What I know about GMOs

(Unloading corn at the Grain Elevator this Fall)

GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are something I have not talked about too much over the last few years.  It's just not something I felt comfortable going over, and with so many animal welfare topics to cover it was an issue I stayed away from.  On our farm we grow some varieties of GM corn and soybeans.  If things change and consumers do not want us to produce GM crops, that's fine, but I think we are giving up some very real opportunities by throwing it out entirely.  I'm not an "expert," or a crop/biotech/biochemical scientist, but I am the user of GM technology, and a person who consumes some GM foods.

For those who don't know, a GMO is created by taking a desired trait from one organism and putting it into another organism to give it the desired trait.  For example, a corn variety that is drought resistant naturally may not have the stalk sturdy enough to support a large ear, so a plant geneticist will take the drought resistant trait and put it in the sturdy-stalked corn.  If we get technical, cross-breeding for a desired trait is a type of genetic modification.  The benefit of GMOs are that scientists can isolate desirable traits, and avoid less desirable traits when creating new varieties of crops.  Common types of genetic modification include drought or flood resistance, disease resistance (fungal, bacterial, etc), and weed and insect resistance.  These things allow farmers to produce a heartier, healthier crop that is better suited to their unique growing conditions.  I am not a GMO expert, but I have learned a few things that I think should come into consideration as you make decisions about GMOs.

1. GMOs are medically important.  One of the most innovative ways GMOs are being used is to produce insulin for diabetics.  The insulin produced is reliable and consistent. If people ate more balanced diets, where more active, and less overweight, maybe there would be fewer diabetics, however there would still be those who have genetic diabetes and need insulin. GMOs will help those fighting the disease to control their health.

2. GMOs are generally regarded as safe by the scientific community.  I often find that people have strong feelings about genetic engineering, and also about climate change.  Studies from around the world generally agree that climate change is real.  Many of the same institutions that back climate change, also back the safety of GMOs.  Science shouldn't just be used to support arguments when it's convenient.  Maybe the science is wrong.  I don't have the education, or time to really find out on either of these issues, so I am generally going to agree with the people who do.  For those arguing that Monsanto has payed it's way into positive outcomes in trials, consider the oil & gas industry with climate change, or even the tobacco industry on the carcinogenic effects of smoking.  The companies in these industries are large and have a lot of lobbying power, yet they were not able to stop the tide of research that pushed for change in our practices for health, safety, and longevity.  The same can be said about GMO research.
 
3. GMOs aren't everywhere.  The current list of GM crops available commercially in the United States are: corn, soybeans, canola, papaya, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, squash, potatoes, and apples.  All but the potatoes and apples were modified to resist a significant threat to the plant (fungus, disease, growing conditions, etc).  The apples and potatoes are modified to avoid bruising/browning during transport and preparation, which causes large losses between farm and table.  Not every seed grown is genetically modified, and farmers have the option to grow non-GM crops.  For farmers, GM crops are more of a risk management tool than an ideological point.  Consumers have the option to buy non-GMO products.  Now with labeling requirements, and different marketing campaigns by food companies you can fairly easily avoid GMOs in your food if that is what you choose to do.

4. GMOs are proprietary.  This is a sore point for some, because the idea of food flow is something that a private business has control over is scary.  I understand and can empathize with this way of thinking. However, the amount of time devoted to research, development, trials, and government regulations, as well as money that is put into developing this technology, it deserves a patent.  GMOs are innovations to production systems, just like the assembly line, interchangeable parts, or other manufacturing processes.

