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Iowa County Sprouts Organic Farm Summit The Conference is Part of Local Officials' Efforts to Keep People and Money in the Largely Rural Area.Conference

Posted on: Monday, 7 November 2005, 18:00 CST

By Elizabeth Ahlin

Diversity will be the watchword at this week's Organic Growers Conference in Woodbury County, Iowa.

Together with a new tax policy aimed at encouraging organic farming, the conference is part of a push by the northwest Iowa county to broaden the sales base for local food producers while keeping residents and their money in rural areas.

While organic food growers typically farm less land than conventional farmers, they earn more for their product. Organic soybeans now sell for $15 to $17 a bushel -- more than three times the price of regular soybeans, said Craig Chase, a farm management specialist at Iowa State University extension.

That's enough of a reason for Mark Schuett. The Cherokee, Iowa, area farmer is starting to convert some of his acreage to organic this year. He plans to grow organic soybeans, flax, corn and alfalfa.

"With the commodity prices the way they are right now, it's hard to make any money with conventional farming," he said.

Organic farming, however, is more labor intensive than conventional farming.

Chase, who has been studying an organic farm near Greenfield, Iowa, since 1998, said organic crops generally require twice as much field time per acre.

While the advent of pesticides and pesticide-resistant seeds has made conventional farms more efficient, organic farmers need to spend more time keeping pests and weeds away from crops.

Increasing the number of organic growers in rural Iowa will help counterbalance the population losses that have occurred along with technological advances in farming, said Rob Marqusee, Woodbury County's rural economic development director.

As the average farm size has grown and fewer people were needed to farm, towns that were once economically dependent on farms have shrunk. Marqusee hopes that with labor-intensive organic farms, more people will be needed to farm again.

Under the new tax policy, Woodbury County will allocate $50,000 every year for the next five years to property tax rebates for conventional farmers who convert and become certified organic farmers. The county will accept applications for the tax rebate beginning in January. County officials say the tax rebate is the first of its kind in the country.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture must certify growers before their products can be considered organic.

According to the USDA, organic food must be grown without using most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation. Food processors, as well as growers, are inspected by a government- approved agent to make sure organic standards are met.

The certification process takes several years for grain farmers. There is a period of three years following the last application of herbicide to a field before it can be considered organic.

Both Nebraska and Iowa have funds available to offset the cost of certification. Nebraska was recently awarded $35,000 by the USDA for that purpose.

Woodbury County also has launched an education effort to promote locally grown foods. Marqusee said locally certified organic growers will show consumers where their food is coming from and help keep their money in the area.

"If we can sell to Whole Foods or Wild Oats that's great," Marqusee said. "But what we're trying to do is create a local demand structure."

Conference The Organic Growers Conference, which will include speakers from across the country, will be Wednesday and Thursday at the Bluffs Area Family Center in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. There is a $25 charge for the Thursday session. For information, call (712) 279- 6609.

Source: Omaha World - Herald

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