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Challenges abound for young Illinois organic farmer
A young, central Illinois farmer says it been a challenging year growing organic row crops.
Austin Reed, who came back to his family’s Piatt & DeWitt County farm full-time last year, says the second year of transitioning some of his acres to organic has been very different.
“A hot, wet spring led to a very thick cover crop, so termination was a different challenge than it had been last year,” he says.
He tells Brownfield once the food grade white corn was established, insects moved in.
“Maybe for me, the biggest unforeseen challenge was probably insect pressure.” He says, “We knew we were going to be susceptible to it, but not necessarily on the scale. We saw a whole lot of leaf feeding going on.”
Reed says the rest of the season went well, and he’s optimistic about the crop, but because he’s still a year away from being certified organic…
“We’re still subject to the Board of Trade, so the market has been affecting us in the transition process just like it has all the conventional guys,” he says.
Reed says he hopes to take advantage of organic premiums next fall. He says harvest of his conventional acres is likely two weeks away, while his organic corn won’t be harvested until late October.
AUDIO: Austin Reed – Illinois farmer
Tags: Corn, Crops, Farmer, food grade, Illinois field reports, insect pressure, leaf feeding, local farmer, organic, organic farmer, organic transition, Soybeans, Wheat, white corn, Young Farmer
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Publish date : 2024-09-10 13:34:00
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