STEWARDSON - Because of digestion problems, Marsha Grubb of Shelbyville doesn't want to eat anything without knowing what's in it.

"I try not to eat processed foods," she said. "Iwant to see how something's made before Ibuy it."

Her quest took her Thursday to the award-winning Triple S Farms near Stewardson, along with more than 50 other people participating in the second of six sustainable agriculture tours of small farms organized by the University of Illinois Extension.

The appeal of Stan Schutte's diversified organic operation, however, went beyond the potential health benefits.

David Shelton, who raises corn and soybeans conventionally on 700 acres near Bethany, said he admires Schutte's independence from chemical companies - and his success.

"This guy's right on the money," Shelton said. "Have you tasted his beef? You've never tasted beef until you've eaten his."

Schutte told tourgoers that natural or organic farming offers entrepreneurs a way to break into farming without being born into it.

"It's a lot of work, but I think it's worth it," he said "This is the new wave of agriculture."

He himself started changing over his 200-acre operation a decade ago after hog prices crashed and today raises organic corn, soybeans, wheat and oats, while his 20-year-old son Ryan grows an organic line of produce that includes asparagus, beets, green beans, lettuce, onions, peppers, popcorn, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn and watermelon.

Stan Schutte also raises hogs, cattle, chicken and eggs, and Ryan Schutte has turkeys in the fall, all of which they plan to begin marketing as organic after they and six other farms open a multi-species processing plant near Mattoon with a retail store for their Family Farms Meats next spring.

To be certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, crops must be grown on land that has had no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides applied for at least three years. Organic meats come from animals that have been fed an organic diet, given no antibiotics or hormones and processed a certain way, with no preservatives added.

On Thursday, tourgoers saw the farm's livestock and produce operations on the 80 acres around the Schutte family home on Neoga Road.

Moveable range shelters for Stan Schutte's pullets, made out of portable carports with the legs cut off, was the first stop and a good example of how he avoids buying costly equipment that would negate his profit.

He said he moves the shelters to fresh clover at least every other day and shuts the pullets inside at night to protect them from predators. He also grazes his cattle in the very same pasture.

"I don't pasture our swine yet, but I plan to try a few this summer," Schutte said.

He wasn't sure how much less grain his pullets eat, but Paul Gebhart, president of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, estimated a 5 to 10 percent reduction.

The alliance was among the sponsors of Thursday's tour.

On the way to the produce fields farther back from Neoga Road, tourgoers saw a soybean field that had barely sprouted because of a string of rainy forecasts earlier this year.

"Ideally you don't want it to rain for seven days after you've planted so the crop can get a head start over the weeds," Schutte said. "You also want to plant corn late so the neighbor's corn won't cross-pollinate it."

The farm's two produce fields are rotated from year to year between vegetables and oats or clover to keep the soil nutritionally balanced and cut down on weeds and disease, and Ryan Schutte pointed out the unique scarecrow he used to keep deer out of his lettuce - a post with a pair of his underwear and two pie pans on it.

The younger Schutte also explained how he staggers planting his vegetables so he has produce to sell all summer and how he cultivates between the rows with a tiller and between the plants with a hoe.

"It's time-consuming, big time," he said, "but what you get out of it is what you put into it."

His father added that potatoes are a good crop for them because they're something most people eat at least once a day. "The best way to start is to produce what people want to eat," he said.

He also talked about the old cultivator he bought for $25 that allows them to plant potatoes faster when used in combination with the cultivator they already had.

Stan Schutte said he may be working harder at farming now than he did as a conventional farmer, but he no longer has to work another job off the farm to make a living either.

"You don't just get on a tractor and drive, but I like what I'm doing, so my work is my vacation," he said.

Dave Benhoff, who raises cattle near Ramsey, said he could see how labor intensive alternative farming is but still enjoyed touring an organic farm.

"I'd never been to one before," he said. "You can always learn something."

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.