5. GMOs hold tremendous possibility.  Even if you choose to oppose GMOs in your own life, there are so many innovations that are awesome to think about.  In bio-fuels: there is research on different algae modifications to produces abundant supplies of clean energy relatively inexpensively.  In food crops: peanuts that don't cause allergies, or rice that provides vitamins to people in poverty stricken countries that can't afford a variety of different foods.  Even in forestry: what about a modification that would prevent thousands of trees from dying due to Emerald Ash Borer, or the drought affecting the Redwoods, or even the Chestnut Blight that basically eradicated the American Chestnut?  Maybe there are other ways to solve these problems, maybe there are practices we can take up to minimize the risk of any of these things, but there are tools that can help us combat these issues, so why not at least give the chance to use them?

Cover Crops

(The 14 plant mix of cover crops in front of the Pine Ridge Farm)

This fall, we did something a little different after harvesting our wheat acres, which was putting in a cover crop.  What is a cover crop?  It is a second crop put in towards the end of the growing season to provide ground cover, hold nutrients in the soil, increase organic matter, and reduce compaction.  All of these things should help our primary crop production in the coming years. 

(Look closely and you will see a be on the sunflower)

These all sound like really great things, so implementing a cover crop program seems like it would be easy, obvious, and immediately cost effective, but that isn't the case.  One obstacle is figuring out how to get the crop into the field, and to come up for a good cover before everything freezes up.  Wheat is harvested at the end of June, so we have plenty of time to haul manure and plant the crop before the ground freezes. It is a good place for us to start and see if it works before we start incorporating it into our other crop programs.  We are not quite done harvesting corn for this year, so to put a cover crop into the corn field we would have to fly it on  sometime in August/September.   

(14 plant mix cover crop in September at the Brigham Farm)

Of course we also have to know what to plant.  There are limitless possibilities of what to put in a cover crop mix based on the desired outcomes, climate, etc.  This year we are trying two mixes.  The first is a mix of 14 different varieties, some each of legumes, grasses, brassicas (root vegetables), and broadleaves.  Of course the stars of the show at least visually are the sunflowers, which are covered in bees and butterflies.  The other mix is 2 varieties- oats and tillage radishes- less expensive and less showy, but should get the job done.   

(It's hard to tell how tall the crops are until you are walking around in them)

All of these plants are supposed to winter kill (die off with the frost) but the grasses and roots will hold the nutrients in and keep the ground covered until they fully break down in the spring.  This should give us better nutrient availability from the manure we put on before planting, and better soil to plant into that will hold more moisture through the summer.  If everything goes as it is supposed to, we won't even have to till into the fields in the spring before planting, although right now that seems hard to believe with how tall and hardy our cover crop looks to be.  

 (View of the ground coverage... and a turnip!)

When we tried a cover crop in the past, we had just planted tillage radishes and they were giant (3 feet long and 4-6 inches in diameter), stunk as they decomposed, and we couldn't see any measurable benefit from having them in the field.  That being said, we may have had a yield boost that was subtle, so we aren't quite sure.  This year we worked with some people experienced with cover crops to choose our mixes and planting dates more carefully.  We also planted in a few different fields that aren't our top performers to see if we can make any improvements.  We won't know until next fall how the crops fair, but right now everyone is excited about the potential for improvement and learning new farming practices.

 (Brian displaying our tillage radishes- much smaller than last time!)

6 takeaways from the Great Lakes Crop Summit

(Sign Welcoming Farmers to the Great Lakes Crop Summit in Mt. Pleasant, MI)

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the Great Lakes Crop Summit.  It is nice to have such a well run cropping event so close to home.  After listening to a dozen or so speakers over the two days of sessions, I gathered up a few key points.

1. Export markets are there, and they are important.  If grain marketing at most farms in anything like it is on my farm, we just work with our local elevator.  That isn't the worst thing to do, but being aware of the international trade climate, and of the other ways you market grain (at a premium), can really help crop farmers manage their risk.

2. We have to be business smart to farm smart.   Farmers are always proud of the fact that we farm out of love for the land.  We also tend to be slow to change or adapt.  By treating downturn years the same way as high profit years, we are really shooting ourselves in the foot.

