LITCHFIELD - Since he began the switch from conventional crop production to organic, grass-fed beef, Kevin Fulton has seen a rising tide of interest in organics.
"What makes this feasible, it wasn't until the last 10 years or so they were able to market this stuff. Thirty-one percent of the U.S. households buy organic food even with a down economy. People are putting a value on organic foods now that they weren't before," he said.
Fulton and the Loup Basin Resources Conservation and Development group hosted a tour of his 2,800 acre farm about 8 miles north of Litchfield Monday.
About 80 people took the tour, learning how Fulton switched from conventional corn and alfalfa production to grass-fed beef and organic wheat.
The tour was part of a series of organic farm tours and workshops around the state funded by a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
"Our main goal is just to provide information from people like Kevin and all our other organic producers who are doing this already and have the experience on what to do and what not to do," said Randy Gunn, coordinator for the South Central RC&D.
"We can learn from hearing these people just talk about their experiences. Whether you're certified organic already or wanting to be certified organic or even just thinking about it, these are the people to talk to."
When Fulton asked how many people in the crowd were interested in implementing organic practices, about 20 raised their hands.
"We're seeing a lot of interest around the country and even around the state of Nebraska," Fulton said. "The growth curve really is huge and we're seeing the number of acres and farmers getting certified organic growing."
Fulton's farm has been a USDA certified organic farm for three years. He owns about 300 head of purebred Galloways, but said he has about 1,000 head on the farm.
"What I constantly hear from other farmers is they're concerned about the rising cost of inputs-seed, fertilizer, chemicals. They think they have no control and just have to pay that, and if you're farming conventionally you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"There are things you can do to take back control of your own operation and you don't have to rely on those expensive inputs," he said. "Some people are open minded and want to explore those options.
Fulton said although organic and grass-fed livestock are growing trends around the nation, most Sherman County producers are still skeptical.
"I think people are skeptical about what we're doing. They're not sure it really works and whether you can make a profit on it. We're in our third year, and we're definitely seeing profits."
Fulton said he sees other benefits to organic production, including improved soil quality.
During a tour of an irrigated grass pasture Monday, he dug up a shovel-full of soil. Despite 90-degree heat, the soil was moist under its layer of grass.
"For the most part we're eliminating topsoil erosion because it's covered almost 365 days per year with grass," he said. "It helps us keep the rain we get, which is huge."
Of his 2,800 acres, about 2,300 are native grass, 500 are improved grass and about 120 are organic wheat.
"There's still a lot of virgin prairie on the place that's never been touched with a plow and that's the best grass we have, period. I'll take the best native grass over irrigated grass any day.
"When we started this about 10 years ago I had envisioned the cost of inputs continuing to go up and up and we would never be able to change it," he said. "That's what has happened. Costs have gone up, but people can take control of their operations if they would think look at some of these changes."
