Chris and Tara Hoffner Family (continued)

By the time 2004 rolled in, the earlier losses and the debt were taking their toll. Chris figured he had three options: get big, get out, or do something different. The idea of getting out made him sick. "I'm the third generation on this farm," Chris says. "I was not going to be the one to lose it." About that time they got a letter from Organic Valley asking if they thought organic dairy would work in their area. Chris thought, no way. But he went to a meeting anyway of other farmers in the region and once he got more information, he thought heck yes, we could do this! The Hoffner's had already been rotational grazing since the early 90's. "Truth is," Chris says, "my parents had already been pushing towards organic."

Still, Tara points out, she and Chris were skeptical at first. "We were really worried about losing one of these cows if she got sick and we couldn't treat her with standard drugs. So before we went organic we decided to test some of the alternative treatment options. We used aloe vera juice and garlic tincture and it worked really well. Some folks think it's the craziest thing ever, but people always tend to poke fun at things they don't understand. Now that I understand what it's all about, I firmly agree with it. My garden is organic. I would rather eat an ear of corn with a worm on it that one without it that had been grown with chemicals. That experience Chris had with the poisoned cows really speaks volumes."

And Tara feels safer without all those chemicals in her home environment. "When I drive to town and pass somebody spraying their fields, I roll up my windows, turn off the ventilation, and hold my breath until I get past. I think we're going to have a big backlash against all the stuff we've been doing to our world." Chris says it took his granddad a little longer to come around to organic. "But now that they're getting more exposure to it in society in general and seeing it on Oprah, they're more comfortable with it. Some farmers think we're crazy and we're going to have nothing but weeds, but when I go to town and hear from the consumers, they're all for it. They want organic."

Meanwhile, there's a lot of work to do on the Hoffner's organic farm. Occasionally, they get part time help from local high school students. Most fortunately, for the past 7 years, they've had the steady help of Jorge Cornejo, who is practically a member of the family. "We met him through friends in town. He had no farming experience, but he picked up everything instantly. He's extremely talented. If it wasn't for Jorge," Chris says, "we wouldn't be able to do what we do."