The New American Farmer: Profiles of Agricultural Innovation (2nd edition)

200 Pages·2005·6.537 MB·English

by  Valerie Berton (editor)

The
New
American
Farmer
Profiles of Agricultural Innovation
2nd edition
The
New
American
Farmer
Profiles of Agricultural Innovation
2nd edition
Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Network
Beltsville, MD
The concept for The New American Farmercame from John Ikerd, former agricultural economics professor at the University of Missouri.
After decades of working with farmers and ranchers across the country, Ikerd wanted to convince others that thriving, family-run operations
making a profit, working in harmony with the environment and helping improve their communities were no fluke. To him, the “new
American farm” was a place where producers could create and achieve positive financial, environmental and quality of life goals.
The New American Farmer: Profiles of Agricultural Innovation, first published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
(SARE) program’s Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) in 2000, evolved from Ikerd’s vision. SARE owes the framework to Craig
Cramer, a former editor at The New Farm. For this second edition, SARE updated many of the first set of profiles and added 14 more to
include producers from each state and two U.S. territories.
Project coordinator & editor: Valerie Berton
Contributors: Dan Anderson, Craig Cramer, Ron Daines, John Flaim, Mary Friesen, Lisa Halvorsen, Beth Holtzman, Helen
Husher, Amy Kremen, Lorraine Merrill, David Mudd, Keith Richards, Gwen Roland, Deborah Wechsler
Cover photos: Jerry DeWitt. Photo of man with Jersey cow by Edwin Remsberg.
Graphic design & layout: Karol A. Keane Design and Communications
Line art (subterranean clover): Elayne Sears
Printing by Whitmore Print & Imaging, Annapolis, Md.
This book was published by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) under cooperative agreements with the Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA, the University of Maryland and the University of Vermont.
SARE works to increase knowledge about – and help farmers and ranchers adopt – practices that are profitable, environmentally
sound and good for communities. For more information about SARE grant opportunities and informational resources, go to
www.sare.org. SAN is the national outreach arm of SARE. For more information, contact:
Sustainable Agriculture Network
10300 Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 046
Beltsville, MD 20705-2350
[phone]; [phone] (fax)
[email protected]
To order copies of this book, ($16.95 plus $5.95 s/h) contact [phone] or [email protected].
Library of Congress Control Number: 2005922220
The New American Farmer
Foreword
Driven by economics, concerns about the environment or a yearning for a more satisfying lifestyle, the
farmers and ranchers profiled in this collection have embraced new approaches to agriculture. Their
stories vary but they share many goals – these new American farmers strive to renew profits, enhance
environmental stewardship and improve life for their families and communities.
The profilees in The New American Farmer, 2nd edition hail from small vegetable farms and ranches
and grain farms covering thousands of acres. They produce commodities like beef, corn and soybeans,
or they raise more unusual crops like ginseng, 25 kinds of lettuce or Katahdin lamb. Others add value
– and profits – by producing ice cream, goat cheese, cashmere wool and on-farm processed meat.
Another set provides agriculture-oriented tourism through “guest” ranches, inns, on-farm zoos and
education centers.
Many producers cut costs with new management strategies, such as replacing purchased fertilizers and
pesticides with cover crops and crop rotations, or raise animals on pasture rather than in confinement.
Some developed innovative marketing strategies to gain a better end price for their products. Others
combine trimming production costs with alternative marketing, doubling their efforts to boost profits.
The paths to their successes come from every direction. Some NAF farmers and ranchers credit the
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program with providing a timely grant or
research-tested information as they approached a fork in the road. Some turned to information centers
such as the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service run by ATTRA or the Alternative
Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) at the National Agricultural Library. Others found help
from their local Extension agent or educator, or an adviser from a government agency or nonprofit
organization.
These farmers and ranchers were not only willing to share what they learned with us, but they also vol-
unteered their contact information. To learn how to adapt what they’ve done to your farm or ranch,
consider getting in touch.
