An Iowa Couple Grows Food, Family and a Community on an Organic Farm

From the USDA:

Posted by Ron Nichols, Natural Resources Conservation Service, on January 20, 2015 at 10:30 AM

Andy and Melissa Dunham, seen here with daughter Leonora, own and operate Grinnell Heritage Farm in Grinnell, Iowa. NRCS photo by Ron Nichols.

Some people are born to farm. Others grow to love it. In Melissa Dunham’s case, she fell in love with a farmer — and now she loves both the farmer and the farm.

“I was happily employed in the Twin Cities, but then I fell in love with this wonderful man who told me he was an organic vegetable farmer,” Melissa said. “I thought, ‘Sure, why not?’ We got married within seven months.”

It was an unexpected career and life change. “Everybody thought I was nuts moving down here to central Iowa to be a farmer,” she said. But now she’s growing food she believes in — and in a way that will leave the land in better condition for the generations to follow.

She and her husband, Andy Dunham, own and operate Grinnell Heritage Farm in Grinnell, Iowa. The certified organic farm has grown from three acres in 2007 to 22 acres today and produces more than 60 varieties of plants and vegetables.

Grinnell Heritage Farm is a certified organic farm that has grown from three acres in 2007, to 22 acres today. NRCS photo by Ron Nichols.

“We grow everything from asparagus to zucchini,” Melissa said.

The Dunhams understand that the health of their soil translates into healthier crops and a more resilient farm. A fifth-generation farmer on the Grinnell farmland, Andy has made improving the health of the farm’s soil a major priority.

“Our philosophy is feed the soil, it will feed your plants, and then it will feed us,” he said.

Judging from the farm’s improvement in yields over time, this approach is working. “We read the ‘Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers,’ which is kind of the vegetable grower’s official handbook, and our yields are almost always well above what their best yields are projected,” said Andy.

Working with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Dunhams have been able to accelerate the adoption of a number of resource-protecting practices through the agency’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

“There were several practices, like adding hedge rows for wildlife habitat, that we probably wouldn’t have been able to do without the EQIP contract,” Andy said.

The Dunhams were also able to take advantage of EQIP’s Organic Initiative back when they were converting from a conventional farming operation. “We did an awful lot of stuff with cover cropping and we did a lot of things for managing water quality,” he said. “The program was very helpful.”

Cropping diversity plays a central role in improving soil health because plant diversity above ground promotes biological diversity below ground, but it also plays a part in keeping the farming operation resilient.

“We have had some really, really severe weather swings over the last seven years and on numerous occasions. It’s either been too wet or too dry or both,” said Melissa. “Last year we had both flooding and a drought, but by being diverse we have been able to stay in the black. It’s helped us stay afloat when the weather extremes aren’t in our favor.”

While all farmers have to deal with weather-related issues, organic farming has additional challenges — like not being able to use synthetic nutrients or pesticides to control weeds and harmful insects. However, Andy believes it’s worth the extra effort.

“People who are wary of an organic system think it takes a lot of management — and it does,” he said. “But if you stay committed, if you follow the principles — even if you make a few mistakes — and stick with it, things will get better.  The yields will go up and you can rejuvenate tired soils. It can be done.”

Inherent farming challenges notwithstanding, a lot of good things are being raised on the Grinnell Heritage Farm including healthy food, healthy soil, a healthy family and a chance to teach other people about farming. “And I love being able to spend this much time with my family,” Melissa said.

Certified organic cabbage growing on the farm will be sold to local retailers and at farmers’ markets. NRCS photo by Ron Nichols.

EPA Seeks IDNR Action to Correct Deficiencies in Iowa’s CAFO Permitting and Compliance Program

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

EPA Seeks IDNR Action to Correct Deficiencies in Iowa’s CAFO Permitting and Compliance Program

Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov/

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., July 12, 2012) - EPA’s initial findings from an informal investigation of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) permit program for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) disclose several correctable deficiencies.

EPA’s investigation was carried out in response to a petition for withdrawal of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program authorization from IDNR that was filed in 2007 by the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project. Federal regulations allow interested parties to file these petitions when they are concerned that a state is not meeting the minimum NPDES program requirements.

EPA’s initial findings identify deficiencies in IDNR’s NPDES program that the state agency will need to correct. Among others, EPA found that IDNR does not have an adequate program to assess whether unpermitted CAFOs need NPDES permits. The findings also note that IDNR must clarify its authority to issue NPDES permits to confinement (roofed) CAFOs that discharge.

EPA also found that in a number of cases involving Clean Water Act (CWA) violations, IDNR failed to take timely and adequate enforcement actions, and assess adequate penalties. The report containing the initial findings is available at www.epa.gov/region7/water.

“Although today’s report highlights areas for improvement, IDNR has made substantial strides in identifying large open feedlots and requiring those operators to apply for permits,” said Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “As a national leader in beef, swine and poultry production, with roughly 7,000 animal feeding operations, it is imperative that Iowa have an NPDES permitting, compliance and enforcement program that complies with federal law and protects the quality of Iowa’s rivers, lakes and streams.”

The issuance of the initial report is the first step in the process in which EPA will work with IDNR to correct the deficiencies. EPA has asked that IDNR provide a written response to the report, within 60 days, describing the actions IDNR has taken or will take to correct the deficiencies, including a proposed plan and timeline to address the deficiencies. EPA intends to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on IDNR proposals to correct the deficiencies.

Any discharge of pollutants into a river or stream is a violation of the Clean Water Act unless the discharge is authorized by an NPDES permit. NPDES, a part of the Clean Water Act, requires CAFOs that discharge to obtain a permit from EPA or authorized states. The Clean Water Act also requires EPA and authorized states to assess whether CAFOs discharge and need an NPDES permit.

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