Indiana Organic Grain Production: Cases to Consider

This report aims to provide guidance to farmers who are in the organic transition process or are interested in starting organic production by providing context-rich profiles of Indiana farmers who have recently been through the transition process. It summarizes the farmer-generated advice and common themes from a case study of five grain-farm operations (seven total farmers) in Indiana transitioning acres to certified organic production. The study took place over 2018-2021. The five farm operations were at different points in the organic transition process. Two were farming organic prior to the interviews and were transitioning additional acres over the course of the study: Andy Ambriole, a longstanding organic farmer, and an operation newer to organic, George Steiner & Kathy Reynolds. The other three operations – those of Clayton Ramsey, Jeff and Paul Herrold, and Josh Miller – were transitioning acres to organic for the first time and had certified organic acres by the end of the study.