Leopold Center - A conversation with the Rosmanns

Ron and Maria Vakulskas Rosmann, along with their sons David, Daniel and Mark, have been honored as recipients of the 2006 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. The award, now in its fifth year, recognizes farmers, researchers and educators who have made a significant contribution toward the stability of family farms in Iowa. The Rosmanns received the award November 20 at the Iowa Organic Conference in Ames.

The Rosmanns farm 600 acres, all certified organic, near Harlan in Shelby County. They grow corn, soybeans, oats, rye, barley, hay, popcorn and flax. They rotationally graze a 90-head Red Angus cow herd and raise 50 sows in a deep-bedded, farrow-to-finish operation. They also maintain 40 acres of permanent headlands, grass waterways, terraces, buffer strips, as well as a 2.5-acre woodland planted in 1993.

Leopold Letter editor Laura Miller visited the Rosmann farm in early September. Below is part of the conversation, most of which took place around their kitchen table over a bowl of homemade soup. Ron had taken a short break between unloading a batch of organic soybean meal for the pigs and getting the season’s last cutting of hay baled before an approaching rainstorm. Maria also provided a quick tour of the farm in the family pick-up truck.

What is a sustainable agriculture?
MARIA: It is a system that sustains the soil, water, air and people – all of our natural resources as well as the farm families and the communities where they live.
RON: I see it as economic sustainability as well as environmental sustainability. You care about yourself, your neighbors and everything around you and know where you fit in. It’s more than sustainability over your lifetime but well into the future.

What makes your farm different than your neighbors’ farms?
RON: We have a diversified system that includes crops as well as livestock, and much of what we grow goes for human consumption – soy milk and tofu, flax oil capsules, grits, white corn tortilla chips. We also market some of our corn to a cooperative that is one of only a few suppliers for organic vodka, made by a distillery in Kentucky.
MARIA: We market our beef and pork to Organic Valley, under the Organic Prairie label. And we sell meat with our own label, Rosmann Family Farms, from the farm and at Wheatsfield Grocery in Ames and the three Campbell’s Nutrition Centers in Des Moines.
RON: We could market all our meat through Organic Valley, but we wanted to add some value and service our own customers. I always enjoyed getting to know our customers at field days, and there’s a feeling of self-worth when you hear people say your product is wonderful.
MARIA: We feel we are contributing to people’s good eating habits.
RON: We have very much a closed system here. The only things we buy are breeding boars and bulls, minerals and hog starter premix. Everything else comes from the farm or is recycled through the farm.

You’ve been certified organic since 1994, and are surrounded by conventional growers. What is that like?
RON: Actually, I quit using pesticides in 1983 but didn’t become certified until 1994 because there were limited markets for organic.
Why did you quit?
RON: I felt they weren’t all that effective and I never liked mixing herbicides. I also was concerned about our own health.

What are other challenges you have experienced?
MARIA: You need to know how to market your organic products. There is a tremendous learning curve.
RON: Organic agriculture is labor-intensive, but I like to call it management intensive because the labor is secondary. You need to know what job to do next and when you need to do it. I’m pleased because I’ve seen all our boys learn the same skills, making decisions and knowing what needs to be done. Conventional farmers don’t need to make as many decisions – either Roundup™ does that for them or the people they hire to do custom work. Of course, many conventional farmers also work off the farm doing that custom work for others because they can’t afford not to.

What advice do you have for a beginning farmer?
RON: Join an organization like Practical Farmers of Iowa or work with your organic certifier. Organic practices have become second nature to me. But learning from others is very important for people starting out. They want to know: Can I really do this? The on-farm research trials (with groups like Practical Farmers of Iowa) show that it can be done.
MARIA: We're always learning from one another. It's important to have an organization that will help you make changes, where people can go to offer ideas and learn from research.
RON: Dick Thompson (of Boone) is my mentor, as well as Vic Madsen, Roger Lansink anad Tom Frantzen. Over time, I believe we have become mentors for one another.

You felt strongly that your sons be included in this award. How have you involved them in the operation?
RON: Our sons are as much a part of this farm as we are.
MARIA: They were always involved in 4-H and for many years worked side-by-side with their dad.
RON: Even so, when they were in high school we encouraged them to get a job off the farm so they knew what it was like to work for someone other than their dad.
MARIA: And we always said there would be a place for them here if farming was their career choice. (Daniel, 23, joined the operation this year; his brother, Mark, also has expressed an interest in farming.)
RON: I’m very concerned about the next generation of farmers: Where will they come from? Each farmer needs to think about how they plan to keep their operation going and I don’t see enough of that being done.

What other things make your farm unique?
MARIA: You can pick out our farm when you fly over it. It is the narrow strips that we use for various crops and the diversity of the crops.
RON: We have tried to promote positive change in agriculture. This is a business, and like anything else, an entrepreneurial business that’s trying to make it.

What would you like to see agriculture look like in 20 years?
MARIA: I’d like to see sustainable agriculture be more of the norm than the exception, I’d like to see broader acceptance of those methods, rather than just a fascination with them.
RON: Sustainable agriculture gets people thinking outside of their boxes, and asking themselves: Can I make a living at what I enjoy doing? It would be wonderful if farmers had more control over their livelihoods than they do now.

Ron Rosmann is a founding board member of Practical Farmers of Iowa and is a former president and board member of the California-based Organic Farming Research Foundation. He also is a member of the Shelby County Extension Council and the Leopold Center’s Grassland Agriculture advisory committee, and serves as treasurer of the newly organized Iowa Organic Association.

Maria Vakulskas Rosmann operates the family’s private label, direct market organic meat business.

David Rosmann, 25, is a rural organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement in Des Moines. Daniel Rosmann, 23, who recently received an ISU degree in agronomy, has joined the family operation. Mark Rosmann, 20, is a junior at ISU majoring in agronomy and history.

Both Ron and Maria Rosmann have been active in agricultural policy circles, testifying five times before the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture committees, most recently in August for hearings on the 2007 Farm Bill.