This second edition updates many of the profiles from the first New American Farmer, published in
2001. Fourteen new profiles further probe the many options available to today’s producer. (A tagline at
the bottom informs of each updated profile or newly researched one.) We hope The New American
Farmer, 2nd editionprovides both inspiration and information as you explore your new approaches to
farming.
www.sare.org/publications/naf 5
North Central Region
Molly & Ted Bartlett, Hiram, Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rich Bennett, Napoleon, Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Richard DeWilde & Linda Halley, Viroqua, Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Mary Doerr, Kenyon, Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Diana & Gary Endicott, Bronson, Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Carmen Fernholz, Madison, Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Bob Finken, Douglas, North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Greg & Lei Gunthorp, LaGrange, Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Charles Johnson, Madison, South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Tom Larson, Saint Edward, Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Don & Anita Nelson, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Dan & Jan Shepherd, Clifton Hill, Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Dick & Sharon Thompson, Boone, Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Ralph “Junior” Upton, Springerton, Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Bob Wackernagel, Montague, Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Northeast Region
Jonathan Bishop, Guilford, Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Jim & Moie Crawford, Hustontown, Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Dorman & Fogler Families, Exeter, Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Steve & Cheri Groff, Holtwood, Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Jim & Adele Hayes, Warnerville, New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Elizabeth Henderson, Newark, New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Gordon & Marion Jones, Chichester, New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
David & Cynthia Major, Westminster West, Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Allen Matthews, Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Alice & Brian McGowan, Montague Center, Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Jim Mitchell, Hockessin, Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Bob & Leda Muth, Williamstown, New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Skip & Liz Paul, Little Compton, Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Bill Slagle, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Robin Way, Conowingo, Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Southern Region
Max Carter, Douglas, Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Claud Evans, Okemah, Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Luke Green, Banks, Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Alvin & Shirley Harris, Millington, Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Alex & Betsy Hitt, Graham, North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Jackie Judice, Franklin, Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Martin Miles, Stickleyville, Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Jim Morgan and Teresa Maurer, Fayetteville, Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Terry & LaRhea Pepper, O'Donnell, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Lucien Samuel & Benita Martin, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Richard & Peggy Sechrist, Fredericksburg, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Rosa Shareef, Sumrall, Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chuck & Mary Smith, New Castle, Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Lynn Steward, Arcadia, Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Tom Trantham, Pelzer, South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Western Region
Dosi & Norma Alvarez, La Union, New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Frank Bohman, Morgan, Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Beato Calvo, Rota Island, Northern Mariana Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Arnott & Kathleen Duncan, Goodyear, Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Mark Frasier, Woodrow, Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Richard Ha, Hilo, Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Dan Hanson, Lusk, Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Michael & Marie Heath, Buhl, Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Hopeton Farms, Snelling, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Lon Inaba, Wapato, Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Karl Kupers, Harrington, Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Bob Quinn, Big Sandy, Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Ed and Wynette Sills, Pleasant Grove, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Agee Smith, Wells, Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Larry Thompson, Boring, Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Tom Zimmer & Susan Willsrud, Ester, Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

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The New American Farmer
Molly and Ted Bartlett, Silver Creek Farm Hiram, Ohio
Summary of Operation
n 15 to 20 acres of fresh market vegetables
n Transplants grown in greenhouse, including herbs and heirloom vegetables
n 100-member community supported agriculture (CSA) operation
n 600-700 blueberry bushes
n Flock of 100 sheep
n 1,000 chickens and 50-75 turkeys annually
Problem Addressed
Better connecting to consumers.Molly Bartlett sold her produce successfully to large wholesale markets
and upscale Cleveland restaurants for years before she decided there had to be a better way. The back-
breaking work seemed to bring few rewards of the sort she had sought when she began farming. Her
goal was to produce good food for people who appreciated the “craft” behind farming.
“We weren’t doing what we always thought we’d do: make a direct connection to a local body of con-
sumers in our community,” Bartlett says.
Undertaking community supported agriculture.Bartlett and her husband, Ted, mulled over how to best
market their small farm and decided to focus their efforts locally. Starting a community supported agri-
culture (CSA) operation seemed a great way to connect with their customers while bringing in a steady
income. CSA involves consumers as shareholders in the farm in exchange for fresh produce every week
during the season.
Background
Bartlett brought to the farm 15 years of experience in marketing, having worked for both a major
Cleveland department store and a family-owned design business. The jobs served her well; at the time,
she and Ted did not know they would run the most retail-oriented farm in northeast Ohio.
The Bartletts tested their green thumbs for 12 years before buying Silver Creek Farm. They bought a
small farm when both worked full time — Molly in retail, Ted as a philosophy professor — and raised
a bounty of vegetables for themselves and their five children. They also grew sweet corn, which the kids
sold at a roadside stand, and invited their friends to garden on the plot.
