How Mary-Howell and Klaas Martens made the transition to organic
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Mary-Howell and Klaas Martens recently purchased this feed mill and named it Lakeview Organic Grain. A cooperative community of organic grain growers in the southwestern Finger Lake region of upstate New York is making good use of the facility. Surging regional demand for mixed and delivered organic dairy feed makes the substantial interior renovation a good business decision. The mill also produces organic chicken feed.

VALUE ADDED OPPORTUNITIES IN ORGANIC GRAIN PRODUCTION

In 1996, Klaas and I have also started a organic feed business, working with NOFA-NY certified farmer, Norm Wigfield. This business supplies feed for the rapidly expanding organic dairy and chicken business in New York and the Northeast. In 2000, we purchased the old Agway Feed Mill in Penn Yan and have converted into an organic feed mill now called Lakeview Organic Grain and employing 4 full time employees. Our mill operation also benefits other area organic grain farmers, since we buy most of the corn, soybeans and small grains we use from New York farmers. For the right person, value-added organic businesses such as this can be profitable, but the financial risk is also greater.

ORGANIC RECORD KEEPING

In order to see the true cost and profit of farming, we maintain detailed records of all inputs, including all purchased inputs, time and labor, and all harvest, storage and sales data. As certified organic farmers, we are required to keep these records for our audit trail that we show at each annual inspection but they have a much greater importance that merely that. These records can show us where we are making money, where the cost of our inputs exceeds our profits, what we must do to be productive and profitable. Organic record keeping and basic National Organic Program certification requirements will be covered in future articles.

BUILDING THE ORGANIC COMMUNITY

Through our experiences with other organic farmers, we have become thoroughly convinced that building and sustaining a sense of community and cooperation is essential for organic success. This is quite contrary to todays more common attitude in conventional agriculture of bitter competition. Indeed, universities and agribusiness companies have been telling farmers for years that the only way to survive is to get bigger or get out, and since usually the only way to get bigger is to take over the neighbors farm. it is difficult to feel much community when everyone is seen as a potential take-over candidate. In organic agriculture, we must recognize and carefully nurture a different paradigm of we all do better when we all do better, working together to better understand organic farming principles and to improve the overall quality of organic crops and food.

Organic farming is a viable and productive approach for small-scale and large-scale farmers today! It takes a different approach, a different way of thinking, but it isnt very hard to understand. Working together, organic farmers can make significant change in American agriculture today!