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For the last few years,
the Johnsons have sold organic soybeans for between $8 and $14.50
a bushel.
USDA photo |
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Charles
Johnson & family
Madison, South Dakota
Updated in 2005
Summary of Operation
Oats, corn, soybeans, spring wheat, rye and alfalfa grown organically
on 1,600 acres
150 head of beef
Problem Addressed
Raising commodity crops organically.
It runs in the Johnson genes to be chemical-averse. Not only do
they wish to avoid inputs because of the annual expense, but Charlie
and Allan Johnson also follow their late father’s wish to
improve the soil rather than harm it with non-organic substances.
“My dad was always of the strong belief that if he couldn’t
put it on the tip of his tongue, it wasn’t going to go on
his land either,” Charlie Johnson says. “That was his
litmus test, literally, as to what was going to be used on the farm.
He really had a strong belief that conventional fertilizers and
chemicals were harming the soil and the life that was in the soil.”
Background
The Johnson brothers use tillage and diligent management
to run their 2,400-acre grain and livestock farm. That means that
the farm is self-sufficient in controlling pests and in producing
what is needed for the nutrition of the soil.
“We don’t think you have to bring lots of inputs onto
the farm,” Charlie Johnson says. “So, we’re not
into buying seaweed or a lot of the so-called sustainable, organic
products that are available. We believe that our farm management
and our tillage practices, along with our rotations, will control
the weeds and the pests, and provide fertility for us.”
The Johnson brothers’ late father began farming in the mid-1950s.
Bernard Johnson had been “tinkering around the edges”
of using organic-only practices in the 1950s when he heard a speech
from an Iowa group called Wonderlife. The group was promoting a
farm fertility product, but “Dad bought more into the idea
than he did the product,” Charlie Johnson recalls.
The senior Johnson converted the farm to an organic operation in
1976 when Charlie was just getting out of high school. He was way
ahead of the pack, and his peers scoffed at his approach.
“It was a family decision that we were going to go organic
cold turkey,” Johnson recalls. “There was no textbook.
There was no manual. There were no organic premiums, there was no
market. We basically did it for the philosophy of it.”
Focal Point of Operation
— Organic crop management
The Johnsons use a balanced, well-managed six-year
rotation to produce a wide variety of crops, with soybeans as their
main cash crop on their tillable land. The first two years of the
rotation are in alfalfa hay. Alfalfa controls weeds and fixes nitrogen,
while its deep taproots loosen the soil to improve tilth.
The alfalfa is harvested and baled both years. The Johnsons then
chisel plow two or three times in the fall of the second year. They
then broadcast rye in the fall for a green manure cover crop between
the second and third year. The rye is disked under the next spring,
when the Johnsons plant soybeans. The fourth-year crop of either
corn or wheat is followed by another year of soybeans. The sixth
year is sowed back to alfalfa with oats as a nurse crop. Only the
crop of oats is harvested that year, with the alfalfa left to come
through the following year, when the rotation begins again.
Johnson says they always try to have an equal number of acres of
all the crops. So a third of the ground is in alfalfa, a third is
in soybeans, and a third is in the mixture of oats, wheat and corn.
There are approximately 60 different fields of six acres to 55 acres.
In addition to the cropland, 90 acres are listed in the federal
water bank program. That usually is a ratio of one acre of water
with one acre of upland ground. It has been sowed to permanent grasses.
Johnson says they receive a small payment from the federal government
to keep the land in the water bank.
A large, 5,000-acre watershed drains into Buffalo Creek, which
cuts through the farm. The Johnsons maintain a 10- to 15-acre buffer
seeded in switchgrass, bromegrass and alfalfa around the creek and
other prairie potholes so the sensitive wetlands areas are in permanent
grass.
“We don’t plant any crops into that buffer strip,”
Johnson says. “It’s something we’ve just done
on our own, not as part of any program. We are able to take a crop
of hay off in the fall of the year when the other crops are all
harvested.”
They also use that area for incidental grazing for the 150 head
of brood cows and their calves.
They have tried rotational grazing on land that is too wet and
too rocky for crops. The cattle are divided into about six or seven
different units of 20 to 30 head each. Breeding bulls are also run
with the cows. The pastures are divided into paddocks, so the cattle
will be on 10 to 15 acres for a couple of weeks before rotating
to a new paddock.
The Johnsons invest more in personal labor than they would in a
conventional operation.
“In our area, especially with the technology and equipment
available today, a lot of farming units will take on anywhere from
3,000 to 5,000 acres,” Johnson says. “My brother and
I operate 2,400 acres and actually that’s probably more than
we should handle.”
On their 350 acres of soybeans, for example, they make one trip
to rotary hoe, followed by three cultivations. “Beginning
in late July, we walk soybean rows every morning with a machete
or corn knife, cutting the wild sunflower, cocklebur and ragweed,”
he says. “My 15-year-old has a host of friends who work out
there with us.”
