The Local "Green" Pioneers
Hartzler Family Dairy and Ice Cream Shop
Vendors at the Downtown Wooster Farmers' Market.
Acres Used for Organic Production in Ohio in 2007. 1 dot = 250 acres.
Wayne County is a very early proponent of sustainable agriculture. The question of farming sustainably began to surface nationally in the late 1970s, but it was only until 1990 that the Congress established national standards for organic foods production.1 However, some farmers in the area had been practicing sustainable agriculture long before any of that. Harold Hartzler, who later ran Hartzler Family Dairy, had stopped using chemical pesticides, herbicides, and artificial growth hormones as early as 1964.2 By this time, out of 2398 farms in Wayne County3, 1850 were using agricultural chemicals.4
The Autumn Harvest Farm was one of the first farms in the area to be certified organic in 1996,5 followed by the Muddy Fork Farm in 1997.6 2002 saw the beginning of the burgeoning shift to organic production by many farms and operations. The number has grown from a dozen in 2002 to more than 130 certified organic farms and businesses in Wayne County in 2017.7 Wayne County has the largest acreage of organic production in Ohio.8 Sustainable growth remains steady as environmental issues become more pressing and demand increases for organically and locally grown produce. The success of local farmers, particularly those committed to sustainable agricultural techniques, depends on support from the community.
1 Kirschenmann, Frederick. "A brief history of sustainable agriculture." The networker 9, no. 2 (2004): 9-2.
2 "Harold Hartzler - Hartzler Family Dairy," Hartzler Family Dairy, 2011, accessed June 5, 2017, http://hartzlerfamilydairy.com/about-hartzlers/harold-hartzler.
3 USDA Census of Agriculture, "Table 6. Farms by Tenure, Off-Farm Wor, and Age of Operator, and by Type, Economic Class, and Value of Products Sold: 1964 and 1969," accessed June 9, 2017, http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/AgCensusImages/1964/01/10/725/Table-06.pdf.
4 USDA Census of Agriculture, "Table 8. Farm Equipment and Facilities, Hired Workers, and Use of Agricultural Chemicals: 1964 and 1959," accessed June 9, 2017.
5 “Autumn Harvest Farm,” Autumn Harvest Farm, accessed June 5, 2017, http://autumn-harvest-farm.com/index.html.
6 “Muddy Fork Farm,” Muddy Fork Farm, accessed June 5, 2017, http://muddyforkfarmcom.ipage.com/.
7 “Organic INTEGRITY Database,” United States Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Marketing Service, accessed June 5, 2017, https://organic.ams.usda.gov/Integrity/.
8 USDA Census of Agriculture, "Table 42. Organic Agriculture: 2012," accessed July 6, 2017, https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/Ohio/st39_2_042_042.pdf.