March 2025 - 33

ORGANIC GROWER
for control of a few pests, is going
to be experimenting with some
biologicals, such as wasp releases
and brassica crops.
" It's new to us and is an exciting
area across agriculture, " Becker
said. " Because we're so far north,
we don't have many of the pest
issues. Our season is fast and can
be terrible - it is negative 40 here
in the winter, but it does afford us a
certain amount of pest control. "
Tech talk
Since opening six years ago, Cattail
Organics has made big investments in
machinery, such as a root vegetable
harvester, which has reduced labor.
" It also means something that
would have taken our farm team
almost two weeks to do can now
be done in two days, " Becker said.
" The payback is not immediate, but
we tend to make decisions on both
economic payback and risk. "
The farm also uses inventory and
other computer-based systems,
though it does go old-school as well,
with whiteboards and walkie talkies
among its most important tools.
" As an organic farm, we do a lot
of hand labor, especially to control
weeds, and because of that, there is
a certain amount of physical labor
that needs to be done, " she said.
" But we have cultivating tractors
and equipment and a lot of tech for
field production. "
This year, the company also
invested in moisture monitors to
get data on how the farm's irrigation
is working.
Looking ahead
Though she's raising her kids on
the farm, Becker isn't sure if they
will follow in the family business,
even though her 14-year-old son
seems to have a shared interest
in agriculture.
" We do want it to be an option
for our kids to move back and take
over this land someday, even if
they wind up using it in a different
way or for different crops, " she
said. " But we're also open to
maybe transitioning it to other
farmers someday. "
Since she still enjoys the physical
aspect of farming, as well as the
other work that goes into running
a business, Becker doesn't think
Cattail Organics is going anywhere
anytime soon.
" It's uniquely challenging and
there's always stuff to learn, " she
said. " The more I know, the more I
can explore really interesting things.
I love that. "
A graduate of the University of
Miami, Keith Loria is an awardwinning
journalist who has been
writing for almost 20 years. View
his recent writing at keithloria.
contently.com.
Creating an
organic world
together
We focus on breeding stronger,
more adaptable vegetables
that can thrive under organic
conditions. One innovation to
come from this is out EazyLeaf
program. Eazyleaf lettuce
varieties are easy to slice and
prepare. In just one slice, the
plant splits into many small and
equally sized leaves.
For more information
visit us at usa.vitalisorganic.com
ORGANICGROWER.INFO | 33

http://keithloria.contently.com http://usa.vitalisorganic.com http://www.ORGANICGROWER.INFO

March 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2025

Editor's Letter
Southeast Honors
Specialty crop industry braces for policy shifts
Michigan ag leaders spearhead H-2A education campaign
Idaho gold
Celebrating women in agriculture
2025 disease survey report
Disease challenges
Organic Grower Winter 2025
40 Under Forty Fresh Views
Farm Market & Agritourism
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
March 2025 - 1
March 2025 - 2
March 2025 - 3
March 2025 - Editor's Letter
March 2025 - 5
March 2025 - Southeast Honors
March 2025 - 7
March 2025 - Specialty crop industry braces for policy shifts
March 2025 - 9
March 2025 - 10
March 2025 - Michigan ag leaders spearhead H-2A education campaign
March 2025 - Idaho gold
March 2025 - 13
March 2025 - 14
March 2025 - 15
March 2025 - 16
March 2025 - 17
March 2025 - Celebrating women in agriculture
March 2025 - 19
March 2025 - 20
March 2025 - 21
March 2025 - 22
March 2025 - 23
March 2025 - 2025 disease survey report
March 2025 - 25
March 2025 - Disease challenges
March 2025 - 27
March 2025 - 28
March 2025 - Organic Grower Winter 2025
March 2025 - 30
March 2025 - 31
March 2025 - 32
March 2025 - 33
March 2025 - 34
March 2025 - 35
March 2025 - 40 Under Forty Fresh Views
March 2025 - 37
March 2025 - Farm Market & Agritourism
March 2025 - 39
March 2025 - Ag Labor Review
March 2025 - 41
March 2025 - Classifieds
March 2025 - Advertiser Index
March 2025 - 44
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/vgn-digital-seed-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-october-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/vgn-digital-seed-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2019
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