organic broadcaster

This article was first printed in the March-April 2008 issue of the Organic Broadcaster, published by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service

The MOSES Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Nicholas, Gary, and Rosie Zimmer of Otter Creek Organic Dairy in Avoca, WI, have been named MOSES 2008 Organic Farmer of the Year.

The Zimmer’s manage 1200 acres of organic crops: alfalfa, grass forages, corn, soybeans, green peas, oats, barley, and rye. They milk 200 cows and 50 dry cows, 300 heifers, 100 beef cattle, 100 pasture-raised feeder pigs, and free range poultry. They also grow for their own use and market fresh vegetables. You can’t get a more diversified operation than this one!

Gary and Rosie Zimmer started their Wisconsin farm in the 1970s, raising their children on the land and instilling in them an interest in agriculture and conservation. In 1994, Gary, Rosie and their son, Nicholas bought Otter Creek Farm, located in the beautiful, rolling hills of Spring Green, Wisconsin. Originally a crop farm, the family decided to move into organic dairy and bought 40 dairy cows. The Zimmers, with 3 on-farm families and 3 fulltime workers, now run Otter Creek Organic Dairy.

This farm is an integrated system of agronomy and animal husbandry. Key elements include tightly managed crop rotations; rotation of row crops and fibrous rooted forage crops to help maintain soil structure; use of diverse forage blends featuring various legume and grass varieties and multiple weed control methods (rotary hoe, cultivator, flame cultivator, cover crops, and interseeded crops) to manage weed pressures under various weather conditions. Soil fertility is addressed through composting techniques to recycle livestock manure produced on the farm; green manure crops used as plow downs; and the use of purchased nutrients (especially calcium, sulfur and trace elements) to maintain maximum fertility and subsequent nutritional value of crops. The farm goal is maximum quality of crops and top yields.

Crops include legume-grass forages, corn for silage and grain, sorghum-sudan grass for forage, soybeans for grain and human consumption, peas for human consumption and intensively grazed grass-legume pastures. Innovative soil management tools include a rotary hoe, flame cultivator, mechanical cultivator, rotavator, subsoil tillage tools, residue cleaners on planters to allow maximum crop residue retention without interfering with plant populations, twin row planting techniques, and interseeding during cultivation. Crop yields rival the best of any traditional or organic operation in the region. Crops are documented for their superior nutritional quality by an independent testing laboratory.

Subsoiling and cover crops are also used to promote soil health. When transitioning land to organic production, or if they have a problem in a specific field, Gary plants and plows down several green manures in one year. Rye, buckwheat, soybeans and sorghum-sudan grass may all be planted together and tilled in. Diversity in the green manure crops encourages a variety of soil life.

In addition to cultivating, the Zimmers manage weeds with a diversified crop rotation, late planting, testing soils and nutrient balancing, and the use of aged manure. Their main weed problem these days is giant ragweed, which is managed by planting buckwheat after peas and using forage in the rotation.

Prevention is the key to managing health problems in animals. Animals are housed in clean, comfortable free stall buildings. The Zimmers use an on-farm pasteurization unit for milk blended from a variety of cows fed to calves to help prevent Johnes. Calves are weaned late. Many cows are productive to 10 years of age or more.

Cattle and hogs are rotationally grazed. The dairy herd is rotated to a new pasture every 12 hours during rapid pasture production season. Heifers are rotated to a new paddock at least once a week, usually every 4-5 days. The Zimmers grow their own excellent quality feed, and utilize mineral supplementation. They feed a high forage ration based on intensively grazed paddocks and properly blended stored feeds.

Pastures are seeded to a variety of forages. In the spring, the dairy herd is grazed on pastures of clover, rye and young grasses. In summer the pasture is full of orchard grass, young corn and sorghum. Fall brings mature rye, alfalfa and clover. In winter, the pasture is full of snow so the herd is fed fermented alfalfa/grasses silage and baleage. The resultant milk production changes in fat content and hormones based on the season, with a lower fat content in the warmer months and a higher one in the colder months. Upright silos are used, while bags and wet silage bags for feed storage allow flexibility in feeding strategies.

Cattle breeds are Holstein for dairy, and an older-style Angus for beef that can eat more forages and finish without the need for a lot of grain. Hog are Berkshire crosses. The Zimmers buy feeder pigs and feed home-grown forages as part of the diet with pasture rotations in the summer.

The farm is home to numerous wildlife species, including large populations of turkeys and deer. The land includes woodland, marsh and grassland ecosystems, in addition to the diverse cropping systems.

Soil and water resources are managed tightly as well, since erosion is a major risk on this farm with rolling hills. Otter Creek flows right through the property. Creek bottoms are not all pastured in order to maintain a wetland cleansing effect. Animals are fenced out of the creek to prevent creek bank erosion. A natural buffer is maintained between the milking parlor and the creek, providing habitat for wildlife that depend on riparian areas. The Zimmers have noticed a significant increase in sandhill cranes and blue herons in recent years.

Soil building practices have rejuvenated the fields from a low fertility, rundown, weed-prone state to a high fertility, biologically active and productive state. The cation exchange capacity of the soil has been increased over the years by increasing organic matter and humus content. When the farm received over 20 inches of rain during August 2007, no soil erosion occurred!

