Organic farming in Nebraska's future

By Chuck Francis and Shannon Moncure

Every Saturday this time of year, the lights go on at 4 a.m. in the vegetable packing shed at Shadow Brook Farm on West Denton Road, just southwest of Lincoln, Neb. It’s time to load organic produce—harvested, washed and prepared over the last two days by Charuth and Kevin Loth and their helpers—onto trucks and trailers. Then one truck is off to the downtown Omaha farmers’ market, while another makes the shorter trip to Lincoln’s Haymarket for its weekly sale day. Business will be brisk for four hours in Lincoln, with crowds at times 15 deep waiting to buy organic salad green mix for $10 per pound. Exhausted but pleased with their work, the young couple heads home to prepare for the Old Cheney Market that starts at 10 a.m. the next day.

This is the organic produce business at the family farm scale in our community.

Once a small, mostly local phenomenon, the organic food sector in the U.S. has grown by about 20 percent per year for the last two decades, increasing interest in and concern about the criteria for organic production. A federal law was passed in 1990 to provide uniform definitions, guidelines and rules for certification of organic food production and processing; however, it took 12 years before the National Organic Program was put into operation in October 2002.

The law helped to standardize the regulations among the many state, private and nonprofit certifying agencies, and began the process of clarifying the rules for many in the confused public. We are now assured that a product in the market labeled “100% organic” contains only organic ingredients, while one labeled “organic” has at least 95 percent organic ingredients. “Made with organic ingredients” must have at least 70 percent of the final product made with certified crop inputs. The use of other terms such as “natural,” “pesticide-free,” or “ecologically grown” are not regulated—a concerned consumer should look to the credibility of the seller for their verification.

The growing market for organic foods is now estimated at 2 percent of U.S. consumption and has reached an annual value of $16 billion. It is the fastest growing part of the U.S. food business, and is attracting great interest from large commercial growers as well as national marketing chains. Today, in fact, over half of all organic products are sold through major supermarkets, with the balance through smaller food shops, local cooperatives and direct from farmer to consumer. In recent years, consumer power has been instrumental in creating demand for organic foods in restaurants and some public institutions, and the “locally grown” label appears to be a marketing boon for stores and restaurants.

There is ongoing discussion about local food and organic food, two issues that really are not related. Is organic food produced in California and shipped 1,500 miles more environmentally sound than food produced locally using minimal chemical pesticides and fertilizers? There is no simple answer, but as fuel costs inevitably climb there will be less comparative advantage to producing lettuce under any system in California to ship across the country year-round.

We need to support local farmers.

Saturday and Sunday mornings often find us in the Lincoln farmers’ markets, of which there are now six each week in our community. Here we meet the people who produce our food, learn about the challenges they have faced in the past week and better understand why there is plenty of lettuce but limited supply of asparagus due to the cool weather. We treasure this connection with our food supply and feel confidence in both the safety and quality of the product.

We do know that buying locally produced food puts more money in the pocket of the farmer and supports the local community. For every dollar spent on local food products, more than three dollars circulates in the local community as farmers buy other products from local businesses. In contrast, much of the money spent on conventionally grown crops and processed foods ends up outside the local community. Likewise, the funds those conventional farmers spend for petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides and the like also leave the community.

What about the safety and nutritional quality of organic foods? Review of a large number of technical studies by a team of scientists at University of California, Davis showed that less than 20 percent of samples of produce from organic farms showed any trace of potentially harmful chemical residues, often in very small amounts. Nearly 50 percent of similar produce from conventional farms contained some detectable level of pesticides. Although the organic products have less pesticide residue, they are not completely clean. Research on nutritional value is ongoing; while there are many claims about food quality, most are yet to be supported consistently by laboratory research. It does appear that some trace elements essential for human nutrition and some factors such as antioxidants are higher in organic foods, but these studies need to be confirmed.

Can organic farming methods feed the world? This is probably a moot question, since most farmers in many developing countries have always used organic methods and will continue their practices for the near future, as costly fertilizers and pesticides are not available or affordable. More relevant concerns include how organic farming systems can be improved so that yields are more predictable, which crops and animals make most efficient use of available nutrients and rainfall, and how productive and profitable systems can be designed to avoid the need for purchased farming inputs.

Most research to date has been the trial and error experiments by farmers themselves, many of whom have willingly shared their experiences with other farmers. Recognizing the importance of organic farming, and listening to the urging of farmer clients, the academic research community is now becoming more active in organics. Here in Nebraska, we have recently certified land on university experiment stations in Sidney, Clay Center, Concord and Mead. Studies of organic soil fertility, weed control and crop rotations are under way, as is a statewide search for the best new wheat varieties to grow in organic systems.

The University of Nebraska Press is an enthusiastic participant in publishing books on organic methods. “Future Harvest: Pesticide-Free Farming” (1993) by Weeping Water farmer Jim Bender; “Good Growing: Why Organic Farming Works” (2005) by Leslie Duram; “Raising a Stink: The Struggle over Factory Hog Farms in Nebraska” (2003) by Lincoln professor and journalist Carolyn Johnsen; and “Roots of Change: Nebraska’s New Agriculture” (2007) by Callaway rancher Mary Ridder are all part of the book series Our Sustainable Future.

Just north of Raymond, Evrett Lunquist and Ruth Chantry are preparing their harvest for a weekly delivery of market baskets of produce to 120-plus of their customers. These loyal fans of certified organic, local produce pay an up-front fee at the beginning of the season for a box of fresh vegetables weekly throughout the growing season. Selling through what is called “Community Supported Agriculture,” they are part of a growing cadre of Nebraska farmers who make connections directly with their consumers. All of these innovative and profitable methods are finding their way into the mainstream of Nebraska agriculture and food systems. They will be a significant part of our future.

This article is provided by members of Wachiska Audubon Society and features writing related to nature, the seasons and relevant environmental issues. For more information, visit www.wachiskaaudubon.org.

For a list of Nebraska communities with farmers’ markets, visit www.agr.state.ne.us/pub/apd/produce.htm or www.fruitstands.com/states/nebraska.htm. For a nationwide list (select a state on the lefthand side of the page), visit www.starchefs.com/features/farm_fresh/html/nebraska.shtml.

More information on farmers’ markets may be found at www.localharvest.org, attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/farm mrkt.html, and farmersmarket.com.

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