Bartlett wanted an enterprise she could share with Ted, and she wanted to translate her growing affin-
ity with the nation’s environmental movement into action. In 1987, they were ready to become full-
fledged farmers and purchased a 75-acre tract near Hiram. Located about 40 miles from both
Cleveland and Akron, the farm was ideally situated for direct-marketing opportunities.
10 The NewAmerican Farmer, 2nd edition www.sare.org/publications/naf
“Farming seemed to be a sources,” Bartlett says. “We
very natural aspect of our wanted to make our farm a
interest in the environment,” place where people could
she says. From the first, they come and learn about food
grew their crops and animals production.”
organically.
The Bartletts have hosted
Focal Point of Operation — groups from every corner —
Education schoolchildren by the busload,
“We grow the whole gamut,” foreign visitors, numerous
Bartlett says, including 20 farmer tours and friends and
varieties of greens, squash, neighbors attending chef-pre-
heirloom tomatoes, oriental pared dinners. They received a
vegetables, blueberries, rasp- SARE grant to teach the old
berries, rhubarb, carrots and art of canning to CSA mem-
potatoes. Much of that goes bers. Bartlett has taught classes
to their 100 CSA sharehold- on making dilly beans, herbal
ers, with the remainder sold Molly and Ted Bartlett offer unusual options, such as eggs, flowers or hand-knit vinegar, canned tomatoes and
at their on-site farmstand. sweaters, as part of their CSA farm. beer, and publishes a weekly
newsletter to generate interest
Silver Creek Farm, Ohio’s oldest CSA If compost is their production secret, then in the harvest, complete with recipes. In 1999,
enterprise, offers its members a plethora of bringing the customer to the farm is their they received another SARE grant to hold a
options. They can buy shares including best marketing strategy. In the beginning, the farm festival, giving farmers a venue to sell
eggs, chicken, lamb, flowers and/or hand- Bartletts planned to grow vegetables and sell their produce as well as to conduct “how-to”
knit sweaters. Such choices add more their produce wholesale and directly to workshops of their choice.
income while helping other organic farmers restaurants in Cleveland. Bartlett joined an
with whom Bartlett partners to broaden the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service project, Economics and Profitability
possibilities. “It’s Fresher From Ohio,” that sought to Silver Creek Farm’s CSA enterprise has
examine the possibilities for direct farm mar- proven more profitable than other direct-
The Bartletts grow herb and heirloom veg- keting. The project gave Bartlett the oppor- marketing channels such as selling to
etable transplants in their greenhouse and tunity to meet a group of Cleveland chefs, restaurants and farmers markets. Centering
raise 100 lambs a year under their own meat and both soon came to the natural conclu- sales on the farm makes most financial
label for direct sales. They raise between sion that she could sell them fresh, locally sense, Bartlett says.
800 and 900 meat chickens, which are produced food for their upscale menus.
processed by a neighboring Amish family “In the big picture, CSA’ers are more loyal
and sold at the farm. They also offer brown In 1992, they took a new tack. Rather than than any other market,” she says. “But I
and green eggs from heirloom hens. delivering to retailers, the Bartletts would don’t want to have all my eggs in one basket,
draw customers to farmers markets and the so we continue with other options.”
They practice a four-year rotation that farm itself through CSA. CSA fit perfectly
makes good use of their 20 acres of fertile with Bartlett’s desire to teach others about The Bartletts have never advertised their
ground. Annually, 10 or 12 acres are devot- good food. Gradually, they stopped doing CSA. They have no trouble selling shares to
ed to vegetables, with the remaining ground the farmers markets to concentrate all the 100 subscribers, with a return rate near 85
in cover crops. They compost their sheep elements — production, harvest and distri- percent eager to pay $375 for a working
and poultry manure before spreading it on bution — at the farm. share or $475 for a full share.
the fields. Some compost is saved for the
greenhouse as a soil medium. “It’s our most “One of the most important issues to me is “We’re profitable,” Bartlett asserts,
important secret,” Bartlett says. helping to educate people about food although it wasn’t always that way. They
www.sare.org/publications/naf The NewAmerican Farmer, 2nd edition 11