SMITHFIELD Its getting green again on the Tom and Linda Schwarz farm south of Smithfield, at least in the greenhouses where tiny mint and mustard plants were the first to emerge in early March from the organic soil sourced from Wisconsin dairy.

The four 30-foot wide greenhouses one is 100 feet long, two are each 72 feet long and one is 50 feet long first were used during the 2011 growing season.

They represent the latest steps in the Schwarz Family Farm transition from a traditional commodity grain, hay and livestock farm to an added-value enterprise now specializing in certified organic crops and produce. Tom said he now is planning to return cattle to the farms diverse mix of food and feed products.

Were thinking about starting some grasses for people to use in their yards, Linda added.

The family part of the six-generation farm has included daughter, Becky, as marketing director since she graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010 and son, Alex, who was sales manager from after his Chadron State College graduation in 2008 until recently. Alex now lives and works in Kearney.

With Alex out of it, we need to figure out what we can do with one less person, Becky said.

It certainly wont be the first time the family has adapted to change.

Tom said that after he and Linda were married in 1984, he farmed with his dad, Paul Pete Schwarz. They had livestock and crops irrigated with surface water delivered by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and groundwater.

We were farming on a large scale, 2,500 acres irrigated, Tom said, which required hired help.

In the 1990s, his dad said it was time to scale back to what he and Tom could handle on their own. After Pete died in 1997, the acres shrunk again as the family settled the estate.

Tom said that over 10 years, they had cut the farm enterprise in half and then cut it in half again. We couldnt work in the traditional sense. We had to change our thinking, he said. All you are is lunch, in time, for those big guys unless you build a different house.

So they transitioned into the only organic farm in Gosper County.

Tom said it was a good fit with the hay grinding business they had started in the early 1980s. They now use a rotation of organic irrigated corns, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.

Hes looking at feeding some calves with rotational grazing of annual and perennial forages under pivot irrigation.

Becky said she also has an idea for raising some pasture pigs in the future.

Weve gotta break out of this traditional mentality of this is how you farm get out of thinking about commodities and (think) about customers, Tom said about a key to the future for many ag producers.

He said farmers and ranchers need to produce the products consumers want and deliver them when they want them. If people want non-GMO, we can raise non-GMO. If they want GMO, we can grow GMOs, he added.

Tom said his family prefers to grow food-grade crops. He explained that if they cant sell food-grade corn for a premium, it still can be sold as a commodity. The oats they grow can be sold as food, seed or feed.

A huge part of earning premiums for certified organic products is keeping the detailed records required. Record keeping requirements for organic are enormous, Tom said. Thats what Linda does almost full time.

Linda said she submits an application due each March for an annual recertification. At least one inspector comes to the farm to collect crop samples to test for GMO hybrids and pesticide use.

There are trade-offs with organic production, the Schwarzes said. Chemical and fertilizer costs arent as high, but there is more labor involved.

So instead of writing a check to Monsanto, we write checks to our kids, Tom joked.

Seasonal employees are needed to tend the greenhouse plants. Linda said there were seven teens hired last summer, six from Holdrege and one from Bertrand.

There is a lot of pruning with tomatoes, she said. They also do a lot of transplanting and packaging.

Linda and Becky oversee the produce production, while Tom farms the field crops.

Like all farmers, they weigh the pros and cons of different crops each year.

Tom said the Palmer amaranth infestation in south-central Nebraska soybean fields last year was just killing us. It also is an issue for a calf feeding plan that includes roasted soybeans, which are digested farther down the digestive track than alfalfa and other feeds.

Most produce is grown in the greenhouses, although Becky grew some garlic, onions, leeks and jalapeos, and a little okra outside last year.

Linda said the smallest greenhouse has perennial herbs and overflow from the other three. Its the only one heated over the winter, she said, so its home to anything that might freeze.

The 100-foot-long greenhouse is the starter site for most plants and where sugar pea greens are grown. The two middle-size, movable greenhouses are where most tomatoes, peppers, white carrots and beets are grown.

The major market for Schwarz Family Farm produce is Hy-Vee, primarily Omaha and Lincoln area stores. Some also goes to the Grand Island and Kearney stores.

We literally call them up when we have things ready, Tom said. Some stores take a bunch and some take a little. Theres no rhyme or reason.

Becky transports most of the produce in a refrigerated delivery truck or sometimes a Toyota 4Runner with the air conditioner set on high.

I would really prefer it if we could hit the early tomato market, by the first of June, but that can be a challenge, Tom said, explaining that the best premiums are paid for produce delivered earlier or later than the big seasons for other commercial growers and home gardeners.

Most of the organic grain, which must be identity preserved, is marketed through Scoular, which has an organic division. The Schwarzes leave the wheat in their bins and Scoular picks it up there for the markets the company serves.

Tom said a lot of corn goes to a Chase, Kan., egg producer and some soybeans go to dairies that have their own soybean roasters.

Much of the organic alfalfa is sold to area conventional buyers, he said, because its hard to haul hay long distances.

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Schwarz family prepares to add cattle to diverse organic food and feed production - Kearney Hub