40,000-Acre Farm Goes Organic

40 000-Acre Farm Goes Organic CROPS Miscellaneous A big grain farmer in Western Canada is in the process of converting his entire 40 000-acre operation to organic according to a recent report in Western Producer Travis Heide of Waldron Sask is already 75 percent organic and plans to be 100 percent by next year His motivation? The high cost of inputs and the fact that most people don’t think it can be done What he discovered is that once you start making the change it’s easier to just keep going so you don’t have to maintain two sets of equipment Any equipment used for both conventional and organic must be cleaned between uses to maintain certification Along with his brother Garret Heide has 15 full-time employees and more than 550 000 bu of storage in his farmyard and two other grain storage yards in remote locations He started a company called Organics Canada Ltd and plans to produce and market wheat barley oats lentils peas and hemp Many of the employees are friends who moved to the area to work with Heide who manages thousands of acres for a businessman in Calgary They’re planning to add livestock to the operation which will generate manure needed for crops To read the entire article go to www producer com and search for “Travis Heide”

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