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Challenging planting season for organic grain farmer

An Illinois farmer of more than 50 years says this year has been a challenge for his 100% organic grain operation.  

“We never stop learning.”

Jack Erisman grows specialty grains like hybrid blue corn near Assumption, Illinois. He tells Brownfield when planting blue corn, they have to space out the distance and planting times from nearby seed corn and other specialty grains to avoid cross pollination.

“That is a real challenge. Then, this year when you separate by time, when they didn’t get in until the first of June it put us back another ten days. This is going to be a winter harvest maybe.”

He says they have not had many problems with cross pollination or herbicide drift in their area because they communicate with their neighbors.

“We interact with folks. We are very open about what we do and we ask them to be the same with us.”

Brownfield interviewed Erisman at the Dudley Smith Farm field day in Pana, Illinois.