Economics and Profitability
While their crop yields are comparable to other
operations, and may even lag up to 15 percent behind for crops such
as beans and corn, their organic premiums help them maintain profits.
Organic soybeans are their main moneymaker. They sell their soybeans
through a broker who sends the grain to an organic processor for
cleaning and bagging and, in return for their dedicated management,
earn impressive premiums. For the last three to four years, they
have sold soybeans from $8 a bushel up to $14.50 a bushel. That’s
a big improvement over conventional prices, which run about $4.50
a bushel.
The Johnsons also sell some corn and spring wheat organically for
as much as $4 a bushel and $6 a bushel, respectively. They are beginning
to sell more of their products cooperatively through the National
Farmers Organization in Ames, Iowa.
The alfalfa is all used to feed the cattle and the remainder of
the organic grain is fed to the hogs and calves. Although raised
organically, the hogs and beef are primarily sold through conventional
channels. They sell some beef on a “private treaty”
basis, where individuals purchase an animal and have it butchered
at a local locker.
Johnson’s neighbors can spray 200 or 300 acres in a day,
either having it custom done or with their own spraying unit, he
says. Most of them apply Roundup once and have weed control for
the whole summer. That’s a material cost the Johnsons do not
have to pay, but their bill comes in labor. Most workers are family
members, although they hire school kids to help with weeding.
“Organic farming certainly does involve what I call both
time and labor management,” Johnson says. “I’ve
got to be able to sense when I need to cultivate, when I need to
plant and when I need to rotary hoe. It’s not something you
just strictly do by the calendar.”
Environmental Benefits
Like their father before them, the Johnsons have
made a commitment to improving their soil. They feel that a healthy
soil nurtures life: plants, animals and humans.
“If we take care of the life in the soil, in essence we take
care of the life that lives on top of the soil, like the livestock
for the farm and the wildlife,” Johnson says.
They have few problems with pests. “I always take the premise
that God and Mother Nature gave us 100 percent. And if they need
10 or 20 percent for their own use you give that back to them,”
he says. “As far as any major infestations, I really don’t
usually have any problems, not any more than what our neighbors
do.”
Creating permanent wetland buffers has helped wetlands water quality,
according to a SARE-funded study at South Dakota State University.
Forage vegetation trapped half of the nitrogen and phosphorus that
would otherwise have ended up in the wetland, the study found.
That wetlands management has made better habitat for wildlife. By
enhancing the many wet areas on his farm — called prairie
potholes in the upper Midwest — with vegetative buffers, Johnson
has created wildlife havens that he thinks are badly needed.
“I really feel that we’ve lost a lot of our healthy
wildlife since we’ve gone to more of a conventional approach
in agriculture since World War II, with the prevalent use of harmful
herbicides and fertilizers,” he says.
Community and Quality
of Life Benefits
Johnson and his brother work closely together to
continue the family partnerships begun by his father and uncle.
As Johnson’s children become older, they also will become
more involved in carrying out the family philosophy and traditions,
while gaining valuable work experience for their futures.
It’s taken a long time, but the Johnsons are starting to
attract notice in their community — and now not only because
they’re viewed as kooky.
“I think there’s a quiet respect for what my brother
and I are doing,” Johnson says. “Twenty-five years ago,
others were laughing. Now, even though they’re not doing what
we’re doing, they will ask questions once in a while.”
Johnson tries to respond to that interest by speaking to farmer
groups, especially during the winter when he has more time.
Transition Advice
Johnson recommends that farmers don’t make
the transition “cold turkey” like they did 25 years
ago because the profit will not come in the short term. However,
“if you’re interested in a farming system that rewards
both your labor and your management, this is the way to go,”
he says.
Producers who would like to convert to organic production can —
and should — take advantage of informational resources, such
as the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society. Johnson
advises farmers to visit successful producers. “It really
helps if you can get on someone else’s farm and see that it’s
actually possible,” he says.
The Future
Johnson would like to improve his rotational grazing,
breaking the practice into weekly — or even daily —
units. Beyond his operation, Johnson sees a future agricultural
system with two tracks: agribusiness farms and small, intensively
managed farms. Because the first track “is the type of system
where we take the farmer out of farming, having it all done on a
custom basis,” family farms — employing rotation, tillage
and site-specific measures — will shoulder the burden of preserving
rural communities.
As each year passes, more farmers are getting into organic farming.
“If we’re really interested in keeping our rural communities
out here, we need to have people involved in agriculture,”
he says. “We need more people. And the only way we are going
to do that is with this type of farming and management.”
 Profile
written by Mary Friesen
For more information:
Charles Johnson
45169 243rd Street
Madison, SD 57042
(605) 256-6784
c-bjohnson@svtv.com
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