3. Soybeans have a lot of unrealized potential.  In Michigan, soybeans are more of a rotational crop, not the main money maker.  The Great Lakes Crop Summit made me realize that we are giving up potential on soybeans just because we don't make them a priority.  Some of the things we can do with soybeans don't even take more time or money, it's just applying effort at the right time instead of whenever its convenient around corn.

4. New to cover crops? Get Help! After listening to multiple sessions on cover crops and vertical tillage, my biggest takeaway is don't go it alone.  Many things in crop farming are trial and error, but investing $25-45/ acre, or thousands in new equipment isn't something you should do without working with someone who has experience.  This will save a lot of trouble down the road.

5. Customer connection is key.  This is true in all parts of business, and not always something we think of first in agriculture.  Traceability is something that is gaining importance everyday with consumers.  Delivering a product tailored to our clients will result in better relationships, and a healthy pocketbook.

6. Manage your risk.  What happens when you have an accident on the farm?   How prepared are you to handle it?  This isn't just about insurance, but also about knowing what you should be doing before the accidents happen to protect yourself.  Working with your lawyer, your accountant, and your insurance agent to best guard yourself against potential harms will leave you feeling confident and prepared to handle any situation.

What's in a Crop Farmer's Toolbox?

I read a lot of articles about how farmers misuse GM technology, and how we are not really paying attention to how this affects the land, air and water. That as farmers, we are just using the cheapest, and easiest method, and not paying attention to other opportunities that are out there for better our crops and farmland.  Taking one step into the Farm Journal's Corn College last week, I quickly realized that people don't see the other farming practices we implement to raise a better crop.  GM technology is one of many tools in our toolbox, but what else is out there?

Let's start with hybrids.  These aren't necessarily GMOs, in that they are bred in the field to make certain traits.  There are those which are drought resistant, heat resistant, flood resistant, short growing season, long growing season, and everything in between.  As farmers, we don't just pick one variety to plant in all of our fields, we diversify our crop based on soil type, drainage, micro-nutrient levels, presence of irrigation, equipment, tillage style, and a host of other factors.  We try to balance our cropping portfolio so that no matter what the growing conditions, we can have a good crop.

Now we can talk tillage practices.  Farmers have a huge variety of field implements to use when tilling their fields.  Some farmers are strictly no-till, which is planting into ground that hasn't been cultivated in any way.  This is good for soil erosion because the ground is always covered with some type of cover.  Some farmers use plows or rippers to break hard pans in the soil and to inject manure for a natural fertilizer. Vertical tillage is somewhere in between, helping to create soil uniformity, thus better space for roots to grow.  We try to minimize our passes over the field by doing multiple things at once, making us more efficient on fuel, and less likely to cause compaction.

We use soil testing to figure out our nutrient levels to make sure that we put the right fertilizers in the right places.  We balance our soil and water pH levels to make the growing conditions suitable for the plants.  We use crop rotation and cover crops to improve the soil content, minimize weeds in the off seasons, and increase the organic matter.

Farm equipment now allows us to collect data and use GPS to practice precision farming.  We can map a field based on yield, and soil type to plant different varieties in places that respond differently within the same field.  We can manage our fertilizers that way too, so we are using less and growing more. Even the number of seeds we plant per acre is adjusted based on this mapping, giving each seed a better chance to thrive, and only planting as many seeds as the ground can adequately provide for throughout the growing season. 

Even more basic farming tools are being honed every time we go out in the field.  Did you know that the soil temperature at the time of planting greatly effects the ability for the seed to take up nutrients?  By monitoring our soil temperatures, we can give the plants the best start that we can, and utilize the fertilizer that is already in the ground.  In addition, we can adjust our planting equipment to make sure our planting depths are consistent, so one plant doesn't dominate another.

GMOs are part of the farmer's toolbox, but they don't make up for cutting corners in crop production.  Not every farm is using each tool, but each farm is trying to put together the best mix of tools to utilize the land at the highest potential.