At the heart of the Finger Lakes, and perhaps somewhat protected from the faster outer world by those long lakes, Yates County has come to be a leading area for organic farming in the nation. Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist Judson Reid says, “Yates County is a leader in organic farming because we are a leader in farming. Our soils, lakes, and positive political climate for agriculture help the county.”
Reid also says, “We have some outstanding people in the county that are national leaders in the field.” It is impossible to talk about the growth and success of organic farming in Yates County without recognizing Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens as two of those leaders. Their farm and mill, Lakeview Organic Grains, along with their advocacy and support of other farmers, have been the linchpin in the progress for the organic farm industry in Yates, in the Finger Lakes, in New York and beyond. For 20 years, they have raised not only organic crops, but the consciousness of the community to the benefits of organic farming, both for health and the economy.
According to Reid, “Lakeview Organic Grain is known throughout the Northeast. Their customers come to buy grains, but then take advantage of the other ag businesses in the county, for example irrigation supplies, the produce auction, Birkett Mills, tractor sales and service. Lakeview is often outsiders’ introduction to Penn Yan and Yates County.”
A Wild Idea
Both Martens are Cornell graduates; Klaas growing up on the dairy and crop farm of his German immigrant parents here in Yates County, while Mary-Howell came to farming from a purely science-based perspective, after working in plant research for Cornell’s Geneva Experiment Station. They began when they saw a want ad in “Country Folks” magazine for organic wheat.
According to the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, the term “organic” can be used to label products when farmers and food processors follow the federal regulations comprising the National Organic Program. Organic farming methods emphasize soil health, biological, insect and disease control, and natural fertilizers. The Martens devoted just a few of their 500 acres, normally producing corn, soybeans, and hay, to the wild idea. But it was a wild idea that would add tremendous value to each ton of wheat. That attraction was balanced by the fear of reduced yield. Klaas was told organic farming was not practical on a large scale, and he would lose half his crop.
Those fields went without chemical sprays or fertilizers for 32 months before that first wheat crop could be certified as organic in 1993, and the dire prediction of failure proved false. But Klaas was an expert in spray technology, and continued using chemical technology on his best land. “I was scared to stop,” said Martens. That was at least until 1995, when something scared him more. He returned from a day of spraying 24D herbicide only to suddenly find his left arm was paralyzed. According to Klaas, 24D is a neurotoxin otherwise known as Agent Orange. Only by the help of family and neighbors were the Martens able to continue during the months it took him to recover the use of his arm.
Martens recalled the deaths of farmers in the area from cancer, few of them in his memory ever reaching old age, including his own father. Now with the health of their own three young children to consider, the Martens made the leap of faith and crossed the ideological river to the side of full organic farming. Rather than relying on a short rotation of just a few crops with massive applications of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, the Martens achieve high yields with longer rotations of a greater variety of crops (including special grains never seen before in Yates County), along with the pasturing of animals to graze upon and fertilize the field. The elimination of the chemicals also means the return of the lowly earthworm that Klaas credits for much of the soils’ renewed natural vitality.
A recent study from Stanford University claimed that there is no nutritional benefit to paying the added cost for organic foods. Mary-Howell Martens has examined the study in detail, saying it is a meta-study, using results compiled from other studies, and the results were skewed. Klaas Martens stresses the health of the food as a direct result of the health of the soil. “You can smell the earth again in organic fields. Chemically treated soil doesn’t smell like anything.” Rather than over-applying fertilizer because much of it will be lost to leaching and erosion, Klaas says that the organic nutrients remain in a stable cycle in the soil, released in a timely order.
At the heart of the Finger Lakes, and perhaps somewhat protected from the faster outer world by those long lakes, Yates County has come to be a leading area for organic farming in the nation. Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist Judson Reid says, “Yates County is a leader in organic farming because we are a leader in farming. Our soils, lakes, and positive political climate for agriculture help the county.”
Reid also says, “We have some outstanding people in the county that are national leaders in the field.” It is impossible to talk about the growth and success of organic farming in Yates County without recognizing Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens as two of those leaders. Their farm and mill, Lakeview Organic Grains, along with their advocacy and support of other farmers, have been the linchpin in the progress for the organic farm industry in Yates, in the Finger Lakes, in New York and beyond. For 20 years, they have raised not only organic crops, but the consciousness of the community to the benefits of organic farming, both for health and the economy.
According to Reid, “Lakeview Organic Grain is known throughout the Northeast. Their customers come to buy grains, but then take advantage of the other ag businesses in the county, for example irrigation supplies, the produce auction, Birkett Mills, tractor sales and service. Lakeview is often outsiders’ introduction to Penn Yan and Yates County.”
A Wild Idea
Both Martens are Cornell graduates; Klaas growing up on the dairy and crop farm of his German immigrant parents here in Yates County, while Mary-Howell came to farming from a purely science-based perspective, after working in plant research for Cornell’s Geneva Experiment Station. They began when they saw a want ad in “Country Folks” magazine for organic wheat.
According to the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, the term “organic” can be used to label products when farmers and food processors follow the federal regulations comprising the National Organic Program. Organic farming methods emphasize soil health, biological, insect and disease control, and natural fertilizers. The Martens devoted just a few of their 500 acres, normally producing corn, soybeans, and hay, to the wild idea. But it was a wild idea that would add tremendous value to each ton of wheat. That attraction was balanced by the fear of reduced yield. Klaas was told organic farming was not practical on a large scale, and he would lose half his crop.
Those fields went without chemical sprays or fertilizers for 32 months before that first wheat crop could be certified as organic in 1993, and the dire prediction of failure proved false. But Klaas was an expert in spray technology, and continued using chemical technology on his best land. “I was scared to stop,” said Martens. That was at least until 1995, when something scared him more. He returned from a day of spraying 24D herbicide only to suddenly find his left arm was paralyzed. According to Klaas, 24D is a neurotoxin otherwise known as Agent Orange. Only by the help of family and neighbors were the Martens able to continue during the months it took him to recover the use of his arm.
Martens recalled the deaths of farmers in the area from cancer, few of them in his memory ever reaching old age, including his own father. Now with the health of their own three young children to consider, the Martens made the leap of faith and crossed the ideological river to the side of full organic farming. Rather than relying on a short rotation of just a few crops with massive applications of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, the Martens achieve high yields with longer rotations of a greater variety of crops (including special grains never seen before in Yates County), along with the pasturing of animals to graze upon and fertilize the field. The elimination of the chemicals also means the return of the lowly earthworm that Klaas credits for much of the soils’ renewed natural vitality.
A recent study from Stanford University claimed that there is no nutritional benefit to paying the added cost for organic foods. Mary-Howell Martens has examined the study in detail, saying it is a meta-study, using results compiled from other studies, and the results were skewed. Klaas Martens stresses the health of the food as a direct result of the health of the soil. “You can smell the earth again in organic fields. Chemically treated soil doesn’t smell like anything.” Rather than over-applying fertilizer because much of it will be lost to leaching and erosion, Klaas says that the organic nutrients remain in a stable cycle in the soil, released in a timely order.
