Egg Processor Makes Plea For Organic Grain

BY TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer

KENDALLVILLE – Egg Innovations needs 7,000 acres of organically produced grain, preferably grown as close to the Atwood processing center as possible. The company is appealing to regional farmers to grow the

pesticide- and herbicide-free grain.

“The demand for organic feed is tremendous,” said Bob Schwartz, a consultant for Egg Innovations, at a Farm Bureau-sponsored conference about organic egg and grain production Thursday. “Last year we had a four-month feed supply produced in this country; the rest had to come from Brazil. We have to have partnerships with farmers able to raise these crops.”

Schwartz threw out prices of $12 a bushel for soybeans, $6.50 a bushel for corn and $6 a bushel for wheat grown organically.

Egg Innovations markets and sells organic eggs as well as cage-free, Omega 3 and vegetarian eggs. They partner with people to raise the chickens (flocks of 16,000 to produce organic eggs). The birds are raised cage-free and have access to the outdoors. Ideally, the organic grain would be grown within a 10-mile area. There is an organic feed mill in Pierceton.

Egg Innovations, based in Port Washington, Wis., seeks contractors who will supervise four flocks in five years. The company approves the building design and builders, suggests equipment design and suppliers. EI is the source for organic feed and pullets and provides flats and pallets, freight and training. Field technicians visit at least once a month. The producers’ investment is $250,000 to $300,000 and “the producers make a profit,” Schwartz said.

“The demand for organic products is growing at a faster pace than the industry can keep up,” said he said.

“The Indiana farmers will get more money because they’re closer to the feed mill. We’re going to buy the grain because we have to have it. The production is here; now our problem is how much grain we can originate.”

Farm Bureau District 2 director Mike Yoder said the organization neither promotes nor demotes organics.

“It’s like my grandfather farmed,” Yoder said. “It takes a whole new set of management skills, though.”

A field is not certified organic until no chemicals have been applied for three years. Acreage coming out of the conservation reserve program fits this description. Land farmed with standard commercial herbicides, pesticides and growth enhancers have to be conditioned with sustainable methods before certification.

To grow crops organically, farmers rely on crop rotations, crop residues, composted animal manures, legumes, green manures and biological pest control to maintain soil health, supply plant nutrients and minimize insects, weeds and diseases.

“You want to select a durable hybrid with good disease resistance, stalk strength, good yield potential that will jump out of the ground,” said Bob Yoder, Marshall County Purdue Extension educator.

Purdue is transitioning some grain fields to organic production. The university has an extensive publication on organic vegetables.

“You cannot use urea or ammonia, commercial pesticides, GMO crops. You must adjust soil fertility and use crop rotation,” Yoder said.

For organic certification, soil tests are mandatory and the farmer focuses on building soil quality. Because of the high phosphorus and potash rates of some manure, Yoder suggested using potassium and potash-hungry crops before planing corn, which is a heavy nitrogen feeder.

“We’re in a learning process. Go out and play with it a bit before you are certified,” he said.

Yields might be cut as much as 25 percent in organic acres, Yoder cautioned, although most farmers experience a 5 to 15 percent reduction in yield.

“Seek out mentors who have been farming organically for 10 years or more,” he said. “They’ll be your best source of information.”

LaGrange County Extension educator Steve Engleking said, “We need to produce what our customers want to buy, not try to sell what we want to produce. Organics is moving from being a niche to a commodity.”

He advised the audience to go to large supermarkets and look at the produce section – organic vegetables have a real presence.

“You don’t have to certify your entire farm organic. Choose a parcel, certify it piece by piece,” he said.

He said the state has a certification office, however, certifiers from any state can inspect an Indiana farm. Requirements differ from state to state. Inspectors visit organic farms annually to look at records.

“Young mothers are the fastest growing group of organic consumers,” Engleking said. “And they don’t care about prices. They want safer, healthier, better food for their children.”

Indiana Horticulture Congress, set for Jan. 24, 25 and 26 in Indianapolis, is devoting two days to organic education, Engleking said, “That’s how big it is getting.”

On the Net: Egg Innovations: www.egginnovations.com

Mike Yoder’s e-mail is farmermike@maplenet.net His telephone number is 574-825-3667.

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