Hostetler Transitions Traditional Family Farm to Organic
Published: Friday, May 17, 2019
Mark Hostetler, Nappanee, never dreamed of becoming a farmer as a little boy, a teenager or even as a college student. However, after some years of planning, Hostetler and his wife, Kristina, are doing just that on their 160-acre farm southeast of the city.
The farm was Mark's grandparents. After his grandparents died in 1999, the future of the family farm was in jeopardy. By this time, Mark's career plans had veered in another direction. Originally, he was a pre-pharmacy student at Purdue University. He ended up with a philosophy degree and then went overseas to earn a Masters of Sustainable Energy in Wales, England. At this point, Mark was sure his future vocational path required environmentally conscious behavior on his part.
"I decided I would like to do something with the farm because they were thinking about selling it. So, I looked into internships and went to Indianapolis for about six years. The farm was similar to what we are doing here (now)," said Mark.
The farm was Trader's Point Creamery in Zionsville. Not only did Mark gain additional experience with organic and sustainable farming practices at the creamery, he also met his future wife, Kristina. Purdue vet tech students would come to the farm to practice skills such as pregnancy checks and blood draws. Kristina was one of those students. Like Mark, her grandparents were farmers and the time she spent on the farm influenced her decision to become a vet tech. Her background in animal care has been valuable to their operation.
The more Mark learned about the positive impact of organic farming on the environment, the more he knew this was the direction to take for his farm. He began transitioning the farm from traditional farm practices to organic methods in 2013 while still working at Traders Point. The couple moved to the farm in 2016 and now live in a tiny house on the property.
Although only part of the farm is certified organic, the remainder is farmed organically without the official paperwork.
"We are still doing everything as if it were organic. Most of the customers we have don't mind whether it is or isn't certified. They know how we raise the food," stated Mark.
The Hostetlers raise free range cattle and sheep and chickens on pasture. The cattle and sheep are both meat-type animals and are unusual breeds for Indiana. Mark chose the breeds for their thriftiness and hardiness.
Their 20-cow herd of Milking Devons is speicial. The breed is considered critically endangered by the Livestock Conservancy. According to the conservancy's website, the first Devons were brought to America in 1623 and there may be as few as 500 animals left in the United States. Although the Hostetlers sell only beef from the steers, American settlers used them for meat, milk and as a draft animal.
As the steers reached market weight, Mark realized he needed a "beefier" animal. After some research, he changed the direction of the herd slightly by bringing in a Murrary Gray bull. However, he has not retired the Devon bull from his duties. Instead, he plans to use both bulls to get the best characteristics from both breeds.
St. Croix sheep is another old breed originating in the Caribbean and Africa. The St. Croix is listed as a threatened breed by the conservancy. The sheep grow hair rather than wool and are raised for their meat. St. Croix sheep are also highly resistant to parasites and help keep the paddocks free of them. Evidently, the ewes are also prolific. Mark and Kristina have been busy with a bumper crop of lambs and are bottle feeding several babies.
The biggest impact on soil fertility has been rotational grazing. Mark's goal is to feed the soil rather than steal from it, which is why he chose to raise livestock on the farm. The animals live outdoors as long as possible, only confining them to a barn lot in the winter. Mark feeds the herd wet-wrap baleage made on the farm when grazing isn't possible. The wet spring has been especially challenging to keep the animals on pasture without causing too much damage to the field, he added.
Mark and Kristina also raise free-range chickens. The chickens live in a hen house on wheels and are moved from pasture to pasture as they follow the grazing pattern of the hooved animals.
As in all livestock operations, making the right fencing choices can be problematic. Mark didn't like the fencing at Traders Point, so he used a kit to make the first set of pasture fences in a 44-acre field. However, there were problems with that fence. He found that the corner bracing was not nearly sturdy enough and the posts were not deep enough. In fact, Kristina tightened the wire so much the posts started to bend and come out of the ground.
"I went out there and you could've played a violin concerto with them they were so tight," laughed Mark.
He decided to do things differently in the next paddock. Their family and friends helped them fence in a new pasture this spring. This time, however, the larger posts are pounded and cemented in the ground.
Although Hostetlers are happy with the direction the farm is going, it's not exactly what they envisioned. They had intended to produce organic milk with a small herd of Jersey cows. The parlor, market and financing were all in place when Organic Valley and Horizon stopped accepting new producers. Instead, they decided to focus more on sustainable meat animal production.
"In the future, if we generate some interest with our beef customers, meat and egg customers, we could maybe do a small five to 10 cow herd, milked once a day and produce our own cheese, cottage cheese and maybe yoghurt as a share program sort of like a CSA," said Mark.
He added that it would be a simple process to re-certify the farm for organic production. However, at this time, the return doesn't justify the cost.
Like many farmers on small acreages, Mark and Kristina work jobs off the farm. Kristina is a branch office administrator for Edward Jones and Mark works for Byron Seeds as a territory manager.
The whole process of starting Rosewater Farm and Dairy from scratch has been a continually learning process for the couple. Marketing their product has been a challenge. Word-of-mouth among friends, family and business acquaintances is their business model for now. As the herd grows and more product becomes available, other marketing avenues will be necessary.
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