Ramers Host Organic Dairy Day
Published: Friday, September 20, 2019
The Ramerview Holstein Farm Organic Grain Field Day was held last Thursday in New Paris. The Ramer family produces organic grains and milk. They graze their cows on 70 acres of pasture.
Galen Ramer and his son Stanton discussed how things are done on their farm and the transition to organic. In 1971, Galen's father decided not to spray fields. In 1985, the horse weeds became uncontrollable, so they decided to spray again, off and on. They always used organic fertilizers as long as he could remember.
Ramer suggested to his father that they try grazing their dairy cows. However, he disagreed, telling him that the milk companies complained about the taste of milk from grass-fed cows. When Ramer bought the farm in 2003, he had a pasture started and he soon put it to use.
"We were just tired of not having the stable income," Ramer said. "I believe you've got to believe in organic if you want to do it. It's a challenge, especially this spring when the ground was so wet."
He said the main reason he decided to go fully organic is because he believes there are a lot of things in farming that aren't good for people. In addition, when he gets the milk check, for the most part, he knows what to expect.
In 2004, the Ramers began grazing cows. From there, it wasn't far to go to transition to organic, Ramer said. The family farms a total of about 1,000 acres of hay, pasture, corn, beans and small grains. The farm is home to 160 cows.
His sons have followed in his footsteps with organic production. His oldest son now raises grass fed beef while the others continue to help on the home farm. The farm began shipping milk to Organic Valley in 2009.
Stanton and his brothers have expanded the crop acreage since partnering with their father. The decision to expand came when they compared the price of feed to the price of land. Previously, they purchased all of their corn and soybeans. One year they paid $14 for corn and $25 for soybeans. According to Stanton, they ended up paying double land payments by the end of the year.
The brothers picked up 350 acres. They leased the land with the option to buy after seven years. Stanton said that was enough to get them started producing their own grain.
Galen said good equipment is important for farming. He uses a rotary hoe to cultivate, but would also like to get a flamer to weed as well. He said farmers need to know their soil. Different tools and techniques work better on certain types of land.
He added that he is unable to graze his cows like his brother-in-law because they have different soil. When it rains, Ramer has mud. With 3 to 4 inches of rain, they must keep the cows off the pasture for 12 hours at least to get better production.
"I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't a challenge, but that's farming whatever you're in," said Galen.
His advice for others looking to transition to organic is to not be afraid to ask questions before jumping in.
"I would never transition a whole farm at one time," he said.
Michael O'Donell, Purdue University Extension, emphasized the importance of soil health in organic cropping systems. He said there is some tension when it comes to soil health and organic farming. This is because in organic farming, tillage and cultivation is typically used to control weeds. Today, it is generally believed that no-till leads to healthier soil.
"For those of us who work in organic systems and have been farming organically, we know that organics is rooted in soil health," he said.
O'Donnell gave soil health principles that can be translated to many different types of farming systems. Minimizing disturbance is typically put towards the top of the list. This leads to reducing tillage. However, O'Donnell believes farmers need to expand their understanding of what this means. He said physical disturbance may be part of it, but chemical disturbance can cause harm to the soil biology.
Keep the soil covered comes next, which also relates to having a living root in the soil as much as possible. That's about feeding soil biology, O'Donnell said. If farmers only raise cash crops and leave the soil bare the rest of the year, they are starving the soil. Organic farming aims to make the most of the resource while taking care of the soil.
Next, farmers should maximize diversity. Different plants provide a variety of nutrients for the soil. Diversifying cash crop rotation and utilizing various cover crops can benefit the soil.
Finally, O'Donnell said incorporating livestock back into the system can take things to the next level.
O'Donnell said there are people working on fazing out tillage while still being able to remain organic. He said it is not yet feasible to become completely no-till in an organic system, but there is ongoing research. Organic is a challenging practice, but these farmers strive to do their part and give back to the land they take from.
"We all come to it for a different reason of what motivates us to change and make changes with our operations," O'Donnell said of organic farming.
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