After starting with about 40 acres in 1997, the Springtown Ranch organic farming operation north of Brighton now includes over 300 acres of row crops and 150 acres of alfalfa.

Owner Nelson Smith says when they started almost 25 years ago, the only crop they could grow commercially was soybeans in a market that was a very limited for them locally, “So all our soybeans made a 6,000 mile trip to Japan to be processed for soymilk and tofu and now things have changed a lot in today’s markets. Organic markets have changed tremendously and we have a market to sell our soybeans and corn at Professional Proteins in Washington which is a 16 mile trip instead of a 6,000 mile trip, so it’s made a big difference.”

Smith says they’ve been a 100% certified organic farming operation from the start because their soil had never been treated with chemicals or pesticides. He says soil must be free of any chemical treatments at least three years to be certified for organic farming.

You can hear more from Smith and Olga Reding of the Iowa Organic Association during our Special Edition Ag Magazines at 1 and 6 p.m. today on KCII.