Organic foods are a quickly growing market

The horde of cats that make their homes in Professional Proteins Ltd, are affectionately known by workers as the business's 'pest control team.'

To be able to offer their feed as organic, nothing inorganic, such as chemicals can be used on site in such a way it can get into the feed. This includes poisons used to combat mice. As she watches several cats crawl into boxes in her office, Beth Bennett, operations manager of Professional Proteins Ltd., in Washington, explains the cats freely roam the business as a way of controlling the mouse population.

'Certified organic means we don't use any kind of synthetic or chemicals in our feeds,' she said. 'Everything is mechanically processed and everything we use here is approved for use on organic livestock feed.'

Bennett regularly jokes that everyone in town has driven past the business' 2346 Highway 1 and 92 location, but few realize what is done there. She also said few people she has spoken with about the business realize just how many organic farms are run in the area. The business, which has been in the same location under the same ownership since 1994, specializes in certified organic livestock feed. She explained the business processes organic soybeans, grinds organic corn and mixes and blends premixed grains. Everything is certified organic.

The benefits of organic include the promotion of a healthier lifestyle, Bennett explained.

'People are becoming more concerned about their food supply,' she said. 'It all started with the country of origin labeling. They wanted to be able to know where food comes from. Now it has evolved to them wanting to know how it is grown or how it is processed. Organic food sales have increased over the last 20 ytears more than any other kind of food sales. There is a reason for that. People are more concerned about their food supply.'

She explained organic food is able to be traced back from the grocer's shelf to the farm it originated from as well as how it is processed.

The change to offering only organic feed started when the business was approached in 2001 by Radiance Dairy in Fairfield. The dairy producers ran an organic dairy herd and hoped to use extruded soybeans in the feed, but couldn't find any. At the time, Radiance hoped Professional Proteins Ltd. could provide organic extruded soy beans, which would be kept separate from the other orders. At the time organic was a niche that was only just beginning, but demand was increasing. The Iowa Department of Agriculture's organic program was just getting started at the time. Professional Proteins Ltd, worked with the state to form a certified organic plan and learned what was needed to be come certified.

Since making the change to all organic feed, Bennett has seen the market grow by leaps and bounds. Over the last 12 months, she has seen more growth in the market for organic feed than ever before. She said the future for organics in Washington looks 'fantastic.' Growth has been so steady, Professional Proteins Ltd, has had to add two more employees and a new feed truck recently, now boasting six full-time employees.

'People in this area don't seem to understand just how much organic agriculture is going on around here.' she said. 'There are lots of business around here that focus on organic.'

Organics are also taking up a greater share of shelf space in grocery stores. It may cost a little more, but think of what you are getting.'

Bennett said the organic corn and soybeans used in the Professional Proteins Ltd, process are all bought domestically. She believes the business is one of only a few in the country that can say no imports are used to create feed.

Professional Protein Ltd specializes in poultry feed. Bennett said there are many area poultry farms in the area, especially in Kalona and Bloomfield, that have organic farms. The business serves farmers from northeastern Missouri to Decorah. She called Washington a prime location to serve organic producers in the state of Iowa.

'There are a lot of organic eggs being laid up here in Kalona,' she said.