The Whole Farm Planner

In Ohio, Holistic Thinking Extends Beyond Farm Boundaries

When they bought their land in 1985, Molly and Ted had some definite ideas about the way they wanted to farm. They had a vision of a small diversified farm, of raising livestock and horticultural crops without chemicals and working to build soil life and fertility. Their whole farm plan, an organic farm plan they have updated annually, has been a way to address crop production practices and to plan for continual improvement of soil health.

The Bartletts started out growing sweet corn and selling blueberries from an existing planting on the farm, each year adding more crops and animals. As the farm operation grew, so did their marketing opportunities. As organic growers, Molly says, they had no trouble finding wholesale and retail outlets for their produce. Next they began a truck route to Washington, D.C. with other growers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. "We were thinking bigger—not necessarily smarter," Molly remembers.

In the fall of 1991, the Bartletts had a near-disaster when the bottom fell out of the local market for carrots. They ended up selling part of the crop to CSAs in Washington, and they were intrigued by the idea of making Silver Creek a CSA farm. That winter, Molly made the acquaintance of the late Robyn Van En, who encouraged her to form a CSA.

Ted and Molly considered this new way of selling their produce: customer-members would pay a flat up-front rate, then receive a share of whatever the farm produced each week throughout the growing season. The expenses of raising the crops would be paid, regardless of weather, market fluctuations or pest problems. The CSA members would share the risks involved, then share the bounty. Molly and Ted mulled it over, then mailed out announcements to the best customers from their on-farm market. They received 47 subscription payments, and became a CSA farm. Today, there are about 100 shareholders, which Molly considers ideal. In previous years, there have been more than 150, but she and Ted find the current size more manageable.

For Molly and Ted, turning to the CSA model represented a real change in the way they thought about the farm, the food they grow, and the community in which they live. Involving the community in the farm's operations is now central to the ideas behind Silver Creek Farm. As Molly points out, small farms can easily be swallowed up by urban sprawl or consolidated into mega-farms. City dwellers can help keep small farms in business by buying locally-produced food—they make decisions about supporting local farms every time they shop.

Twelve people who have been CSA members since 1992 form a "Board of Advisors," helping Molly and Ted with long-range planning. Since their participation in Holistic Management training, the Bartletts have been able to make even better use of the Board's advice and help with goal-setting. They are both in their fifties, so one of the issues they discuss with the Board is their eventual retirement and how the farm will continue in the future. Other topics have been new ventures, including an outdoor canning/preserving shed and a school-visit program, and retiring farm debt.

Including non-farmers in decision-making has been an important part of the transition from independent organic growers to CSA producers. As Robyn Van En had urged, Molly and Ted look at the farm as part of a local or regional food system, and try to help their customers see it that way too.

"Wholesale produce buyers don't care about urban sprawl or the disappearance of farms, but consumers do. Regional retail marketing is good for us, if we can make these connections. Holistic Management encourages us to look at the connections, at our regional food system. "

Reflecting their committment to the vitality of small farms in their area, the Bartletts work with other farmers, buying produce from small or part-time growers to enhance the CSA subscription and share their cutomers with other local producers. These growers don't have to do any marketing and they can provide produce in bulk at odd hours. CSA working members sort and clean the food.

CSA members are encouraged to become part of the process of growing food, with about one quarter of the members working at least 24 hours on the farm during the growing season. These core members have not eliminated the need for hired help, but they have definitely reduced it. With the high expenses of hand labor and without the economies of scale larger producers enjoy, Molly and Ted have to concentrate on marketing.

"To make a profit," Molly says, "we have to sell as much as we can retail. It doesn't matter how much you plant, it matters how you market it. We can't compete with California growers on the wholesale market. Instead, we have to connect people with locally-grown food by selling retail. The price I put on produce [even if it's higher than the price in the supermarket] isn't a barrier, if I can spend the time to educate the consumer."

--Jill MacKenzie

Successful Small Farms in Northeastern Minnesota

Ray and Sharon Johnson
Ray and Sharon Johnson's dairy operation, on the west branch of the Kettle River, has benefited from their Holistic Management training. Ray had always pastured his dairy herd to some extent, and had developed a more efficient New Zealand-style milking system, which reduced his labor as well as stress to the cows, but he wanted to keep the animals outside year-round. Ray's back problems were necessitating a new milking parlor, too. Both of these changes would mean additional financial investments—Ray was even considering giving up farming altogether.

While trying to balance their priorities and the pros and cons involved in these decisions, they enrolled in a three-day Holistic Management training course. It's clear to them now that this course gave them the tools to discuss these big decisions in terms of their many goals: family, financial, environmental, farm and others. It also helped them define the differences in their individual priorities.

They opted to build the milking parlor and barn. The animals now have shelter in the winter in an opening on the south side of the building. The parlor features a pit, which means Ray no longer has to bend when he is milking cows—a health factor that had to be taken into account. Manure management has improved with this new set-up.

Since that first Holistic Management course, "our ongoing discussion has improved dramatically," Sharon says. She and Ray revisit the goals they have set. They spend more time observing all parts of their farm. To prevent potential problems, they monitor water quality in a stream on their land, along with a variety of wildlife.

Further changes and improvements to the farm are in the works. When Larry Johnson, a land and water management consultant, interviewed Ray and Sharon for a story he later submitted to the Land Stewardship Project, he found that they "con-sider several ecosystem factors in their decision-making, especially the water cycle. Ray is thinking about changing his fuel storage from an underground tank to an above-ground tank. He has eliminated pesticides, except for fly spray, and is not handling or storing fertilizers this year. The milkhouse washwater is pumped to the manure lagoon for application to the fields. Their well water is more than 150 feet from the barn and has consistently passed the annual water quality test required for dairy operations. "

In 1996, Ray and Sharon hosted a farm tour in conjunction with their farm's centennial, with an attendance of 300. They continue to participate in Holistic Management discussion groups.

Jane and John Fisher-Merritt
The Fisher-Merritts of Wrenshall have an organic subscription farm. Area residents pay a single subscription fee per season, and in return have fresh produce and poultry delivered in season. This sytem both educates the consumer about ecological food production, farm operation and eating in season, and assures the producer of an income.

Jane and John enrolled in a Holistic Management training course offered by the Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Farming Association. Since their produce is certified organic, their use of the Holistic Management decision-making process has not resulted in much environmental change on their farm. However, the effect on financial planning has been substantial. In addition, they now take into account how they want the farm to "look and feel," as John says, as well as the impact changes may have on the family.

They use Holistic Management decision-making tools to clarify their individual goals for each aspect of the farm operation and family life. The process provides "not just stop-gap planning," but instead a means of assessing long-term consequences of any action.

More people are involved in decision-making now: two family members and an employee. With more planning before he takes any action, John finds he has fewer headaches later. For instance, he now uses cost/benefit analysis when considering a major purchase. Before the Holistic Management training, he would go on a hunch or be swayed by what other people said.

One change made since the training is the excavation of a drainage ditch in a field that, while it never had standing water, stayed wet and cold all summer. By considering the farm's water cycle and the possible environmental impact, and weighing the expense against potential gains in production, John was able to go ahead with the $1,000 cash outlay. The improved drainage has since paid for itself in increased production. As John expected, the ditch has not had any apparent effect on a nearby marsh: there has been no erosion, no sedimentation.

The Fisher-Merritts have also begun using a flame weeder. They have found that it holds down weeds better in some situations, and the cost reduction from hand hoeing is substantial. John continues to monitor all the practices on the farm, and in this case he's concerned that flame weeding could lead to careless weed management.

John feels that Holistic Management has definitely affected the viability of their operation. It has allowed this creative alternative to conventional food production and marketing to prosper.

--Kelly Smith, Carlton County Soil & Water Conservation District, and Jenifer Buckley, Northeast MN Sustainable Farming Association

Wisconsin Working Group Shares Experiences Transition to Grazing in Farmers' Own Words

Intensive rotational grazing is a system which requires lots of planning along with expert management for a farm to be successful. Conventional farmers considering a transition to grazing face decisions about how to use their existing facilities during the conversion. In some cases, they must continue managing their conventional system while learning to manage the new grazing system. For example, an extensive knowledge of pasture grasses is important in this approach. Most conventional dairy farmers don't have this background in growing grasses. Increased cow numbers and stocking rates, which may accompany a switch to grazing, present still more challenges.

The kind of work required to intensively graze pasture is different from that required by conventional dairying. Many graziers prefer these chores to those required in confinement systems, and many also value grazing for its potential to improve farm family quality of life. Two farm couples share their perspectives on the transition:

Jerold and Janice Berg
We became interested in intensive rotational grazing in the fall of 1991 when our farm consultant took us to see Charlie Opitz, a farmer in southwestern Wisconsin who uses intensive rotational grazing. I was curious about grazing and attended the 1992 Wisconsin Grazing Conference. I came home from the conference and did the first frost seeding.

We did our own planning for our grazing system. The first year, we put out the heifers and dry cows. The Eastern Wisconsin Sustainable Farmers Network had its first pasture meeting in February or March of 1993, and held its first pasture walk in April of that year.

We have always had an appreciation of nature and conservation on our farm. When I was a youth in 4-H, our club had a conservation theme. Environmental considerations have always been central to our decision-making on the farm—in the mid-seventies we began planting no-till corn mainly for soil conservation and erosion control.

Our goal is to see the farm remain in the family. Parts of the farm have been owned by the family since 1885. We want to continue to farm in environmentally friendly ways and pasturing is one way.

Over the next five years we hope to phase out herbicides—we've had a triazine weed resistance problem. The dairy herd will probably increase in size simply due to economics. Along with this, we want to make more use of our pastures and put more acres into pasture. A related goal is to decrease row-crop acres per cow.

To achieve these goals, we plan to increase the dairy herd by raising more heifers and by increasing the longevity of our cows with the grazing system. From what we have seen, as land is in pasture longer, yields and productivity increase. And as we gain experience, our ability to manage our system will improve.

We have used the Lakeshore Farm Management Association and a crops/soils and animal consultant in our planning. Our decisions are based on economics with an eye towards the environment.

Gerald and Elise Heimerl
The thought that we could produce milk for a potentially lower cost is what initially interested us in intensive rotational grazing. It was intriguing to apply less chemicals, while at the same time achieving production goals and keeping environmentally sound farming in mind.
To implement the system, we experimented with dry cows, youngstock and bison first. The risk was much lower using these animals. We spent relatively small amounts of money on fencing a small acreage and then expanded it to the whole farm. Networking with other farmers was important.
There are four sets of values in our farming operation because there are four partners. Lifestyle considerations are at the top of the list. There was absolute frustration on our part with concentrating on a high herd average: 24,000 pound production at a profit while milking twelve hours per day.

Secondly, survival in the dairy business was a consideration.

Third was that grazing is the soil conservation measure that seemed to have the greatest impact.

A fourth consideration was animal husbandry. Intensive rotational grazing is much more humane and matches our lifestyle. A smaller veterinarian bill was more a result of grazing than a factor in our decision to graze.

The long-term vision for our farm is to have it sustain three to four families comfortably with ample time for other interests besides farming. We want to find a comfortable maximum number of cattle under a managed grass system without adding capital or labor—it will probably turn out to be about one cow per acre.

We plan to increase our knowledge of grass and land management, winter more animals outside and develop a more efficient way of feeding grain to the milking herd with possible fenceline feeding. We would also like to add value to the products we produce: milk, cheese and meat.

The success we have had with implementing our grazing system in steps will hopefully serve us well in the further changes we plan to make. We plan to start small with wintering the heifers outside, then expand to bred heifers and dry cows.

We have not been involved with any specific farm planning system. We have done some planning through the local watershed on nutrient management. However, the rules are out of date and don't accommodate change. Planning has to allow for flexibility and growth.

We have tried to develop a mission statement and goals for our farm. It's a challenge!

--Adapted from "Farm Planning and Intensive Farm Management: Case Studies of Wisconsin Dairy Farms," by John Bobbe, Farm Planning Network steering committee member and staff member of the Wisconsin Rural Development Center.

For a copy of the full report, contact John at 125 Brookwood Drive, Mount Horeb, WI 53572.
Federal Money for Farm Planning!
Proposals Sought for
Conservation Farm Option

Conservation Farm Option (CFO)

CFO is designed to integrate incentive payments for conservation practices similar to the Environ-mental Quality Incentive Program, and land retirement payments similar to those provided by the Conservation Reserve Program or the Wetlands Reserve Program. It will wrap all conservation needs into one farm plan, require only one approval, and combine payments into one single check. CFO contracts and payments will run for ten years. All cropland currently enrolled in the commodity program is eligible for CFO.

Not only can this program make life simpler for farmers by combining paperwork, it also opens the door to new creative opportunities because CFO is not constrained by existing conservation program rules. Goals include soil and water conservation; water quality improvement; wetlands restoration, protection, and creation; wildlife habitat development and protection; and other similar conservation purposes. If successful, CFO could become the model for the future of the entire farm program, integrating commodity payments and site-specific conservation incentives into a single contract.

To start the CFO program, USDA is treating it like a competitive grants program. It is expected that a request for proposals will be issued soon. While only about $2 million is available for 1997, Congress authorized $15 million for 1998, along with increasing amounts for the next five years, stepping up to $62.5 million for 2002. A total of $192 million could be available for farmers doing whole farm planning over the course of this program.

Who can submit a proposal? Government agencies, individual farmers, and non-profit organizations will all be eligible to submit proposals. It is our understanding that a wide array of pilot project areas will be eligible, ranging from an individual farm, to a sub-watershed, to a category of conservation practices scattered over a wide area, to an organization of farmers. An applicant organization may do the outreach and organizing of participating farmers, although the usual local NRCS and SWCD staff will administer the individual farmer contracts. All the grant money must go into the farmer contracts, so non-profits and agencies will have to cover their costs through other means.

A broad whole farm planning proposal would appear to be a good fit for the CFO. CFO would provide incentive payments to participating farmers to complete their whole farm plan and fully implement it over ten years. A component of research and demonstration could enhance the pilot project and build support for expanding the program.

• Some possible ideas for CFO pilot projects:
• A watershed needing to address water quality or quantity problems.
• A group of farmers interested in holistic conservation tools such as rotational grazing or soil-building crop rotations.
• An organization wanting to promote an innovative practice, such as tree and shrub planting along contour lines.
• An individual farmer struggling to find a stable economic use of land, such as conversion from CRP back to farming.
• A group wanting to involve a number of farmers in a whole farm planning process, such as Holistic Management or Farm*A*Syst.

--Loni Kemp