The milking parlors, barns and homes are heated by outdoor wood furnaces. The Zimmers are learning about sustainable forest management and only harvest firewood from dead trees, leaving as much as possible for wildlife shelter and to rot. They are conducting an energy audit with Focus on Energy to determine where their energy usage can be reduced. They are also working with the Wisconsin Biogas Development Group to discover, test and implement biodigesters suitable for smaller dairies, particularly pasture based systems where manure is not concentrated in one area. Waste products from the hay harvest are used for bedding, which is cleared out weekly and composted. Manure is composted for later fertilization of the soil.

Otter Creek Organic Dairy is currently certified organic by the Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA). They are also certified by Food Alliance for humane treatment of animals, safe and fair labor practices, environmental initiatives, and wildlife protection.

The Zimmer’s marketing strategies are also diversified. They are avid supporters of local food consumption. Meat is processed into sausages, beef sticks and other ready-to-eat products at a local certified organic meat locker (of which the Zimmers are part owner). Their milk, which used to be sold to Organic Valley, is now made into organic raw milk Cheddar cheeses at Cedar Grove Cheese. They are making a pesto cheddar cheese, using a local artisan’s basil-infused olive oil as an ingredient. The Zimmers have developed their own labels, Otter Creek Organic Farm meats and cheeses. Their products, including the fresh vegetables they grow, are sold retail at Local Choice Farm Market in Spring Green, WI, and through a CSA. The Zimmers have also formed a partnership with the owners of Metcalfe’s Sentry Foods, whom are committed to bringing local foods into their two WI stores. At Sentry Foods, the in-house butchers market the entire animal, not just premium cuts. This gives consumers the choice of buying meat that has traveled only 44 miles.

Other local farmers also sell their products at the Local Choice Farm Market. Rosie, who operates the Market, provides biographical information at the store for each farm supplier. This marketing system directly connects customers with the sources of the foods they consume. It also offers organic producers the potential to build strong markets where they can share their special areas of production with others, providing customers with a broad, yet local, selection of quality organic foods and other products. This model can be replicated almost anywhere and represents the best of one of the organic industry’s traditions – local families working together to support local communities.

It can easily be said that almost everyone in the organic community has been helped by Gary Zimmer. He has been a long time educator of all farmers, pioneering the concepts of “mineralized balanced agriculture”. His inspiration reaches across America to foreign countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He has written numerous books, including the highly educational and practical The Biological Farmer. He has challenged the thinking of organic farmers to understand their soils and what it takes to build healthy soil systems on their farms. Gary has helped us better understand how mineral management in soils, crop rotations and tillage systems feed the soil. As Gary has said many times, “A biologically balanced healthy soil makes for healthy plants, animals and humans.”

Otter Creek Organic Farm is always open to visitors and the Zimmers regularly host tours from the community highlighting local food production and organic agriculture. Recently 250 people from Dane County came to learn about the farm, biological farming, and why consumers’ involvement in the local foods movement is the critical link in making our food system healthy and sustainable. The Zimmers have hosted high school groups from as far away as New Jersey. They also regularly host college students as interns. Although excess housing is a limiting issue at their farm, they really enjoy training new people.

Midwestern Bio-Ag (MBA), which Gary Zimmer founded in 1984, provides consultation, soil testing and balancing, livestock feed supplements, educational resources, and other services to traditional, transitional and organic farmers. MBA conducts its own research and has developed certified organic forage mixes. MBA hosts their annual field day at Otter Creek Organic Dairy, last year over 700 people were in attendance. Gary has given hundreds of presentations in the Midwest and the United States. All of us have heard Gary talk about biological farming at one time or another. His enthusiasm for his subject is contagious. He is currently writing a new very practical book on biological farming.

Gary and Nic Zimmer have been doing on-farm research for many years in collaboration with Midwestern Bio-Ag. Their research centers on mineralization and transitioning to organic production. They have found that an aggressive approach using lots of green manure crops, tight crop rotations, and adding soil amendments based on soil testing gives a new organic farmer a very good chance for success. They are also researching types of forages that produce the quality and quantity organic farmers need. Their row crop research has shown that success can be achieved by:

All members of the Zimmer family are involved in organic farming. Leilani, their oldest daughter, manages Midwestern Bio-Ag research department and focuses her research at Otter Creek. Her current projects involve green manure and cover cropping methods as well as setting up demonstration plots for different types of transitioning practices. Daughter Sadie and her husband operate an organic dairy farm in Virginia. Nicholas, of course, runs Otter Creek Organic Dairy, allowing Gary time to travel and connect with farmers.

What is Gary’s advice to transitioning farmers? “Spend some time visiting successful organic farms, learning what it takes to be successful, before you start. Get a mentor , as there is not enough good training on organic agricultural at our universities yet. Visit a variety of farms; learn from all people. Get connected with a group of organic farmers. Take a hand in your own education.”

Congratulations to Nicholas, Gary and Rosie Zimmer, Otter Creek Organic Dairy, 2008 MOSES Organic Farmer of the Year!

MOSES is starting a new mentoring project for organic farmers. Sign up to be a mentor, or apply to get a mentor at mosesorganic.org. Other Midwestern mentoring programs include the Minnesota Organic Farmers Information Exchange (Carmen Fernholz, ph. 320-212-3008, or email fernholz@umn.edu or get their mentor list direct at www.organicecology.umn.edu/mofie,) and programs hosted by the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), www.practicalfarmers.org, and the Land Stewardship Project, www.landstewardshipproject.org.