Organic farmer has been elected as a U.S. Senator

Joe Tester, who is a third generation farmer from Montana, has been farming organically for nearly twenty years. In 2005, Mr. Tester and his wife were named outstanding agricultural leaders by the College of Agriculture at Montana State University. Their T-Bone Farms is an organic operation with almost 570 hectares.

As the goals of their company, the Testers confirmed their desire to produce high quality food with using environmentally sound farm practices. They also wish to improve soil health on their farm and to keep the farm in their family. This year, their crops include hard red wheat, hard white wheat, kamut, lentils and purple barley. Mr. Tester strongly believes in green manures. He served as the national treasurer for the Organic Crop Improvement Association International and helped developing the Montana Organic Certification program.

IFOAM Executive Director A. Caudle said that Mr. Tester’s understanding of soil ecology and the economics of organic production systems would bring a fresh perspective to the US Senate and contribute to the establishment of more sustainable agricultural programs.

www.ifoam.org