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Health worries, environmental concerns draw new converts to organic eating.
Byline: Marybeth Matzek
Aug. 22--SEYMOUR, Wis. -- Nine years ago, farmers Steve and Karen Keune took a bold step -- they went organic.
"We just felt we weren't getting the production. We also weren't too sure about using all these chemicals. It didn't feel right," Karen Keune said. "We weren't making money and had to do something different."
The Keunes abandoned the use of chemicals and sought other, more natural ways to cultivate their variety of crops, which include small vegetables, strawberries and raspberries. They sell the produce to local farmer markets, through a Community Sustained Agriculture group, as well as to local restaurants.
Across the country, organic farming is growing about 20 percent a year, said Paul Dietmann, who works with the University of Wisconsin-Extension in Sauk County as the agriculture agent. Farmers go organic for two reasons -- the premium prices that the products bring …
