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Ed Sills
Pleasant Grove, California
SUMMARY
 Rice,
popcorn, wheat, dry beans, corn, cover crop seed on 3,000 acres
100
acres of almonds
All
crops grown organically
BACKGROUND
Ed Sills' father, Thomas, began growing rice - and wheat, oats, and grain sorghum
- in 1946. After Ed joined his father in the farming operation, they grew their
first organic crop, 45 acres of popcorn, in 1985.
They planted an organic
rice crop in 1986 and, seeing success, began to transition the rest of their
farm crops to organic. 1995 was the last year any crops were raised with purchased
chemicals.
Rice, grown on about
900 acres, remains the primary commodity, with the other crops adding market
niches and a diverse rotation. Sills manages the fields with two-, three- and
four-year rotational strategies, depending on soil type and condition. Turkey
litter, obtained from the bedding of area free-range turkey producers, has become
an effective fertilizer that Sills incorporates before planting corn, popcorn
and rice.
Sills designed the 100-acre
almond orchard, first planted in 1985, for easy care. The trees grow on berms
to improve drainage. An annual cover crop of vetch on the orchard floor helps
to improve soil quality by increasing organic matter and water infiltration.
Today, Sills sees healthy populations of beneficial organisms that help control
pests, partly because he stopped spraying pesticides.
PROFITABILITY
Sills takes advantage of organic premiums that range from 25 percent to 100
percent above conventional prices. Using his own processing equipment, he cleans
and bags popcorn, wheat and beans for sale to the organic wholesale market,
primarily to natural food distributors and processors.
Today, costs to raise
rice organically are similar to their for-mer conventional methods, and perhaps
lower because Sills no longer purchases herbicides or commercial fertilizer.
The main difference, Sills says, is that costs now are spread throughout the
rotation.
During most of the 1990s,
the organic market grew. "Pricing has continued to be fairly strong, with
some dips," Sills says. "But, overall, nothing compares with the conventional
market, where prices are mostly below the cost of production."
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES
Sills' farming system, heavily reliant on rotations, has improved the fertility
and quality of his soil. In large part, his strategic rotations and use of cover
crops have reduced insects and weeds. "There are a lot of weed problems
in rice production," says Sills. "Many of my organic fields, especially
the ones in my long rotation, are as clean as some conventional fields."
Orchard cover crops
help improve soil quality by increasing organic matter and water infiltration
rates. The vetch provides a home to beneficial organisms that control unwanted
almond insects and helps fix soil nitrogen.
COMMUNITY, OUTREACH,
QUALITY OF LIFE
Sills worked with University of California-Davis researchers to examine the
benefits of on-farm residue. Sills has hosted field days to spread information
about the best mix of residues to break down in the soil, provide nitrogen and
improve soil.
Sills believes his products
provide a supply to consumers who have few alternatives for organic field crops.
With the advent of biotechnology, some consumers are asking for guarantees that
some products do not contain genetically modified foods.
"One of the things
farmers forget is that you have to grow something people want to buy,"
he says. "And that's one of the things we learned right away in the organic
movement. We're producing something that people are asking for."
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