Benefits of going organic and policies needed to transition to a family farm organic system

The Iowa Organic Association (IOA) is delivering a free field day for farmers and others interested in learning from organic experts about the benefits of going organic and policies needed to transition to a family farm organic system. IOA members, George and Patti Naylor, will host this Field Day at their farm near Churdan, Iowa. Field day attendees will tour this diverse, organic farm that goes beyond the corn-soybean rotation to see an orchard that will soon produce apples for hard cider; pollinator habitat planted through a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to buffer between organic and non-organic crops, and to provide habitat for pollinators and other wildlife; a small field that is planted in oats and pasture mix; a field of transition soybeans planted into rye that was rolled into a mulch to suppress weeds, to control soil erosion and for water filtration; and a field that was too wet to plant with a crop this spring.

Learn about the benefits of organic production, including increased biodiversity, higher carbon sequestration, and potentially higher returns with less up-front investment. George and Patti Naylor have gone beyond the corn-soybean rotation, adding perennials and oats, a pollinator habitat, and an orchard.