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Dakota Beef contracts with some
of the top certified organic cattle producers in the
United States. Many of the ranchers in the
Dakota Beef program are pioneers in the organic food movement
and have been advocates of the need to treat cattle
humanely, to reduce
stress and to improve the quality of the beef they produce.
Let’s
meet one of them below:
Joel and Adela Rissman
Waterman, Illinois
One of the four farms featured in the Smithsonian
Museum of Natural History's traveling interactive
show, "Listening
to the Prairie: Farming in Nature's Image", belongs
to Joel and Adela Rissman. They are also one
of the first certified organic livestock producers to
join
with the Dakota Beef Company. On their 370-acre
farm, located in Waterman, Illinois, they raise approximately
250 head of feeder cattle, free-range chickens,
and
a wide variety of certified organic crops.
Mr. Rissman is among the pioneers of the organic
movement in the United States. He began integrating his crop and livestock
systems initially to reduce production costs
but soon discovered a number of additional benefits. "I
now have time to pick up the soil and check
its structure. When I farmed conventionally, I was always
running around
trying to get stuff done."
Thanks to a SARE grant that allowed him to
build a manure pad and retention pond, he is now able
to compost 80 percent of his livestock waste. Joel uses
it to fertilize his organic soybean and corn crops,
saving almost $30 dollars per acre compared to the chemical
fertilizers he used to buy. He then sells his certified
organic soybeans and corn to organic wholesalers at
a premium often four times higher than conventional
soybeans and two times greater than conventional corn.
The Rissman Family (left to right: Joel, Noelina, Adela, and Kendyl) |
Consumers have enjoyed the organic beef raised
by the Rissman's for years. He has built a strong following
at farmers' markets throughout the State of Illinois,
especially in Chicago where he is a regular sight at
the Saturday morning market at Lincoln Park High School.
Today, the Rissman's enjoy a hefty premium for their
certified organic cattle through their contractual agreement
with Dakota Beef.
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