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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