By Beth Waage
Amy Bruch is a sixth-generation farmer and president of Cyclone Farms in York, Nebraska. In 2021, she was recognized as the Organic Farmer of the Year by the Organic Trade Association and is the current chair of the National Organic Standards Board.
She started her farming career working to build and balance poor soils in Brazil. Amy and her husband moved back to the family farm in 2012, when her father passed away, and began transitioning their 2,500 irrigated acres to organic in 2017.
Their rotations hinge on the ability to build soil while also balancing the need to find viable markets and secure crop insurance for the chosen rotational crops. They primarily grow food-grade white and yellow corn, blue corn, seed corn, hard red winter wheat, yellow field peas, oats, alfalfa, canola, sunflowers and food-grade soybeans.
Intentional Soil Balancing is the Key
Amy uses a variety of tools to get the data she needs to implement a soil health plan. In 2016, Cyclone Farms rented a Veris electrical conductivity mapping machine to analyze each acre and get an in-depth view of the soil.
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