08/19/08 Vermeer family farm, part two

Derrick VerMeer is a Canyon County farmer working next to his Dad Norman and brother Mike's dairy. DERRICK "We work together with manure management and what not and I grow crops and sell them back to the dairy, plus other crops." Derrick is farming 750 acres today, a far cry from a start 15 years ago with a six acre pumpkin patch to serve Winco and Waremart stores. DERRICK "Now we are up to about 30 acres with the growing of Winco in the valley. We have had a lot of fun with that with, its kind of a good family project out picking pumpkins. The kids go out with me to deliver loads and what not." Derrick grows the feed for the dairy along with a crop of sugar snap fresh peas. His alfalfa feeds the livestock which in turn provide his fertilizer. DERRICK "One of the best things to help me hold my expenses down is the manure off the dairy. Just the organic matter and the nitrogen and what now and putting it on the fields helps me save quick a bit on fertilizer." With his own spreader trucks he has crews working year round while the VerMeer dairy is shipping out 75 thousand pounds of milk every day to a Nampa processing plant. The VerMeers say they all work together, communicate, get the kids involved and do what's best for the family and their community. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott