Today we went to Storm Lake and chatted with the chief of police, Mark Prosser. This brief interaction was by far the most interesting meeting we have had thus far on the trip, in my opinion. Chief Prosser talked about how immigration has affected Storm Lake and how the police force works with the community. Storm Lake is extremely diverse, unlike the rest of Iowa. If nothing else, we have been told time and time again that Iowa is made up of old white men. It’s interesting to think about how a city like Storm Lake fits into the greater Iowa population because it has such a different demography. It is hard to have proper representation in the government when Storm Lake is so different than the rest of Iowa. He talked about how the law enforcement agencies have to try and keep up with the immigrant population. For example, the police force has to try and have a translator for all of the different ethnic groups, and they have a hard time filling this need. I also thought it was interesting that the police force goes through cultural competency training. This is a program where they work with a professor from the University of Northern Iowa who specializes in world cultures. They track which groups are coming to Storm Lake and they work to become knowledgeable about that group, their language, and their customs, so that they can better protect and serve them.

I was happy that he touched on the misconception that immigrants bring higher crime rates with them. He passionately argued that this myth stems from the fact that fluxes of immigrants raises the population numbers and when a population size goes up, the amount of crime increases as well. People draw incorrect relationships between these two variables and conclude that immigrants equal more crime. I have long thought this incorrect conclusion that people made is extremely frustrating. Data can always be skewed to reveal certain results.

He also spoke about what he considers to be the great embarrassment of his career. In the early 90’s he helped plan and conduct a raid at a packing plant. He looks back on this with deep regret as it created additional distrust and fear in the community and most of the workers were released to await a court date and returned to work at Storm Lake anyways. He feels no real difference was made and only distrust and fear of law enforcement came out of the event. His mission has been to build trust and community relations in Storm Lake and considers this event to have been a major step back.

Additionally, he talked about how he was on an immigration task force with other police chiefs that focus on immigration issues. It just so happens that my father attended some of the conferences of this task force which I know because they had a meeting in Miami this past October, and my father attended it. This conference lined up with Furman’s fall break and my birthday, and I flew down to meet him in Miami. I actually have a sweatshirt from the conference. It makes the world seem so small to think in my suitcase outside in our twelve-passenger van, I have a sweatshirt from a conference this police chief from a small town in Iowa attended.

Chief Prosser appeared to be someone who was doing the most to make a difference and a positive change in his small position of power. He goes above and beyond to make Storm Lake a community people can feel accepted and at home in. He does what he can to promote a feeling of community while also making steps to interact with locals and meet them on their turf. I was extremely impressed at the lengths he has gone to improve the Storm Lake community and the lives of the people who live there.

Its’ Called “All Natural Eggs & Gluten-Free Ham (disclaimer- that joke was from google)

Today we spent the day with the Kruses, our host family for two nights. They took us to see multiple organic farms that they had connections with. We went to two grass-fed dairy operations and one grass-fed meat operation.

The first dairy we went to was Paint Creek Bulk Food Store, Bakery, and Dairy. It was on an Amish Farmstead. We spoke to two women about the operation they had. It seemed very similar to other small operations we had seen. Most of their stuff is run using batteries, not electricity. The children were playing outside in bare feet in the rain stomping through piles of cow poop. I think kids in Iowa have a very different childhood than I had. They were not fazed by the poop at all.

Next, we went to Jeremy Peake’s farm to see their Organic Grass-fed dairy operation. Here I got some GREAT pictures with his very curious cows. You could tell that the cows were happy with their lives and they all had some little personalities. Jeremy uses a form of mob grazing that he says is a little less intense than that prescribed by the practice’s guru, Joel Salatin.  

