GIBBS ARE A PART OF A GROWING TREND IN NORTHEAST IOWA

"I didn't like using chemicals on our land," stated John Gibbs when asked why he chose to become an organic farmer. "We were just trying to do what God wants us to do."

John, along with his wife Janet, daughter Jenny and son Jim, run a certified organic farming operation about three miles southwest of New Albin where they raise red and black angus cattle. They own 685 acres of land, with 190 acres of it being tillable, making it well suited for beef cattle production.

Organic farming in recent years has become very popular, especially in the Coulee region.

"The paper work for certification as an organic farm can be very time consuming, but we feel it is well worth the time to help maintain the integrity of the program." said John of his families certification through the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA). The OCIA is a certification agency located in Lincoln, NE that is independent of other agencies.

One of the jobs of the OCIA, along with other third party organice certification agencies, is to go around to all the organic farms in the area and check to see that they are following the guidelines. The inspections are done once a year and if you do not pass the inspection you lose your organic farming status.

To be considered for organic certification on your farm you must not have used chemicals or fertilizers on your land for three previous years. Natural fertilizers, such as manure, can be used along with any other fertilizers that are not 'processed beyond crushing.' The Gibbs use manure as their source of fertilizer because of its cost and availability.

John and his family have been chemical free since 1983 and have been certified as organic farmers since 1994 and as organic beef producers since 1996.

Vaccinations for diseases that may occur to some members of the herd are allowed under organic farming standards, but they cannot use hormones, growth stimulators or antibiotics to treat the diseases and still be considered organic.

"Many people think that we can't use antibiotics to help sick calves to recover from diseases, but that's not ture. If the only way that the calf is going to survive is to give him antibiotics, then we'll give him antibiotics and then sell him as a non-organic cow." stated Janet. "That's one of the big misonceptions about organic farming is how we treat a sick calf or cow."

Besides the OCIA, the Gibbs belong to the NOrtheast Iowa Organic Association (NEIOA) based in Decorah which connects the consumers and the customers.

The marketing for organic farm products is done through the Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool (CROPP) in La Farge, WI. John and his family do not sell directly to CROPP. The raise their cattle to 600 - 700 pound range and then sell them to Dan Specht of McGregor. Specht rotationally grazes the cattle on his farm and then sells them to CROPP. An advantage to organic farming is that you get premium prices when you sell you cattle. Input costs can also be an advantage, but sometimes tillage cost is more and organic farms are generally more labot intensive because organic farmers tend to have rougher farms.

The Francis and John Blake farm provide the Gibbs with organic feed rom their farm, because of the rough terrain of John's farm and his abundance of livestock. These two things make it more sensible to buy their feed from the Blake's.

An important part of organic farming is the audit trail. The audit trail tracks the cows from three moths before birth until it gets sold to the consumer. this is done to make sure the cow or cows are raised, marketed and sold correctly as organic produce. The paperwokr on the cattle is also checked extensively during the inspections and after the cow has been marketed, again to make sure everything is up to date and is recorded correctly.

Anyone interested in organic farming can get more information from the NEIOA.