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Bob Quinn
Big Sandy, Montana
SUMMARY
 Organically
grown wheat -khorasan, durum, hard red winter and soft white -
on 4,000 acres
Buckwheat,
barley, flax, lentils, alfalfa and peas
Processing
and direct-marketing of organic grain
BACKGROUND
Soon after Bob Quinn took over the fourth-generation, 2,400-acre
family ranch in 1978, he established a wheat buying/brokering company
to increase his earnings through direct marketing. With a partner
in California, Quinn began marketing the farm's high-quality, high-protein
wheat to whole grain bakeries in the early 1980s. When the demand
was greater than they could supply, Quinn began buying and marketing
wheat from his neighbors.
As Quinn became more deeply involved in the grain aspect of his
business, he decided to sell his cattle and rent out the 700 acres
of pastureland. In 1985, Quinn built a flour mill 50 miles from
the farm and called the new company Montana Flour & Grains (MFG).
"I started getting requests at my flour mill for organic grain,"
Quinn recalls. "I was always interested in growing my own fertilizer
and reducing herbicides and fertilizers."
He experimented with growing legumes like alfalfa, peas, clover
and black medic to meet his soil nitrogen needs and, with successful
results, moved the whole farm to organic production by 1989. Now
he remains reliant on those "green manure" crops to provide
the fertility for two or three subsequent cash crops in his four-
to five-year rotation.
PROFITABILITY
Quinn sells all his grain through MFG, which he recently sold to
one of the employees. About one half of the farm's production goes
to Europe, including most of the khorasan wheat (marketed under
the brand name of Kamut), all of the buckwheat and lentils, and
some of the hard red winter and spring wheat. Quinn travels annually
to food shows throughout the nation as well as in Europe and Japan
to promote the Kamut brand wheat and organic agriculture.
Quinn receives premium prices, which average about 50 percent more
than conventional prices, for his grain. Even with the organic certification,
however, Quinn needs to raise top-quality products to receive the
premium price.
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES
Quinn's well-managed rotation disrupts insect, disease and weed
cycles and builds soil quality - while producing a high-quality
organic crop. He regularly scouts the fields, looking for insects,
disease and weeds - each of which he manages strategically.
Quinn focuses on increasing the nutrient quality of the soil, following
the adage, "feed the soil, not the plant." He addresses
the root causes of disease and plant problems, rather than waiting
and treating the symptoms that show up in the fields. Quinn's efforts
reap an environmental benefit, resulting in more fertile soil with
less water and wind erosion, as well as a financial benefit.
"What we're really trying to do is focus on understanding
the whole system and have a rotation that provides weed and pest
management and quality crop production," Quinn says.
COMMUNITY, OUTREACH, QUALITY OF LIFE
In an effort to contribute to the revitalization of rural America
in 1996, Quinn rented a neighboring farm and took on a partner,
which brought a new farm family back to the land.
"Organic farming has certainly been more fun and more profitable
than conventional farming," he says. "It's made me a better
farmer because I'm forced to really study and learn what's going
on with my fields, my crops, and weeds and diseases."
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