A Wild and Woolly Multifaceted Farm

Wales, North Dakota

Janet and Terry Jacobson are living, breathing proof that lives and livelihoods guided by the principles?of sustainability are viable in North Dakota. For almost 30 years, these farmers have been on a mission to move away from conventional agriculture, which relies heavily on pesticides and monocultures, to organic farming, which uses alternative methods of pest control and diverse crop rotations. Their quest has taken them from finding multiple income streams, to diversifying (and thereby sustaining) their agricultural livelihood, to increasing farm energy efficiency, to working cooperatively with nature. They believe in smart farm management and that consumers will ultimately choose healthy and tasty food if given the option.
The Jacobsons started farming in 1975 in the small community of Wales, North Dakota, just 15 miles south of the Canadian border. For the first three or four years, they farmed like everyone else, relying heavily on a few crops and applications of pesticides and fertilizers. One of the problems with conventional agriculture, Terry notes, is that customers have been taught to expect one-size tomatoes, one-size chickens. “It’s easier and cheaper to ship tomatoes long distances if they’re the same size,” Terry explains. The Jacobsons have come to value diversity in their food products, and think that gaining consistency and convenience for store shelves is not worth the cost of diminished diversity, nutrition, taste, and safety.

Janet and Terry began looking at alternative ways of farming, but they started cautiously. “Knowledge of organic techniques was pretty limited back then,” says Terry. They let a third of the farm go fallow and began growing organic crops on that section of land. They were connected with a small group of organic farmers throughout the state by the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society—an organization and network of like-minded producers that proved instrumental in the Jacobsons’ survival as organic farmers. “We shared our successes and failures,” Terry says. “As a group we figured out how to adapt to natural conditions.”

Describing their learning process, Terry says, “You have to have a sense of humor about weeds. If you look at nature, there’s never only one type of growth in the field. You have to learn what the best rotation is to improve the soil texture.” The benefits of being chemical-free, however, are clear. “Kochia weeds are a big problem in this area. But that’s because farmers put a lot of nitrogen fertilizer in the ground and kochia thrives on nitrogen. Then they have to put more herbicides in to deal with the weeds. Kochia’s not a problem for us.”

The Jacobsons now grow certified sunflowers, organic wheat, oats, millet, and alfalfa on their 640-acre farm that was passed down to them by Janet’s mother. In addition to their crops, Janet and Terry raise hormone-free, grass-fed beef, and Janet raises 150 sheep for wool and wool clothing as well as lamb meat.

Janet explains why their farm has multiple income streams: “The market is so fickle. Our society values focusing and specializing so much that we limit our options, but if the market disappears, you have to be able to be flexible with what you have and be creative about finding another market.”

This philosophy of flexibility and creativity pervades Janet’s wool business. Seven years ago, when the price for wool dropped so low that it failed to cover the cost of shearing the sheep, Janet and her friend Diane Schill became partners and started a business now called North Dakota Woolly Girls. “We started slowly,” explains Janet. “We didn’t want to borrow money to try this, so we started spreading the word and experimenting.”

They now run the only commercial wool processing facility in North Dakota—in a 1200- square-foot room in a building owned by the Schills. Janet and Diane process the raw wool, sell rolled balls of wool for yarn, and press wool into felt they sell in sheets or sew into clothing and crafts for sale through art galleries.

“We’ve had to be creative. Some things we’ve done certainly have not been the easiest way—but they were the cheapest way!” laughs Janet. “We’ve made equipment. Diane’s husband Dennis is very creative at putting things together for us. Our 1930’s carding machine—named Ethel—has parts of a John Deer combine on it!”

The North Dakota Woolly Girls have also been careful not to specialize: “If it can be made out of wool, we can do it,” Janet says. She and Diane have been very deliberate about not growing it into a large business. “It’s an integrated part of the whole farm system,” she explains.

Marketing directly to consumers is also important to the Jacobsons. “That’s especially true for meat,” says Terry. “It’s very rewarding to us to sell direct. We have customers who have bought from us for ten years. They want to know how our animals are doing and ask for stories about the animals. They appreciate the choices we’ve made and understand the philosophy behind the food they’re buying. Our customers prefer to eat our meat knowing that I say goodbye to the animals when I leave them at the local locker plant for slaughtering. I know that the animal’s whole life on our farm has been as good as I can possibly make it.”

Despite their unorthodox methods, the Jacobsons have been well accepted by their neighbors. They were both raised in the community; Janet served on the school board, the hospital board, and the justice committee of the Eastern Synod of the Lutheran Church, and Terry was a Farmers Union chairman. Over the years, they have won respect for living out their convictions.

Now, sustainable agriculture is increasingly catching farmers’ attention. Twenty years ago, a couple dozen farmers showed up at the first meeting of organic farmers in North Dakota. At a recent meeting, over 300 farmers attended, and in 1997, North Dakota had over 90,000 acres in organic crop production. Today, North Dakota is the number one state in production of organic grains and is third in the dollar value of organic production.

The Jacobsons, meanwhile, are forging ahead with a household that complements their farm. They grow the vegetables and raise the meat they eat. They have a goat for their milk, and they swap extra goat’s milk with a neighbor for farm-raised eggs. In order to decrease their dependence on fuel oil, they recently added a wood stove. Water pipes in the floor of their home provide efficient heating. Future projects include solar collectors and a greenhouse on the south side of the house.

“We keep looking for ways to embody our values in our daily lives,” Terry concludes, his eyes darting around the room, as he imagines still other ways to enrich and sustain their farm, their lives, and the North Dakota landscape.