Last we went to Welsh Family Organic Farm. They had organic chickens, beef, and hogs. Their operation seemed the least free range to me. The chickens were enclosed for most of the time. The pigs had small areas of concrete outside they could go to. The cows had a barn where they were outside standing in piles of mud and poop. There were a couple of heifers standing in grass on another plot. Although the hogs were still not able to access grass or too much free space, you could tell the difference in the pigs. They were not afraid of us when we came near them, they came to the gate to check us out. They were much smaller, a size that seemed more normal for pigs to be. I think this farm was an example of a family that raises organic animals for the price tag, but I may be wrong. Regardless, it is still better than conventional livestock operations, at least for the animal. There are controversies about runoff in outdoor pig operations. I can understand why because we were standing on a river of pig waste, but I also think that’s largely due to the fact that they were on slabs of concrete. What else would happen?

Organic farming as a whole seems to be in more of an experimental phase than conventional farming. Of the four farms we went to, all of them were making changes to their system each season to perfect the way that they raise livestock and crops.

Awwwwwwwmonds.

Today we spent the day at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. Seed Savers is a nonprofit that was started by a couple that began collecting seeds from people around the world that did not want to lose seeds that were important to their family history. They arranged an exchange system that allowed seed holders to trade with each other. The first catalog of seeds only had 29 participants, today their over 400 participants and 21,000 seeds available. They grow and sell seeds from their own farm. Which is where we worked.

When we first got there, we worked in the fields with other volunteers. We weeded four or five different beds across the farm. The tools that we used to weed were much more helpful than the tools that we got at Whiterock Conservatory (none). Seed Savers has 890 acres and only farms 25. They do this to ensure the purity of each seed but avoiding cross pollination. Between plants, they use beans and tomatoes (which self-pollinate) to stop any crossing. After we worked in the fields, we ate lunch and toured the local Co-Op. Good food and knowledgeable man giving the tour. Apparently, there are controversies around Whole Foods, I didn’t know that.

When we got back to Seed Savers, we took a tour of the visitor’s center gardens, spoke to the “seed man” in the basement, Phil Kauth. Then we spoke to Lindsay Lee who is in charge of raising the apple orchards. The seeds in the basement were the most interesting part. They were everywhere and seemed unorganized to us, but we were assured there was a system run by a computer that logged the location of each seed. Unlike Organic Valley, there is much more room for human error in their organization.

This morning we left the Kruse’s house at 7:45 to get a tour of their own organic dairy farm. I was still half asleep but from what I remember it was very similar to the other organic farms we saw the day before. Mr. Kruse used a similar technique that Jeremy Peake used to rotate the cows grazing. He has 24 plots that he moves the cows through on different days. While the cows are in one pasture, the pasture grows back for them to eat.

Later we drove to Cashton, Wisconsin to meet Jim Wedeberg for a tour and a meeting with Organic Valley Cooperative. The tour was really impressive because I have never been to a warehouse that was so advanced. There were systems that took care of 40% of the work that is done daily in the warehouse. It is able to do double the amount of work that an employee can do. It runs through a computer system that keeps track of the location of every pallet. There are different rooms for different temperature foods. It was complex and organized.

Some people criticize the size of Organic Valley because it started as a small market Co-Op and grew to a nationally recognized brand. I think that its size is good because the company has helped to demonstrate that we can treat animals better on a large scale and still be productive. I also think they have created a lot of opportunities and jobs for people and spread the organic label across the U.S.

On the way to our next sleeping place, we drove through Minnesota for fun. That made three states in one day. We got dinner at an Italian restaurant in the middle of the woods. Hannah and I were in charge of picking it out and despite some concerned looks as we turned into the dirt forest path on our way to the restaurant, I don’t think we disappointed.

