Why Grow Organic?
The Farmer Perspective:
We work with over 300 farmers in the Midwest, Upper Plains, Southwest and Canada. Our relationships with them are about business and they are also about shared values. Many of our farmers are like family; we have done business for over 10 years with many of them. We have helped each other through thick and thin. Our relationships have been tested through bad weather, crop failure, and rewarded in times of bountiful harvest and thriving markets.
Each farmer has a unique story of why they farm organically, why they switched or how they started out that way from the beginning. We work in the organic industry because we believe it is sustainable, we feel good about what we do and we love working for a better world.
Farmers choose to farm organic for a variety of reasons. Some of the top reasons are below, these are all reasons we have heard from the farmers we work with.
Top Reasons Farmers went organic:
- Someone got sick in the family, or the farmer got sick from spraying pesticides and fertilizers
- Tired of spraying chemicals
- Tired of chemical companies telling them what to do and how to do it
- More money in organic, better opportunities
- Farming wasn’t fun anymore
- Organic is less commodified, the buying relationships are more personal
- Better for the land and for my health
- It’s about responsibility, for my family, for the land…
