per head profit is considered not bad with cattle.
You are all well aware that the buying power of that $50 is not the same
today as in 1961.  This has forced the increased size of farms today.  My
father and I now farm 2200 acres which is a little larger than average, but
if you consider that two farmers are operating the farm, then we are pretty
close to average size.

In 1961 my father raised enough livestock so that he basically fed all of
his grain to the livestock.  The manure that they generated fertilized the
soil.  To feed enough livestock to consume the grain that we raise today
would take an incredible influx of capital just to provide the facilities,
not to mention the potentially negative impact of a large concentrated
animal feeding operation.  Most Iowa farmers don't have access to organic
fertilizers in the quantity that they need.

We do use synthetic fertilizers, but we soil test extensively and use only
what we need.  We would love to have another crop to add to our corn soybean
rotation, but without livestock to utilize hay or oats, no other crop can
compete.  The only tillage that we do is to inject fertilizer in a narrow
strip ahead of corn planting every other year.  By not tilling the soil, we
prevent erosion, sequester carbon in our soil while building organic matter,
and also provide some habitat for wild animals.

Tillage is the number one problem facing Iowa's environment.  A late 1800
atlas of Clay County describes our own Little Sioux as having excellent
clarity.  This is not the case today.  Tillage loosens the soil, oxidizing
organic matter and releasing carbon into the atmosphere, and allows
sediments, pesticides, and nutrients to move through surface water and tile
lines into our state's lakes, rivers, and drinking water.

Steve Swan

----- Original Message -----
From: Peggy Murdock <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 7:57 AM
Subject: Alternative Farming in Iowa


> Dick and Sharon Thompson, pioneering alternative farmers of Boone County
> here in Iowa took time out of their busy schedule to come to Ames and
share
> something with us about their alternative farming operation in which they
> use no pesticides or herbicides.  Here are notes taken during their
> presentation:
>
> Early weeds control later weeds.  This is one of the best secrets of the
> alternative farmer. We were treated to a picture of some of the largest,
> healthiest dandelions I have ever seen.  It looked like a for-profit crop.
> They allow their weeds,whether dandelions, foxtail or whatever to grow on
> the soil, sending a chemical message to other seeds that they are not to
> germinate.  The cultivator then makes new ridges and takes the weeds
> out.  They have very few weeds growing up as a consequence of allowing
them
> to initially germinate and grow.
>
> Their plow is unique for the area.  It is made in Norway and cuts deeper
> and turns more soil than the conventional plow.  This gets the surface
> nutrients deeper in the soil than with a conventional plow.  They plow
only
> once every five years.
>
> They began using ridges when ridge tillage came in in the 60s.  Seeds are
> planted on the ridge rather than in the trough.
>
> They use a five year crop rotation, and when starting with a chemically
> dependent field, this helps prepare the soil to grow a crop without
> chemical additives.  The first year they plant oats, the second year
> hay.  They turn the hay under with the plow at the end of the second year,
> and that, with the manure they spread on the field, provides the soil with
> some organic matter.  They follow the hay with a year of corn, a year of
> soybeans and another year of corn.
>
> Their manure comes from two sources - the hogs and cattle they raise and
> the Boone sewage treatment facility.  They need the manure from the
animals
> to round out their operation.
>
> Their records show that they get four more bushels of corn per acre than
> the county average. Their operation is always profitable and they have
> never had to fall back on government subsidies. Their chart showed the
> conventional field loosing more than $27 while their field would show a
> profit of more than $100.  The difference comes to about $138.
>
> They have twice the organic matter in the soil than the neighbor just
> across the road.  They have less than half the erosion of a conventional
> farm and many more times the numbers of earthworms in their soil.
>
> Peggy Murdock
>
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