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Making more dollars per acre is goal of Bertrand organic farm

“When my parents died, my sister and I inherited the farm,” Tom Schwarz recounts. “She wanted out of the farming business, so we split the farm and sold half of it to buy her out. With half our original operation, we needed to figure out how to sustain the business with fewer acres, and recognized that we could potentially make more dollars per acre growing organic grains than conventional crops.”

It’s a decision that wasn’t undertaken lightly. Deciding to change farming practices from conventional to organic is at least a three-year process and requires significant changes in farming practices and intricate record keeping…for starters.

The organic way

Tom believes that farming the organic way is definitely more of a challenge but may also be a bit more fun than conventional farming.

 “As a conventional farmer, I just plant, spray, and harvest. But growing the organic way requires us to think more about every process, think through our choices. For example, we choose from many more plant varieties than a conventional farmer.”

Organic farmers plant cover crops to perform functions that might otherwise be done chemically or mechanically, such as break up the compaction of the soil, introduce nitrogen, and develop a generally richer soil. For example, this year Schwarz Farms is planting Daikon radishes to break up the compaction and add organic matter to the sod; yellow peas to introduce nitrogen into the soil; and buckwheat to suppress weeds and improve soil in preparation for next year’s wheat crop. Both the yellow peas and buckwheat can be sold as organic seed. Schwarz Farms markets most of its organic grains through Robert’s Seed in Axtell, a company that cleans, packages and ships organic seed and grain around the world.

A family business

Tom and Linda Schwarz’ grown children, Alex and Rebecca, returned to the farm to join the business after graduating from colleges in Nebraska. The family’s goals, according to Tom are to “Sustain our natural resources, manage a profitable business, and contribute to our community.”

Alex takes care of the farm’s equipment and manages the alfalfa grinding business, a service for feed lots and dairies. Nutrients in alfalfa are more readily available to cattle after the alfalfa is chopped. The work is year-round.

“We grind hay between January and May, and we cut and bale hay throughout the summer,” Tom said.
Rebecca will be managing a new enterprise for Schwarz Farms, a passive solar greenhouse called a high tunnel that allows the sun’s energy to heat it through the winter months. Rebecca plans to grow a variety of lettuces and other vegetables, and the family hopes to market the organic produce in Whole Foods, Hy-Vee and locally.

Tom believes that every farm in Nebraska could be growing vegetables. He says, “California and Arizona grow most of the vegetables we buy commercially. Both states are losing their water resource. We believe it is possible for Nebraska farmers to respond to the need.”

Schwarz Farms also started an apiary last year. Both Alex and Rebecca work with the bees, and harvest and market the honey under the name Black Baron Honey.

Linda, among many other responsibilities, organizes and handles the extensive paperwork required to maintain organic certification. The farm is re-certified every year as organic, and every planting, growing and harvesting process must be recorded along with the certification of seeds planted, and much more.

Giving back to the community

The family members also contribute to their community and sometimes they participate in national forums on sustainable farming issues.

Tom is employed part time by the USDA Conservation Services to advise other farmers on how to get started and certified as organic. He is also an expert in water issues in Nebraska and has been called upon to testify in Senate agriculture hearings.

Alex directs and acts in community theater productions in nearby Kearney, while Rebecca serves on the Mission Committee for their local church. Linda recently completed a year as a Lied Scholar and studied agricultural issues and concerns in Nebraska, nationally and worldwide.

100 years on the same land

The family’s vision for the future of Schwarz Farms is to constantly learn and improve, adjust to the changes in the farm economy and farming practices, continue building a prosperous business, and appreciate the heritage of the land. Rebecca and Alex are the sixth generation of Schwarz’s to farm land that has been in the family for over 100 years.

Internet technology is indispensable to a multi-faceted production agriculture business like Schwarz Farms.

“We research potential markets for our products, find new and different crops to plant, review products for the farming operation, and make connections with our suppliers and other sustainable agriculture producers,” Tom said.

For now, at least, the future looks solid.

 “I notice a growing interest among conventional farms to apply some of the organic techniques in their farming operations,” Tom said.

Although the family farm has been in decline for decades, Schwarz Farms and similar “sustainable agriculture” operations may yet sustain it for generations to come.

Who To Contact...

Schwarz Farms
Tom and Linda Schwarz
311 Medina Ave.
Bertrand, NE 68927
308-472-5309
tlschwarz@charter.net

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