| Ste. Genevieve farmer Linus Hoffmeister lets caged pheasants run under his grape vines to clean up weeds and insects and to fertilize the vines. The innovative idea received special assistance from the Small Farms Demonstration Program offered by University Extension and the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Photo by Jim Curley/UMC Extension and Agricutural Information |
Pheasants run under Linus Hoffmeister's grapes, cleaning up insects and weeds as they go.
A few miles away, organic farmer Jon Kern munches on an apple from his pesticide-free orchard.
Still in Ste. Genevieve County, neighbors Steven and Carol Flieg harvest a cornucopia of veggies and enough eggs to give every man, woman and child in Ste. Genevieve (pop. 4,500) a half dozen a day.
All of the above represent a new wave of farmers testing creative alternatives to conventional agriculture that are economically viable and environmentally sound.
"They are meeting the growing demand for healthy foods from consumers in the St. Louis metro area," said John Ellerman, University Extension farm management specialist.
Ellerman works with Hoffmeister, Kern and the Fliegs, who are getting a little help with their innovations from the Missouri Farmers Demonstration Program, admin-istered by the Missouri Department of Agriculture and University Extension. A farm demonstration award was presented to Hoffmeister to test his pheasant-run grape-cleanup program. Other awards went to Kern, the Fliegs and three other families, who formed the Ste. Genevieve Farmers Market to sell their produce.
Up to $69,000enough for 23 projectswill be awarded for sustainable agriculture demonstrations in 1996.
"The program is set up for farmers to test their own ideas under actual farm conditions," said John Ikerd, University of Missouri-Columbia extension sustainable agriculture specialist. "We'll help, but we want the farmers to set up their projects in their own way."
Hoffmeister said pheasants under his grapevines do indeed eat insects and keep down the weeds, as well as provide fertilizer for the vines.
The ultimate reward for these good-doing birds is someone's freezer or dinner table.
Hoffmeister and Ellerman kept track of how well the pheasants did and shared the information with other farmers across the state. For the project, they were granted $3,000enough to supply the pheasants and to build the hutch and mesh-fence pheasant run. The funding is enough to continue the project at least two more years.
Kern, a professionally trained horticulturist, came back to his home farm four years ago with an idea. "We need a new approach to agriculture in this area. It's time to revert to a more natural system," he said.
Kern employs no-pesticide farming, green manure cropping and personalized marketing through the farmers market.
Kern plants rye and vetch in early spring and lets it stand throughout the spring so it attracts aphids, lady beetles, lacewings, lepidoptera and cutworm parasites. "The rye and vetch give the insects a place to cycle naturallyto get more balance with crop pests and to keep them on track," Kern said.
He turns under the rye and vetch for a green manure crop, providing organic matter for the soil and improving its tilth and fertility. To add more fertility, he found a source of hog and chicken manure he can have for free just for hauling it off.
"In the spring, before I plant, I incorporate into the soil rock phosphate and 'green sand'a mining product from the coastal states that comes from marine animals and contains potassium and a lot of micronutrients," Kern said. "I also make my own compost for my greenhouse and for some of my field crops."
Kern raises 20 acres of vegetables along a creek bottom and will later convert some of the other 200 acres of his farm from pastures to other crops, including fruit trees and Christmas trees.
His creative farming ideas have earned him Ste. Genevieve County's "Alternative Agriculture Innovator of the Year" award for 1995. Hoffmeister received the 1994 award, presented by University Extension.
The Fliegs, if they had a mind to, could feed everyone in Ste. Genevieve every day.
Their 42,000 chickens lay 2,700 dozen eggs a day. Steve and Carol also grow pumpkins, squash, Chinese cabbage, turnips, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, okra, blackberries, pears and beef. (They have a 150-head cow-calf herd.)
Ellerman also gives the Fliegs high marks for their willingness to try alternative agriculturecrops or animals a little different from the kinds grown on more conventional farms. Case in point: fruit crops.
Ellerman worked with the Fliegs and other area farmers to obtain disease-resistant fruit tree varieties. The Fliegs and Kern have planted some of these trees, which Ellerman said should extend the harvest seasonand their fruit marketing seasonby two months.
For the Fliegs, the farmers market activity started out as mostly Carol's job, but she soon enlisted the help of daughter Jennifer, 10, and son Kevin, 8. Steve pitches in, too. "It usually figures out to one six-hour day every week for six months," Carol said. During those days, Carol and Steve take care of sales; Jennifer and Kevin carry the goods to customers' cars.
For the Fliegs, Kern and Hoffmeister, their days are usually busy and can be
mighty labor intensive. But, as Carol Flieg said, "It's a lot of work, but
we wouldn't trade with anybody."
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