July/August 2021 - 21

Wagner Farms has gone through a lot of changes in recent years. Ron Wagner came up with a " hybrid " system that incorporates organic
principles, like cultivation, cover crops and chemical reductions, with traditional practices.
He said the most difficult part has
been calculating costs and efficiencies of
growing. The devil has been in the details.
" That's been the hardest ... knowing
the exact cost of things, " he said. " It's a
very fine line that we deal with. If there's
a penny to be saved, we do.
" However, I never sacrifice my plant
health or soil conditions.
Crops are sold only through direct sales
to customers, including Community
Supported Agriculture program and an
agritourism operation that includes a
corn maze, sunflower field for photos
and local band concert series. Wagner
said the local public understands the
importance of knowing their farmer.
" Tourism, while not the same as
growing for food, has become fun and
enjoyable again, something that was
missing from our farm for many years, "
he said.
GROWING GREEN
Rethinking all the farm's practices has
been an occasion for Wagner to move into
more sustainable growing techniques.
The use of synthetic chemical sprays has
been greatly reduced, as have also been
the use of agricultural plastics. Energy
has been saved.
" I got tired of what I was doing, "
Wagner said. " Years back, being a
commercial, traditional grower, we still
did a lot of plastic mulch, a lot of drip
tape. We found that we still had to use a
lot of chemicals, as far as weed control
goes, under the plastic. "
Attempts to go completely organic
didn't work out, so Wagner came
up with " a hybrid system where we
incorporate the organic ideas of
cultivation, cover crops and reductions.
It's an overall better system. "
While he hangs onto a few key inputs,
especially Lumax herbicide on corn, a
substantial change has been made.
" I haven't used Roundup on our
corn in 10 years,, " he said. " We haven't
actually used a fungicide or insecticide
spray on our farm in two years. We
still apply some in-furrow at planting
obviously because one-time application
upfront protects us. "
He's seen beneficial insects in
the ecosystem thrive. Monarchs are
flourishing and bumblebees can be found
in almost all of the farm's ditch lines.
" We see praying mantises, we see
ladybugs ... you name it, we see it, "
Wagner said.
He has found that he can do more
with less, especially when it comes to
the few sprays he still uses.
" This year's onion crop and potato
crop is actually on last year's popcorn
(field), " Wagner said. " Last year's popcorn
crop was treated with Lumax. This year
our potato field has had absolutely zero
sprays used on it in terms of herbicides,
insecticides and fungicides, at this
point. Our onion crop has only had
one application of herbicide, just as a
preventative, and frankly, I probably
could have gotten away without it
because we found that using our corn
crop as a weed eliminator crop the year
before, the following crop is actually
really good without the use of pesticides.
" You have to approach it on a multiyear
basis in your head. "
Going full organic isn't in the farm's
future, for a variety of reasons.
" We tried an organic field last year and
we failed miserably, " he said. " We had four
acres of organic produce; the deer enjoyed
every bit of it. What they didn't get the
weeds (got). It was such a dry season we
couldn't get a cultivator in the ground.
There was really no way to salvage it, and
you know what? It was a life lesson. "
" It all comes down to the market in
the end, " he added. " We don't have a
market for organic returns financially or
profitability in our area. If you look at it
demographic-wise, there's such a small
organic demand. ... It's a niche item. "
Tools of the trade
Ronald Wagner has come up with numerous ways to farm more
sustainably in recent years.
For example, a tine weeder for mechanical cultivation reduces the need
for herbicides.
" We are eliminating so much herbicide use in specialty crop - little crops
that have little to no profit margin to begin with, " Wagner said. " It allows us
to weed them and get them out of the ground fast. "
Wagner uses a Zone Builder tool to open up the soil in fields where hard
crusts have formed.
" It flood-proofs the crop, and it drought-proofs the crop, " he said. " The
plant roots go deep and find water in a drought. You get one of those fluke
thunderstorms that drops 3 inches in five minutes on you, the water sinks
into the ground. "
Spudman * July/August 2021
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July/August 2021

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