Through organic and commercial farming we help feed the world.
Farming is in our Roots
The Land
The farm was first homesteaded by Alanson Kinney arriving in 1873, farming about 65 acres of crops with the final homestead certificate #4331, application #5569, filed May 10, 1882 in Neligh, NE. Since 1885, this quarter section of rich soil in northeast Nebraska near Elgin has sustained four generations of the same family through good times, floods, droughts, insects, hail, and all kinds of weather events.
Soil types are mostly Moody Silty Clay Loam and some Crofton-Nora Complex. It started as an organic farm and remained that way for many years until the early 2000’s. Pivot irrigation was developed in 2004 and uses water from the Ogallala Aquifer located only 70 feet below the ground.
This parcel of land is again being brought back into organic production with USDA organic certification beginning in 2020 with corn through the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) certifier. In 2021, corn, soybeans, and alfalfa were certified organic.
The People
George Alderson and his wife Etta first worked the land from 1885 until his death in 1948. His son, Fred, built another small house on the farm in 1924 and farmed with his father until his untimely death in 1931. His youngest daughter, Leah Schuchardt and her husband, Chester, (middle couple in picture) moved into Fred’s home and they farmed it from 1931 to the mid-1950’s. Leah lived on the farm until her death in 1995 and was 98 years old at the time. Leah’s son, Bill and wife, Lois, continued farming in the mid-1950’s, raised four children and farmed it until his death in 2003.
Now Bill and Lois’ eldest son, Rick and wife Jane rotate organic crops of corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Rick and Jane’s youngest son, Philip, is the fifth generation to work the land.
2024 Organic Crop Expectations
- 38 ac of organic soybeans
- 110 ac of organic alfalfa
- 260 ac commercially farmed
