Ferris Organic Farm, LLC

The Ferris family farm was established more than one hundred sixty years ago and was farmed organically until the early 1950’s. After that, the land was more often than not rented out, farmed chemically in a corn/bean rotation. By the early 1970’s the soil was lifeless and had the texture like concrete – Except one field! Too small and irregular for modern farming operations at the time, it remained a grassy ‘self seeded’ clover field. It was teeming with life and the most remarkable thing; a rustling sound of huge worms pulling pieces dry leaves into their holes. This experience of seeing the wealth of life in and above the soil had such an impact, that from that point on, we have strived to create and nurture life in the soil, ‘and above it’. Of course this obliged using organic methods. We got into organic farming in the 1970’s not for our own health reasons but for reasons of soil health. It turns out, unhealthy soils grow unhealthy plants that “scream out”* to disease and pests to take them.