Tuesday morning began early on the Kruse household. We were out in the barn seeing how the cows were milked and then helped feed the calves milk. After a quick breakfast, we began our trip to various farms with the help of the Kruse’s. Our first stop was at an Amish Farmstead, that had a food store, bakery, and dairy operation. Of all the farms we would visit that day this one had the biggest impression on me. I had seen how the Amish had lived when visiting my grandma in Pennsylvania, but now thinking about actually trying to run a farm or a business and following the religion seems so much work. The work they had to put in to plow a field or harvest it with just horsepower is mind-blowing. After the Amish, we headed to the Peake family farm, just like the Kruse’s they had a grass-fed dairy operation. Then we headed to the Welsh Family Organic farm to see their operation. They began growing organic crops before there was the certification because they saw what the pesticides did to the animals and wanted to try to keep them from going crazy due to the chemicals used on fields. On their farm, they raised organic livestock, like chicken, beef, and hogs. After seeing the tour most of their practices in raising livestock is not much different than conventional farming. For example, the cattle on the Sweeny farm are raised the exact same way until right before they are sold, when they are fed corn to fatten them up. Another thing that I found kind of interesting was how the manure was stored on the Welsh Farm. Unlike a CAFO, which has a storage tank underneath the barn, the Welsh Farm just has it all piled up right next to a stream. The reason this surprises me so much is that there a negative connotation when it comes to the conventional way to raise livestock when it is not much different than the way organic farmers raise their livestock.
The next morning as a group we made our way to Wisconsin to the Organic Valley Cooperative headquarters. We started in their distribution plant which was so cool see up close. The precision that the warehouse runs with all the different moving parts on is insane. After the tour of the warehouse, we made our way over to the building next door which was their headquarters. Inside we learned about the business side of Organic Valley. The building was pretty new, so it had many features that were eco-friendly such as the way they heat and cool their building and the materials they used for the ceiling or carpeting. They also tried to make their office building as conducive to collaboration with 90% of it being an open area to work and the other 10% is office space. They emphasized that they include a lot of amenities within the building to help build the community as well as retain employees. After lunch, we sat down and talked about the history of the company and how it grew to the size it is today. The biggest thing they pointed out was they work with their organic milk producers to set a price so they have a stable price throughout the year. We ended our trip to Organic Valley with a detour through Minnesota before returning to the place we were staying for the night.

May 30, 2019

Our Thursday morning started off differently than the norm of board meetings and presentations. We were able to help Koby Jeschkeit-Hagen and her field crew work in the fields at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. Seed Savers Exchange was founded in 1975 and as a nonprofit its aim is to “conserve and promote America’s culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants.” Once we finished assisting the field team with weeding, we headed to the Oneonta community food coop where we had lunch and a quick tour.

After lunch and our tour of the coop, we headed back to Seed Savers Exchange to get a tour from Jeanine Scheffert.  We were shown two different gardens; one being their display garden which features varieties from their collection and catalog and Diane’s garden which is designed and maintained by co-founder Diane Ott Whealy. We were also able to see where they keep their ducks (who have their own swimming pool), their turkeys, and their chickens. This was interesting since earlier in the trip at the Amish and Welsh’s farm we were able to see chicken operations that were comparatively very different. The Amish farm was very similar to what we saw today at Seed Savers Exchange– a hen house that allowed the chickens to move in and out of with ease. The chickens at the Welsh farm were constrained inside with very little space to move around.

 After our tour, we meet with Phil Kauth of the preservation division. He showed where us they keep their various seeds in refrigerators and a seed vault. They are safeguarded to protect the history of the seeds that have been passed down from generation to generation and the biodiversity of the food system. He also explained to us that they ship some of their seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway as a backup. This vault is a global seed storage facility that houses duplicate seeds from all over the world. I first heard about the existence of this vault in a sustainability class so it was really interesting to see first hand how a U.S. seed bank works with it to save thousands of seeds from extinction. The seeds sent there by the Seed Savers Exchange can be withdrawn from the Vault at any time, but only by their organization. We then meet with Sarah, Seed Savers Exchange’s historian, who researches the story of each variety and documents its history and the lives of the people who brought it to the collection.

To end the day, we met with Lindsay Lee, an orchardist, who showed us his apple orchard and the different types of apples they have on their property. It was interesting to visit the Seed Savers Exchange after we meet with Steve Carlson from Practical Farmers of Iowa who used to work there and told us much about their practices.

