SEGMENT: ORGANIC FARMING
Paul Gebhart>LPL Interviews A-M>LPL Interviews A-J, Segment 7
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- ORGANIC FARMING
- Paul sells to a broker that sells to people in Indiana and Chicago. Usually he just advertises in a Springfield newspaper and that gets him enough business. He has had people call him from far away wanting his beef but he discourages them, as he wants to sell locally. He drew a circle around his farm on a map that represents twenty five mile diameter. This area includes Decatur and Springfield and about 250,000 people. He mentions the 100 miles diet, in which people only eat food that comes from within 100 miles of their home. If he wants to go to an organic certified plant, he has to go almost 100 miles, as compared to 15 miles for a regular plant. A farmer from Rockford has to go nearly 200 miles to get to the plant. He wants to shift from beef cattle to dairy cattle. To obtain organic milk, the animal must be on an organic regiment for one year. The animal will never be considered organic, but the milk will be. He is looking for someone who wants to come to his farm to milk cows. He will put up the capital and buy the cows if a young person is willing to do the work. He doesn't think he will get the milk cows until 2009. He would also like to be selling lamb. Paul grows six acres of corn so he will have his own organic seed. Instead of harvesting he uses it for forage for the animals. All the corn and soybeans around him are genetically modified, so he has to keep his crop pure.
