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Dick Thompson began cutting
his reliance on agri-chemicals in the 1960s.
Photo by Jerry DeWitt. |
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Dick
and Sharon Thompson & family
Boone, Iowa
Updated in 2005
Summary of Operation
Diversified grain rotation including corn, soybeans, oats and hay
on 300 acres
75 head of beef cattle
75 hogs in a farrow-to-finish operation
Problem Addressed
Discontent with agri-chemicals.
For much of his early farming career, Dick Thompson relied on synthetic
pesticides and fertilizer to produce high yields. “We were
high-input farmers from 1958 through 1967 and purchased everything
the salesman had to sell,” Thompson recalls. Thompson was
building his farm when the standards dictated that enough was never
enough.
But he and his wife, Sharon, weren’t happy. They worked hard,
and at times it seemed too much. Despite the constant toil, the
animals did not gain well, and the Thompsons felt generally dissatisfied.
“Our approach to farming did not seem to be working,”
Dick Thompson says. “The work was all bunched up, the animals
were sick, and we never seemed to be able to get all the farm work
done.”
Background
In 1968, the Thompsons changed to a more balanced
farming system. Thompson was one of the first farmers in his area
to reduce purchased chemicals, and thus raised eyebrows in his community.
“Our withdrawal from chemical inputs did not speak to our
neighbors,” he says. “Most of our financially stressed
farmers perceived the change to be too extreme, too much too fast.”
While Dick Thompson is clearly first and foremost a farmer, one
might argue that he has all of the qualifications of a topnotch
researcher. Since 1986, he has experimented with new rotations and
new ways to build the soil. Much of his work is with the well-respected
Practical Farmers of Iowa, (PFI), which he helped found in 1985
to spread the word about what he and other innovators were doing.
A group of like-minded growers, PFI has taken a broad approach
to sustainable production and marketing of agricultural goods. Of
about 600 members, 25 to 30 “cooperators” have conducted
randomized and replicated experiments.
Every year, PFI strives to demonstrate sound practices at well-attended
field days. Member researchers also keep detailed records for system
analysis. With funding from a nonprofit sustainable agriculture
organization to cover printing costs, Thompson went a step further
and produced a thick annual report jammed with specifics ranging
from the “how-to” to the “why” for his annual
field days.
Focal Point of Operation
— Rotation and Diversification
Thompson developed a five-year rotation that includes
corn, beans, corn, oats and hay. He grows the row crops on four-
to eight-inch ridges. This “ridge-till” method leaves
the soil undisturbed from harvest to planting. Right after harvest,
Thompson drills a cover crop of rye onto the tops of the ridges.
At planting, Thompson slices the tops off the ridges, killing the
cover crop and removing weeds from the row. His planter throws rye,
loose soil and weeds between the rows, helping suppress weed growth
there, as well. Before planting oats and alfalfa, Thompson disks
along the ridges.
The system does a good job on weed control. Although their farm
is not certified organic, Thompson only has applied herbicides once
in the last 20 years and has never used an insecticide since he
switched to a longer crop rotation. The Thompsons credit all the
parts of their system with helping with weed management. Ridge-till
minimizes soil disturbance and the associated weed flush before
planting; a diverse rotation allows oats and hay to knock back the
weeds that build up in a monocrop environment; and cover crops also
suppress weeds and boost water infiltration. Rotary hoeing and cultivation
usually can control the remaining weeds.
Dick and Sharon’s son, Rex, also makes a living from the
Thompson farm. Rex Thompson and his family raise 75 sows in a farrow-to-finish
hog operation, while Dick manages 75 head of beef cattle. Rather
than breaking livestock life cycles into components, the Thompsons
raise all of their animals from birth to slaughter. After slaughter,
they market their meat as “all-natural,” meaning it
contains no antibiotics or hormones. Sharon sells freezer beef and
pork to nearby residents, and markets the remaining animals to a
natural food distributor.
“We try to buy wholesale and sell retail to eliminate so
many of the middle margins,” Thompson says. “We set
the price at the farm, and see a premium from the other markets.”
Thompson recycles manure from their animals and biosolids from
the nearby city of Boone onto the crop fields, boosting fertility
and eliminating the need for purchased fertilizer. He manures the
field after a year of hay, from which he gets three cuttings, then
turns it under to knock back weed seeds. “We have enough fertility
built back into the soil for the next two years of corn and beans,”
he says.
Thompson has found that diversifying his product has helped the
farm by lessening his economic risk. “At my age, I shouldn’t
be in the bank borrowing money every year to put a crop in the ground,”
he says, noting that most Iowa crop farmers no longer raise livestock.
“The real key to less risk is a diversified rotation, and
you need animals for that.”
Economics and Profitability
Thompson carefully measures his input costs as well
as his return against those of conventional farmers in the area
and has seen real benefits to his system. Looking at a 16-year average,
Thompson says, his neighbors lose about $42 per acre — before
taking government payments into account. By contrast, he generates
a profit of $114 per acre. The Thompsons have not received government
subsidies for years, yet their diverse farm still supports two families
without off-farm employment and without organic premiums.
