BELMOND — For Kenn Jenkins, organic agriculture is not just a niche within farming. It is a highly regulated, fast-evolving part of the industry that requires deep knowledge, careful planning and a willingness to manage risk.
As owner of PEAK Ag Solutions in Belmond, Jenkins works with organic farmers on everything from field decisions and recordkeeping to certification and grain marketing. He started the business in 2022 after a previous consulting company closed.
“I started doing consulting with another company and when they decided to call it quits I started PEAK Ag Solutions to continue working with the same clients,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins built his professional background through agronomy. He graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor of science degree in agronomy, with a soils focus. Early in his career, he sold chicken manure as a primary fertilizer, work that introduced him to organic growers and opened the door to a side of agriculture that would eventually become his specialty.
Since launching PEAK Ag Solutions, Jenkins said the business has changed along with the needs of the producers he serves.
“When I first started we were trying to convince people to convert part or all of their farm to organics, today we have operations that have been organic for 10 plus years coming to us asking for help for different reasons. Some need help with records, while others are looking for help marketing grain,” he said.
That shift reflects a broader maturation in the organic sector, where farmers are not only interested in transitioning acreage, but also in refining and strengthening operations that have already been organic for years.
Jenkins said PEAK Ag Solutions is built around four core service areas: organic expertise, recordkeeping, certification support and marketing.
The first pillar, he said, is practical guidance on what producers can and cannot do under organic standards, where to source inputs and how to think about crop rotations. The second is maintaining organized farm records that comply with National Organic Program and U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations.
The third involves creating the organic system plan, filing it with the certifying body and helping growers through annual audits and follow-up questions. The fourth is marketing, including market insights that help farmers understand industry conditions and the factors affecting grain prices.
Jenkins said organic farming differs from conventional production in some fundamental ways.
“It means we can’t use synthetic products to produce our crops and must use naturally mined products that haven’t gone under further processing that changes the chemical makeup,” he said.
For farmers considering a transition, Jenkins said the biggest hurdle is often risk.
“The most challenging part of transitioning to organic is the risk,” he said. “Your crop insurance coverage drops significantly and if you have a complete failure the insurance won't be able to cover all of the losses. Otherwise the challenge comes from learning to manage weeds without chemistry.”
Still, Jenkins believes the benefits of organic farming go beyond premiums or production methods. He said it also changes how growers interact with their land.
“Transitioning is not just for the land but the mindset of the operator,” he said. “When you're in your fields as often as the farmers we work with, you start to learn about your fields from another perspective and start to see the real science and art of how your decisions impact you.”
He described organic agriculture as, in some ways, a return to older farming methods.
“It's going back to an older way of farming but with improved genetics, equipment, and studies that keep our yields in line with conventional,” Jenkins said.
As the 2026 planting season gets underway, Jenkins said timing is one of the biggest considerations for the producers he works with.
“For us it is about timing right now,” he said. “It’s hard to be a farmer and see your neighbors in the fields, but we delay planting.”
Rather than pushing to plant early, Jenkins said organic growers often wait until soil temperatures reach 60 degrees. That patience helps seed emerge more uniformly with less disease risk, allows an initial flush of weeds to be cultivated out and reduces the chance of cross-contamination by pushing pollination later than neighboring conventional fields.
“Stay on the course and be patient and the results will show for it,” he said.
The company’s name reflects its family roots. Jenkins said each letter in PEAK represents a member of his family: Paisley, Evie, Ashly and Kenn, with “Solutions” added to reflect the role the business plays for organic farmers and processors.
For Jenkins, one of the most rewarding parts of building the business in Belmond has been the chance to represent a side of agriculture that many people do not fully understand.
“We get to correct a lot of misconceptions people have about what organic farming is,” he said.
Those misconceptions, he said, often overlook just how tightly organic production is regulated.
“One thing that I wish people understood is that organic agriculture is highly regulated,” Jenkins said. “Everything we do, from the inputs, our rotation, field activities or who we sell to is audited more tightly than you would ever dream and that is why it is the most protected and trusted seal in the food industry.”
Looking ahead, Jenkins said PEAK Ag Solutions plans to continue growing. The business has recently expanded into New York, Washington and Georgia, and he hopes to add more farm operations in the years ahead, including additional organic chicken operations and possibly dairies.
Even as the company expands beyond Iowa, Jenkins said its mission remains the same: helping organic producers navigate an industry that demands precision, compliance and trust.