As organic dairy farmers we are required to certify that our land has been free of non-natural fertilizers and pesticides for at least three years before it can be “certified organic.” At the present time we all of our fields are certified organic.
Organic crop farming involves a lot of record keeping as well as a different mind set. This demands a much more thorough understanding of the interaction between the organisms, enzymes and other trace materials which work together in healthy soil to encourage growth of the desired crops and discourage undesired plant life (weeds) and undesired insect life (pests).
One of the unanticipated changes for Kimvale Farm has been the need to grow our own grain. As the cost of purchased organic grains has sky-rocketed we have been able to grow and supply most of our own grain. This has been quite a learning process for us.
Becoming dairy farmers who grow grain has made it necessary for us to acquire a great deal of new knowledge and new equipment. It would be an understatement to say that we have experienced some trial and error along the way, but we do learn from our mistakes. Going forward we expect to add more grain crops perhaps adding barley, triticale, or others to the crops we grow.
We have recently purchased a mobile feed mill, a grain separator, some aerators, and a grain auger. This past year we added a combine and some gravity wagons. The average age of most of this equipment is around 30 years so there’s no “new paint” syndrome happening here. Luckily our commodity shed has been able to hold most of the homegrown grain.