LARRY BRINLEE/WTE Clint Jessen talks about the equipment he uses to harvest the organic products on the family's Jessen Wheat Company organic farm on Friday.

rep2@wyomingnews.com

Once the hallmark of specialty food shops, organic products now also can be found on the shelves at chain grocery stores.

Pine Bluffs resident Jessica Jessen said when she shops at stores like these, she keeps an eye out for the organic seal of approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"I feel safer feeding organic to my son and my family," she said.

SuperTarget and Safeway have introduced store-brand product lines, while Burger King announced that its eggs and pork will only come from cage-free animals.

With larger retailers getting in on the trend, there are more organic products to choose from.

"Anymore, you really have a choice, and you can afford to eat organic food," she added.

This market push also is creating new opportunities for Wyoming's agricultural producers.

When Jessen is scanning the store shelves for organic cereals and crackers, she might even be buying products with some of the wheat grown on the 8,000 acres of the Jessen Wheat Company in Laramie County.

She said after she and her husband, Clint, certified their business as "organic" in 2001, business increased 45 percent.

Companies like Kellogg's and Safeway buy truckloads of hard white winter wheat for bread, pasta and pizza crusts. Their organic alfalfa and millet hay feeds the cows on organic dairy farms in northern Colorado.

Burns farmer Dale Sandberg said his organic sunflowers are used in organic cooking oils, while food processors around the country buy organic wheat and oats in bulk for a variety of food products.

Clint Jessen said under the old business model, a farmer would take produce to a local cooperative to learn the going rate for that day. But with the popularity of organics, these farmers have a growing list of buyers.

"We've become the price-makers rather than the price-takers," he said.

He added that Wyoming's dry climate also lends itself to this type of agriculture. Heavy rainfall promotes weeds, while humidity can hinder wheat storage.

Clint Jessen said he keeps his fields natural with heavy tillage and organic apple vinegar to wipe out weeds.

Scott Zimmerman of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Cooperative Development Center said this trend is market-driven.

"Individuals who are willing to switch to organic have a new way to market their products," he said. "It's becoming more popular as consumers become more aware of what they eat and want to avoid fertilizers and chemicals."

Sandberg said becoming an organic grower made him pay more attention to the food he eats.

"We look where it's produced and lean toward domestic produce," he said.

Part of the reason for the success of organics is the strict standards.

Clint Jessen said an agriculture operation must be chemical-free for three years before it can even apply for USDA certification.

He added that his grandfather took pride in keeping the Jessen Wheat Company free of pesticides and herbicides, but in order to gain this status, the Jessens would have to prove it.

Jessica Jessen said the 30- to 45-page application covers everything from a farm's seeds and grain bins to its finances. Inspectors evaluate fields and machinery, sometimes taking soil samples as well.

Sandberg said every time an organic farmer tills the fields, it must be noted in a daily log.

Organic farmers also must be recertified every year and are subject to surprise inspections.

He said it's a record-intensive process, but he doesn't mind the extra work.

"I'm glad there are guidelines, and I'm glad they are enforcing them so that the integrity of organic production remains something that people can have confidence in," Sandberg said.

He doesn't give his cattle hormones or supplements, but he can only market these animals as "natural" beef.

Sandberg said it's a whole other process to get meat verified as organic, including confirming that everything going into the feed also is organic.

"As far as natural beef is concerned, I have not seen a price advantage," he said. "But maybe as consumers become more aware, they'll want beef that has not been fed growth stimulants and antibiotics."

He added that it took a pet food recall to make people pay attention to these product ingredients.

Clint Jessen said with the strict cataloging of organics, a supplier could trace a product directly back to the source, even identifying the field number.

But some buyers aren't interested in organic products for food. He said Heartland BioComposites in Torrington combines organic straw with milk jugs for eco-friendly fencing and building materials.

"(Organics) can stand up in the conventional market and have the same value," he said.