Certified organic

BRIDGEWATER – Amanda Stutzman has seen firsthand how fast the organic food craze has taken off, first as an employee of Whole Foods and now through her work with Bridgewater Farm, a 40-acre certified organic farm in Adair County.

“I think it’s nice seeing all the newer people since organic is getting so much new drive. It’s a great fad to follow,” Stutzman said. “It was great to see so many people who were curious about it and wanted to come in and learn about why you would spend more money on food.

“What is so much better about this strawberry for $7 versus the other quart of strawberries you get at Wal-Mart for $3? I think people are really starting to think about that and learn that what you put into your food, the way you treat it, what you put into the land directly affects the quality of the food, which directly affects the health of your body.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2015 Certified Organic Survey released in September 2016, sales of certified organic food were up 13 percent from 2014 to 2015.

Bridgewater Farm, operated by Dale Raasch and his son Tyler, became certified organic about five years ago and has grown in its operations since then.

Being a certified organic farm means Bridgewater Farm cannot use chemicals on its land. Any drift from chemical spray used on surrounding farms can set the operation back three years, as the farm has to go through the three-year transition phase again if the land is contaminated with chemicals.

Still, the Raasch family – Dale and Marcie, Tyler and his girlfriend Amanda – see plenty of reason to continue farming organically.

Tyler, wearing a baseball hat with the word “AGAPE” written across it, smeared with dirt from working on the farm all day, sees a bright future for organic farms.

“I think the future is bright for farmers who want to transition into organics,” he said. “We import way more grain crops than we grow here for organic. We’re importing from Turkey and eastern Europe. There’s farmers here who could grow this stuff and get two to three times the amount they make. If you look at the numbers, it’s a great opportunity and the demand is going through the roof over the past decade. I think it’s going to keep going up.”

According to the USDA’s 2015 Certified Organic Survey, the United States had 12,818 certified organic farms producing and selling $6.2 billion in organic commodities in 2015. However, only California and Wisconsin had more than 1,000 certified organic farms. Washington, Iowa and several northeastern states had between 500 and 1,000 certified organic farms.

“There’s just not many other people (farming organically),” Dale said. “A lot of people are switching to organic food. The biggest thing is trying to educate the public on conventional versus organic food, trying to get them to realize why there’s a difference in the price.”

Of the 40 acres on Bridgewater Farm, about 20 acres are certified organic alfalfa hay that the Raasch family feeds to the livestock. Some of the hay is also sold as square bales and large round bales. The other 20 acres includes fruit trees and vegetable production.

Bridgewater farm harvests spinach, radishes, spring mix, arugula, kale, turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, peppers and tomatoes, with Dale estimating the farm includes about 4,000 tomato plants. The Raasch family also grows strawberries, black and red raspberries, peaches, pears, apples, plums, watermelon, cantaloupe, zucchini and squash.

As operations have grown, with Bridgewater Farm traveling to four farmers markets and selling produce to area Hy-Vee and Fareway stores, Dale said he’s trying to produce more food on less ground.

“That’s more of the key than getting bigger,” he said. “You can get bigger and if you’re not efficient, it doesn’t help you at all. And we’re trying to get more equipment to be able to cut our costs down, so we don’t have to do so much hand labor things that take longer.”

Dale and Tyler have two tractors, a cultivator, wheel hoe and use plastic mulch to be more efficient. Tyler has used Facebook and Instagram to learn what organic farms on the coasts are doing and implement those methods on Bridgewater Farm.

The plastic mulch was one such idea. By using the 4-feet-wide plastic mulch, time spent weeding was dramatically cut down. Now, the plastic mulch is laid over the ground and a hole is cut into it, which the plant is planted into. Then, the only weeding that needs to be done is in the hole cut out for the plant.

Farming organically is a labor-intensive endeavor. But it is one the Raasch family enjoys and plans to keep doing as the organic food trend continues to boom.

“It’s great to see, even at the farmers market, people who get to come up and ask questions about it and get excited about it,” Stutzman said. “They’re excited about what we’re doing. They’re able to support local and buy something that is good for them. Without a doubt, they know there’s nothing that’s going to hurt you from this food.

“Just being out here every day, providing that option for people and having the opportunity to meet people and educate them and get them excited about organic food is awesome. It keeps me out here.”