Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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bushels for the farm average. My neighbor who farms across the fence says
his farm average for 1,200 to 1,500 acres was 118 of corn. Yes, and my seed
cost is only about $3 per acre versus his $20-30 for hybrid corn. I planted it
June 25. So virtually all of your weeds are done. I cultivated it once. I didn't
rotary hoe it. I cultivated it once and did nothing more until I harvested
and then I combined it.” So, for his operation, the sorghum is providing a
more economical and better livestock feed crop. There are differences as far
as the animals, too. “Well, any hybridized crop, where man has tinkered, has
a negative energy to it. Because grain sorghum, sure they call it a hybrid, the
male and female parts are not separate on the plants. It is like hybridizing
wheat. It has a positive energy. The chickens are supposed to do better on
less. I am finding that with the cattle. I feed very little, and it has really put
some pounds on.”
Joel firmly believes that the quality of organic food has positive benefits
for people's health. “We have local customers that come here to buy. We
have had I don't know howmany people, giving testimonies in the yard that
they hadn't started healing until they started eating organic. And the latest
person, he went to the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis, and I forget what rare
type of cancer he had, but they just threw their hands up. They didn't know
what to do with him anymore. They basically said, 'Go home and get your
house ready for you to die.' The first day he came here with his wife and
he couldn't even get out of the van because when he would stand up his
blood pressure would skyrocket. He went on a diet that is all organic. Two
months later he can walk forty-five minutes a day. He is really starting to
look good now.” According to Joel this is not an isolated incident; rather,
there are “tons of stories like that where people are coming in here that are
our customers now. It is amazing. It makes you feel good. We did more
good than the doctor.”
Guided by Joel's constant experimenting and desire to learn, this farm is
highly diversified and evolving into even more markets. “With a lot of my
small grains - we have a pretty good sideline doing customchickenmixes for
small farms and large ones. We have a guy who has about a thousand laying
hen, organic. He gets feed that we custom grind for him. That is something
that we accidentally fell into.” And the farmers' market is completely new
for Joel and his family. “We just started that last year. We sell our beef,
chicken. And Adela's homemade soap - all organic and we use our organic
tallow, too, so there are no toxins. And then all organic oils and essential
oils for the fragrance. There are no colorings in it. If the FDA has to approve
it, we don't want it in our soap. Now we are also going to sell wheat grass
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