Learning about the preservation of these heirloom seeds makes you wonder if, in the future, genetically engineered seeds will be stored in the vaults in Norway.

I had the opportunity to visit the Organic Valley distribution center and office. It was great being able to see both halves of the cooperative come together, having one day with the farmers and the next day with the employees who sell and distribute their product. Visiting Organic Valley I got a chance to see how they work and how they work with the farmers. One big thing they highlighted is that it is the farmers who own the company. So instead of having people buy shares of the co-op or become members everything belongs to the farmers and they get to make all the decisions regarding the function of the co-op. Another thing the co-op highlighted is how seriously they take being organic–all farms must stick to being strictly organic and have the proper certification to prove they are in fact following organic farming practices. The speakers at Organic Valley talked a little about how they work with farmers to keep up their organic practices, and there are farmers who want to transition to organic from conventional to join the co-op.  They have staff who works with farmers to help them move in to organic practices.

I am deeply committed to organic farming and think that most of these practices are beneficial, but I am concerned with the difficulty that comes along with transitioning from conventional to organic and how that process becomes even more difficult for Black farmers.

The 2018-2019 school year had an awesome opportunity to work with Furman  professor, Dr. Habron, to come up with a program that combines social justice work and environmentalism. I learned quickly that this combination is a passion of his and he gave me so many resources to look to verse myself in the literature. One focus of environmentalism and social justice that I became invested in were the racial disparities that Black farmers face in America. One of those disparities include becoming organically certified. An article titled, Has the Organic Movement Left Black Farmers Behind? from the news website Civil Eats (provided by Dr. Habron), revealed from pretty shocking statistics. The article says, “the 2012 Census of Agriculture found that of the 33,000 Black-owned farms, only 116 of them (or less than .05 percent) are certified organic.” The article continues to write that some of struggle of becoming certified organic comes from stigma in the black farming community and tension around the word organic. It is revealed in the article that Black farmers have trouble grappling with and accepting USDA certification because for some farmers they have always been farming organically but now it for them to receive the benefits of the practice they have abide by government policy. Part of that policy includes, “the USDA’s grueling 19-page application.”

Has the Organic Movement Left Black Farmers Behind?

Something I wanted to ask at Organic Valley, but didn’t have the courage to ask, for fear of making the mood uncomfortable and because the specific answer probably wasn’t available was, how many black farmers are members of the co-op? l think have resources to help with organic certification is in huge step in the right direction as far reforming agricultural practices, but they would be even more helpful in removing the inequitable gap between Black and white farmers. So, I can’t say that Organic Valley does not provide to Black farmers because I don’t have the answer to my question.

So these still leaves me wondering, how are we empowering our black farmers? And also questioning, how are we telling the story of organic farming? When Robert Paarlberg, author of Food Politics, writes about the organic practice he mentions how all food prior to the 20th century was always organic, but never mentions how the regulation of the practice disenfranchised groups of farmers around the world. I want to continue my research to discover what black co-ops exist and there are any specifically for food and/or agriculture. Uplifting Black farmers should be crucial in agricultural policy. To achieve food justice in America we must give all farmers equal opportunity.

I am an invisible man…I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids–and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.”

— Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

On May 28 and 29 the group toured both Organic Valley farms and their distribution center as well as their HQ in and around the Cashton, MI region. When we arrived at the Kruse’s farm the group was instantly treated to a nice, mid-western greeting. We then learned about Organic Valley’s origins. It began in the 70’s with 7 founding farmers and slowly expanded to where they are now with over 2000 farmers. Its goal was to create an organic standard and was instrumental in the process. Now, its goal is to help make small farms profitable and to stay in existence.

