Although he retired from organic farming several years ago, Dave Welsch stays busy.
During a recent conversation with his wife, Deb, he counted the number of ways he spends his time: He sits on 10 committees and four subcommittees, he has been a member of the Milford Public School Board of Education for more than 26 years, and a country school board for seven years before that, plus he still helps out his farming tenant when he can.
“It’s nice to be retired,” Dave said. “I can prioritize the committees I choose to be on and make sure I’m there for it. I really enjoy it all.”
One of the ways he has served for the past several years is by sitting on the Center for Rural Affairs Advisory Committee.
“I grew up farming with my dad, my dad farmed with my grandpa; our farm has been handed down through generations,” Dave said. “When I was a kid in high school, my dad was connected with the Center. Marty Strange [co-founder and past co-director of the Center] was mentioned a lot in our household back then. That’s my earliest memory of the Center.”
Dave’s family operation, West Blue Farm, is south of Milford, Nebraska. After he and Deb got married in 1980, they moved into his grandparents’ house, a mile and a half south of where Dave grew up.
When Dave took over, the diversified farm didn’t look much different from his neighbors’ farms, except the fields were smaller to more easily establish rotation. The main crops were corn, wheat, beans, oats, and alfalfa. Eventually, Dave transitioned into a cow-calf operation, plus crops.
In 1990, instead of selling feeder calves, they held them back and finished the beef or made them into hamburger. They also raised broiler chickens, selling more than 6,400 in a year at one point. They continued raising them for 28 years before turning the direct marketing part over to their current tenant.
In 1993, West Blue Farm became certified organic.
“We didn’t do it for the money; there wasn’t much of a premium for organic crops back then,” Dave said. “We did it because of the philosophy of taking care of the soil, and we didn’t want our kids around chemicals.”
Their tenant kept the name West Blue Farm and still direct-markets beef, although he stepped away from chickens a few years ago because it was too difficult to find processing options. He also direct-markets pork, which Dave dabbled in for a few years as well.
In 2012, Dave and Deb received the Bob Steffen Pioneer Award from the Center. The award goes to those who work with the Center and make extraordinary contributions in building community engagement. People who receive the award offer a model for innovation, stewardship, or community development.
Several years later, Dave was asked to join the Center’s Advisory Committee. Committee members are recruited for their special backgrounds and insight into the Center’s program areas. They meet quarterly with the Board of Directors and Center staff.
“We attended the Center’s tours and workshops occasionally, and stayed connected with the organization,” said Dave. “We always enjoyed that, and receiving the award got us even more involved.”
He has been on the Advisory Committee since 2019 and said it offers him the opportunity to be on the forefront of sustainable and organic agriculture developments and to keep up with the Center’s lending programs and auditing process.
“I’m a numbers guy, so I liked being on the audit committee and seeing that side of things,” he said. “It’s great to be around people who care about the environment and care about the people who get the short end of the stick sometimes. The Center works to stand up for the little guy, especially small towns in rural Nebraska.”
The Center’s work and mission are important, as they provide services to a section of society not many reach out to, he said.
“The Center is a mentor to new business owners who are looking for education and training,” Dave said. “Staff work with lower income folks who want to start a business or buy their first home. They walk beside these people on their journey, and want them to be successful.”
Feature photo: Dave and Deb Welsch at 2024's Organic Transition Academy, hosted by the Center. | Photo by Kylie Kai
