Reap what you sow – Sustainable farms benefit from diversity of crops, natural replacement of nutrients. – Montana second in the nation in the amount of organic crop land

More than a decade ago, a Montana non-profit organization called AERO set out to discover what it was that made nine "exceptional" farms in the region exceptional.

By JARED MILLER Ravalli Republic Staff Reporter

What it found was a laundry list of practices that helped keep the farms competitive in the short term while maintaining a long-term commitment to the land. Their ideas helped establish the concepts of sustainable farming.

"We basically were comparing these exceptional farms to conventional farms," said Nancy Matheson of the National Center for Appropriate Technology in Butte. Matheson worked for AERO in the 1990s, when the work was completed.

Matheson presented some of the findings Saturday during a keynote address at the Bitterroot Valley Alternative Agriculture conference on organic and sustainable agriculture.

Dozens of people were signed up to attend the two-day conference in Hamilton Saturday and Sunday. The purpose of the conference was to "increase awareness in both local consumers and growers of the ways and benefits of sustainable growing and eating organic food," according to a flier.

Talks on organic foods issues and practices were set for both days, and participants were exposed to local organic farms and dairies at a number of scheduled tours.

Matheson’s talk on sustainable farming kicked off the conference.

"What we found was sustainable farms are doing better than the conventional ones," Matheson said.

Conventional farmers, she said, are likely to work according to a "recipe." They plant a narrow range of crops year after year on the same land and use chemical fertilizers to replace nutrients lost in the process.

"You use the chemicals to fill the gaps you are creating," Matheson said.

Over time it stops working, she said. The principle value of the land is depleted, yields drop, disease increases and crops can become resistant to herbicides.

That truth about soil depletion applies to sustainable farming, as well, Matheson said, but soils remain viable longer.

"What this study found was that . . . all farms in Montana are living off the principle," Matheson said. "Sustainable farms are depleting their principle a lot slower."

Here’s a list of sustainable practices the "exceptional" farms were using:

They all had a diverse crop rotation. Different crops require different nutrients, so rotation helps keep soils healthier longer.

The farms also used nitrogen-fixing crops, meaning crops that return nitrogen to the soil naturally, rather then through chemical fertilizers.

Some of those crops, like peas, can still be harvested for profit, Matheson said.

Most of the farms also integrated livestock into their plan. And the livestock weren’t just a source of manure. Grazing animals provide flexibility, Matheson said. If, say, the year’s corn crop comes off poorly, a farmer with cattle has the option of turning the field corn into feed, "so it’s not a total loss," Matheson said.

AERO also discovered in its survey that not all of the hard work of farming takes place in the field. Some of the most exceptional farmers also concentrated on market. They found ways to sell their products to buyers other than the local grain elevator.

Wheat growers, for example, might market their product directly to a bakery. Cattle ranchers might sell some of their beef to the local steak house.

"They reduced the number of steps between the field and the consumer," Matheson said.

Direct marketing also allows people in the community to take advantage of local products and to support local agriculturists.

"When it’s local, you know more about how it was raised," Matheson said.

Matheson said even conventional Montana farmers, some of whom are skeptical, have been taking up the sustainable farming practices.

Today Montana leads the nation in organic wheat production. The state is second in organic peas, lentils and flax, and it’s second in the amount of organic crop land.

"We’re leading the charge here in this state," Matheson said.

Reporter Jared Miller can be reached at 363-3300 or [email protected].

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