The 28th began with breakfast, then a trip to the local Amish farm. We began the tour in the local store and bakery. Then we went to the milking parlor and learned about their dairy operation. They milk the cows every morning and feed them grass, oats, and hay. Compare this to the Welsh farm we visited later in the day, where they feed their cattle (for beef production) organic feed under the Organic Prairie label (part of Organic Valley). The Welsh’s operation included pigs, chickens, and cattle. The pigs were in a sloped pen, similar to what the Liljedahl’s used prior to their current buildings. The pigs can be in a covered area or out in an open area and have 40 to a section. The chickens are raised in a barn, then when they are old enough are transferred to a new laying facility that is one of five in America. It simulates the perfect environment for egg laying and meets organic standards, and is even powered by solar panels.

The Organic Valley label now has faces to the name for me, which will be difficult to forget after the great experiences. It is interesting seeing how organic farms operate similarly to non-organic but are cheaper to run when the livestock is all grass-fed and yields a larger return than non-organic, non-grass fed alternatives.

My favorite part of Monday was meeting with Dr. Franklin. Dr. Franklin is the president of Des Moines University in downtown Des Moines. She is also a Furman graduate! It was so cool to hear how her journey from being a psychology major at Furman led to her being the president of a university. As I currently work in admissions, I have thought quite a bit about pursuing a job in a college’s admissions department and it was interesting to hear her journey from working as a professor, a psychologist and a college admin to becoming the president of a university. It made me reflect on all the possibilities for me after I leave Furman. I also liked hearing what she missed most about Furman and what her best memories were. She talked about taking walks around the lake with girlfriends and that whenever she goes back, she tries to take a walk around the lake. Hearing her talk about her love for Furman and the ways in which Furman has influenced her made me think about the ways in which Furman is affectin me and how things like this May experience will stay with me forever.

Earlier in the day we visited Corteva Agriscience. Corteva is essentially just a variation of Monsanto, they do the same things just under a different name. I found that the people we spoke to tip-toed around issues and never gave very direct answers. Their real agenda seemed cloaked and it felt like they were hiding behind the rhetoric of ‘moving into a better future’ and ‘new technology’ and ‘ending world hunger.’ In reality I believe they are a corporation that is monopolizing the seed industry and taking a us to a place that will be very hard to return from. Pesticide drift, price markets and other such variables force competitors out of the market and leave only the large GMO operations standing.

To start off our morning the group was given a tour of the Kruse’s farm which was a second take for Luke and me, but still good to get another recap. After the tour and breakfast, we crossed state lines made our way to Cashton, Wisconsin to visit Jim Wedeberg at the Organic Valley Cooperative headquarters. Our host family’s farm works in conjunction with the cooperative. Organic Valley is not a corporation; it’s a cooperative of over 2000 farmers from across the country. Their goal is to provide organic food throughout the country. Organic is a method of food production where is food produced without any human made (synthetic) fertilizers, pesticides or preservatives.

At the beginning of the tour, we were shown where all the dairy products are kept, where products are processed, where it gets shipped out, and where the magic happens behind the marketing ideas. After the product tour, we had a discussion about the background of Organic Valley, which started with a handful of Midwest family farmers. It all began in 1988 with the mission to change the way people think about food. They started with organic vegetables and pooled their crops, which they sold in local communities, and then more and more farmers became interested in joining the cooperative. Organic Valley evolved into the nations’ leading producer of organic dairy. Food Politics discussed that most individual farms in the organic sector are still small and “highly specialized” but only make up 7% of all organic sales, which may be why farmers were interested in joining the Organic Valley cooperative.

We also covered the different sustainable practices they incorporated into their building in their pursuit to use 100% renewable energy to become carbon neutral. Their commitment to protect the environment also includes hosting a solar farm, wind turbines, and their administration building, which was certified LEED Gold.. This was interesting to learn about, since Furman has a solar farm that is used to power different parts of campus and also has the first gold LEED efficient building in South Carolina–Hipp Hall. We also were able to see solar panels yesterday at the Welsh organic farm, which are used to power their hen operation and provide shade while the hens are outside.  This is similar to the Furman solar farm where they have sheep that camp under the solar panels and also eat the grass underneath the panels.

Organic Valley’s label is recognizable nationwide. Whenever I see the Organic Valley label, I’ll be reminded of the people behind the brand.