“My neighbors are seeing a per-acre loss,” he says.
“Integrating alternative practices — using all the residues
and every corn stalk, making the most of everything, and working
in tighter rotations, we’re getting a positive $114 gain to
the acre. That’s a $156 difference.” In the last four
years, that difference has reached as high as $205 more per acre.
Having oats and hay in the mix decreases the weed management by
about $25 an acre in herbicide expenses. Manuring reduces their
need for commercial fertilizer by another $25 an acre per year.
Thompson has taught himself how to repair farm equipment, a valuable
skill that has saved him more than one crop. Having “simple”
equipment rather than larger machines with computer components enables
him to fix machines, saving him about $69 an hour in mechanic costs.
Environmental Benefits
A diversified crop and livestock system is environmentally sound
as well as profitable, Thompson says. His diverse rotation helps
break up insect cycles. Adding manure puts organic matter into the
soil, which in turn helps with erosion. Area conservationists have
measured a sharp decrease in erosion on Thompson’s farm compared
to others in the area; on conventional farms, erosion can carry
away 10 to 11 tons of soil per acre. On Thompson’s farm, those
numbers drop to 2 to 4 tons.
Better air quality is another example of how the pieces work together
for a more environmentally friendly farming system, Thompson says.
In most concentrated livestock production systems, little oxygen
enters the waste system, and the manure is broken down anaerobically,
releasing strong, objectionable odors. Thompson’s livestock
system, however, encourages aerobic decomposition of the manure.
He provides his animals with bedding (cornstalks or bean straw),
that absorbs the liquid portion of the manure and allows air to
enter the system. When manure decomposes aerobically, it still releases
odors, but most people perceive a more earthy, less objectionable
smell. Moreover, the pigs enjoy rooting in and sleeping on the bedding.
Putting manure on the soil adds organic nitrogen, as well as phosphorus
and potassium. When combined with a crop rotation that includes
alfalfa and soybeans, Thompson’s use of manure means he has
no need for purchased nitrates or ammonium for fertility. Manuring
also adds organic matter, which helps build soil stability and increase
infiltration. “The organic nitrogen is a slower release so
it doesn’t get into the ground water like commercial fertilizer
can,” he says.
Thompson’s organic matter stands at around 6 percent, about
double the average for conventional farms in his area. Moreover,
Thompson’s “keep it covered” rotation combined
with ridge till helps to minimize weeds and insect pests. Most conventional
tillage excites weeds, but by planting in last year’s ridge,
Thompson barely disturbs the soil and thus controls weeds without
using herbicides.
“There’s something about controlling early weeds that
makes for fewer problems with them later in the cycle,” he
says.
Community and Quality
of Life Benefits
The Thompsons sell to specialized markets that often pay a premium
for their meat, but that’s not the only advantage to using
alternative approaches. “We sell some to people putting meat
into their freezers,” he says. “This gives us the opportunity
to show we are raising these animals in a more humane way. We talk
about our entire system and why it’s better for them and the
land.”
The livestock they do not direct market to consumers finds its
way into premium markets as “natural” meat products.
Aside from the extra income, these markets also provide feedback.
“We know how our pork chops taste in the restaurants in California,”
Thompson says. “It’s great to have a close networking
relationship with the people who produce and the people who consume.”
The Thompsons have hosted an astonishing 9,000 visitors to their
farm during field days and other tours. Dick Thompson calls such
experiences “a two-way street” because they pick up
ideas from others. The same principle applies at PFI, where members
plan “show-and-tell” sessions for their peers.
When the Thompsons first began exploring new rotations, they ran
about 200 experiments on the farm. Each year, they publish the results
of that experimentation. “The new ideas we share came by inspiration
and perspiration. We find ourselves asking more questions each day
and hope we are asking the right ones,” they write in their
1999 farm report. “We would like you to consider adapting
these ideas to your situation, rather than outright adopting them.”
Transition Advice
Thompson stresses first having a plan to diversify
and then making the most of what’s available on the farm.
Farmers should look to take advantage of every opportunity, especially
adding animals to a crop mix. Patience may be a virtue, but it’s
also an imperative to planning and making changes to alternative
production systems.
“That’s one of the big things to stress to people thinking
of changing to a more diversified and sustainable system; you have
to think long term,” he says. Transitions from conventionally
produced grains to crops tendered into more specialized and responsive
marketing systems could take three to five years.
The Future
From running hundreds of research experiments, the
Thompsons have downscaled to just a few, partly because they have
solved many of their problems. They will continue to farm in ways
that advance an alternative system that not only makes money, but
also takes better care of the earth and each other.
“I’m not looking to buy out my neighbor,” Thompson
says. “There’s room for all of us. We really don’t
have to get bigger or get out.”
 Profile
written by John Flaim
For more information:
Thompson On-Farm Research
2035 190th Street
Boone, Iowa 50036-7423
(515) 432-1560
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