Eye On Agriculture - Organic Farming

It's something you have to believe in. That's the philosophy Dave Marschner lives by and farms b...  More »

It's something you have to believe in. That's the philosophy Dave Marschner lives by and farms by - south of Voltaire in North Central North Dakota. Dave is an organic farmer . Has been most of his life. (Dave Marschner, Organic Farmer) It's a different way of growing different crops. Organic farming has been that sort of black sheep of the industry for years. Growing crops without using pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. But in recent years that black sheep has had a change in wool. (Dr. Pat Carr, Dickinson NDSU Ext. Center) There are organic growers spread across the country and I think although many people don't realize it North Dakota is a major producer of organic crops. From 1997 to 2005 the organic acres in North Dakota grew from 90,790 to 142,332 putting North Dakota second in the nation in organic acres. (Shaun Sipma, KX News) Growing organic is nothing new especially for the Marschners. They've been doing it now for 35 years and in that amount of time they've seen the industry evolve so much so that growing organic has almost become a science. (Marschner) There's a lot of research coming out of Manitoba right now. They've been doing trials now for about 16 years and what it basically boils down to it takes a good legume and green crops to get the soil balanced out so it can be on its own. The research is showing that an organic farmer through rotation practices can raise a crop that can produce just as much yield as a conventionally farmed field. And that's where the big pay-off would be. Organically grown crops fetch a hefty price... (Dr. Carr) 50% to a 100% higher than traditionally grown crops or even higher. (Marschner) You never have to think about hauling your grain away. The semi's come right out to the yard. You get a price right on the yard. There's no freight on it. Combine that with little to no input costs, the idea of organic is appealing. All that aside, it still comes down to an ideal, a belief for the Marschners. They're putting the tried and true rotation studies into play on their farm and planning for a future with a lot more company as organic becomes more main stream. South of Voltaire with Your Eye on Agriculture, Shaun Sipma KX News.  « Less