In 1990, the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO), a non-profit organization based in Montana, took a lead in the state helping farmers take charge of their own future. AERO started the Farm and Ranch Improvement Clubs program, designed to help agricultural producers learn more sustainable methods of farming and ranching.

Although the land grant universities at the time weren't researching sustainable agriculture techniques such as crop rotations or Holistic Resource Management, the farmers in AERO's membership had questions they wanted answered. They were also willing to take charge of on-farm research and development. With the help of small grants (up to $800), technical assistance and organizing help from AERO, farmers formed clubs to design and implement projects of their own choosing.

Jan Tusick selling organic garlic

Jan Tusick is a certified organic farmer in western Montana's spectacular Mission Valley, growing organic vegetables, garlic and grain, and raising Coopworth sheep for wool and lambs. Without the Farm Club she belonged to, Jan recalls, "I never would have known about a lentil farmer in Eastern Montana who was using black medic as a rotation crop – an alternative to fallow farming. When I began using it, I was able to build my soil over time rather than seeing it dry up and blow away during fallow."

"Farmers are solving difficult problems right in their own fields," Jan says. "Some are very innovative in how they approach things, and are able to communicate that to other farmers much more easily than researchers can explain their experiments. Farmers understand each other – they are the ones doing the work. They need to network with each other. As a non-profit, AERO was able to help by acting as a bridge for communication and a catalyst for action. They have been able to take a real need farmers have and give it support, infrastructure, and capital. It’s a tremendous opportunity for farmers to learn from each other."

AERO's program began in 1990 with six farm improvement clubs made up of about 35 families. Since then, 150 self-initiated, organized and led clubs involving over 500 farm and ranch families have researched on-farm practices, marketing, processing, consumer education and ways to add value to their crops. One group formed a marketing cooperative in 1992.

The clubs have proven to be a powerful way of promoting institutional, social, policy, and leadership changes. Public events hosted by clubs include farm tours and field days, workshops and seminars – all providing opportunities for the public to see and learn from what farmers are doing.

AERO staff serve as the hub of a network of clubs statewide, facilitating communication and learning between clubs. They host an annual gathering of all the clubs, where farmers describe what they're doing and learning, what problems and obstacles they've run into, and what new questions are emerging.

Over and over, club members report shedding the feelings of isolation, and sometimes embarrassment, that come with breaking from convention. As Clint Peck, editor of the Montana Farmer-Stockman has observed, "I think a lot of that has to do with people sharing ideas and realizing you're not a fruitcake if you're out there trying to do something from a standpoint of conservation - because people are working together. It is a lot easier to do things if you've got two or three people to support you."

Jan can confirm Peck's observation from her direct experience. "When we formed a farmer club in this area, it brought together farmers who had been neighbors for years but had never worked together before. Although our club has evolved and become less active, the relationships still exist among the farmers. This sense of community is one of the most important benefits of the AERO program. We have a lot more cooperation within the community – equipment sharing, buying and trading with each other."

For example, Jan buys hay from her neighbor. He's not certified organic, so she cannot certify her lambs and sell the meat as organic. "But I believe it's more sustainable to keep the exchange within the community, so I'm willing to take a little less for my sheep." She also farms her upper 20 acres with another farmer who, while not an organic farmer, understands and respects the organic status and works with her practices.

Jan and her fellow farmers demonstrate how working together can bring remarkable benefits to farmers. "For years, farmers around here have been talking about processing and marketing some of their food together. AERO helped us take this concept and develop it into the Mission Mountain Marketing project. What's exciting is that the local Economic Development Council has picked up on the idea, and is recognizing agriculture as essential to economic development."

"The project is in its second year – we are building a shared-use community kitchen and a regional marketing plan for the products we produce. In the long-run we are looking to develop a processing center for larger volume production, with capacity for juicing, dehydration, etc. Although this has moved to another level of economic development, the essential seed was planted from a small group of farmers. Around the state, people are watching this project, considering it a pilot for adding value to agricultural products – which is now a statewide priority. Through AERO, farmers were the catalyst."

Jan says enthusiastically, "this program demonstrates how the hope and vision of a small group of individuals can change lives, farms and communities."

Jan Tusick
Alternative Energy Resources Organization
6197 Paulson Lane
Polson, MT 59860
Tel: (406) 883-4093
glenwood@digisys.net

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