Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works

by Atina Diffley

A master class in organic farming, a lesson in entrepreneurship, a love story, and a legal thriller

In telling her story of working the land, Atina Diffley reminds us that we live in relationships—with the earth, plants and animals, families and communities. A memoir of making these essential relationships work in the face of challenges from weather to corporate politics, this is a firsthand history of getting in at the “ground level” of organic farming.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Gardening, Memoir, Environment, Biography, Agriculture

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Atina Diffley is an organic consultant (Organic Farming Works LLC), educator, public speaker, and writer. Until 2008, she and her husband Martin ran the Gardens of Eagan, one of the first certified organic produce farms in the Midwest. For reflections, tips and decision-making tools subscribe to her on-line blog, What Is A Farm.
http://atinadiffley.com/what-is-a-far...

Reviews

[Malena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect companion to this spring's catastrophic fire on our farm. It was written for me to love.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. Probably part of the reason I liked it so much was that it takes place in my backyard - I shop at some of the places Diffley mentions - and I remember the more recent history. But it was very informative about what it takes to run an organic farm - hard, hard work, and not just physically, it takes a lot of thought, planning, and knowledge. I appreciate organic produce a lot more now.

Funny that Koch Industries figures in this story, since they're so much in the political news these days. And I couldn't believe how much I started craving kale and corn-on-the-cob while reading. Hurry up, harvest.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too bad there aren't more stars since five are not enough to express how much I like this book. This is a book that I recommend everyone read. It's not just about an organic farmer. It is a well-crafted piece of writing that draws the reader in keeps your interest through every page. What a story for every woman to know about, a strong woman as farmer. The author's prose is enchanting. The stories woven in the chapters keep you, not just entertained but, enthralled.

[Mercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever want to be a farmer? Ever want to be an organic farmer? I am a hard sell when it comes to nonfiction, but I love this book. It's half memoir of a free spirit and organic farmer, and half about organic farming and the joys, difficulties, and impact.

[Pam Dawling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers a real-life organic vegetable farmer’s memoir. Normally, I look for inspiring reading during the winter, to refresh myself for the next farming season. This book, however, is a perfect mid-summer revival aid for farmers and gardeners flagging in the heat. It gives us perspective on our troubles as we read of Atina’s and husband Martin’s struggles with wild weather (hailstones the size of B potatoes!), continuous hard work, and land lost to developers and threatened by a pipeline. The immediacy of their powerful and tender story and Atina’s decision to stand up and become a leader for what she believes in gives us inspiration. We can feel validation of our work as organic vegetable growers as we read that 1¼ acres of kale can produce 182,000 servings, and if our marketing is as good as the Diffleys’, we can sell them all within 42 miles of the farm! Organic farming sequesters 15-28% more carbon than industrial farming, with a 33% reduction in fossil fuel use.
Atina and Martin owned and operated Gardens of Eagan (one of the first certified organic produce farms in the Midwest) from 1973-2007, so you can be sure Atina knows farming! Starting as a confused teenager (as many of us do), Atina grew into a strong, committed passionate leader of the organic farming movement. Her descriptions of the beauty, deep satisfaction, multiple stresses and sheer exhaustion of farming ring so true. She talks about the meaning in the daily life of organic farmers, of investing in the soil life, creating balance, seeing the potential of each field, and bringing that out. “Dirt is just soil that’s out of place. Soil has structure. Dirt does not.”
Early in the book, you might wonder if she’ll ever make it as a farmer, but her determination and perseverance, and the quality of attention she brings to what happens on the farm ensure her success, and our gripping reading. The Diffley family farm is lost to developers, who carve and churn up the soil even while Atina, Martin, their two children and their crew rush to harvest their crops. They decide to piece together a farm from patches of land they buy and rent, until they find the perfect farm to buy. Being itinerant farmers is no easy choice, and requires exceptional organizational skills.
One of their organizational strengths comes from using Holistic Management tools learned at a workshop. She and Martin each write “quality of life” statements, answering the question “If we lived perfect lives, what would it look like?” Each winter they quit farming for a week, party and relax in clean clothes, with clean fingernails. Even talking about the weather is an “illicit act” during the Quitting Week. Then they state their goals for the year and recommit. When they farm again it is a conscious choice. Decisions have to fit their quality of life statements.
Atina says: “I have the same nightmare every winter. If I think about everything it takes to pull off a successful season, it seems impossible . . . [but] if we have a plan in place and I stay in the present, then the work is manageable. . . I just have to remember not to look too far ahead.” Exactly the same is true for me, maybe for you too.
One year they decide to simplify their crops and cut a deal where each picks a crop to drop. Goodbye to potatoes, onions, winter squash, leeks. Sort of. Atina admits that she and Martin then each sneak some winter squash in, unable to completely let go of the experience they have gained in growing this crop.
This amazing book also has gems of practical information embedded in the story, and they’re worth noting. Techniques include the use of farm micro-climates (the first place the purslane germinates is the best spot for early tomatoes and melons); moving flats of aphid-infested seedlings out into the center of a field of vetch for the day, to have the insects in the vetch feast on the aphids; accepting up to 50% defoliation of broccoli plants between the six-leaf stage and heading, because it will not decrease the yield; reducing the chance of aphid-vectored diseases in a squash planting by sowing a “toothbrush strip” of wheat around the perimeter (when the aphids chew on the wheat it cleans the viruses from their mouthparts, so the squash stay virus-free).
The farm grows in size and complexity each year, with a bigger work crew and more refrigerated trucks. They also develop a massive supportive community of consumers and produce retailers, which is to prove its worth as the story develops. When the Diffleys find their new farm, they can finally set the washing-line poles in concrete. But a big cloud comes over the perfect horizon – Koch Industries claim eminent domain to route their pipeline through their farm. Atina fights this, not just for their farm, but for other organic farmers too, establishing a protocol for safeguards to be taken if organic farm soil and wildlife habitat is disrupted.
The normal legal process for a farm trying to prevent a pipeline across their land involves proposing other people’s farms as possible alternative routes. This process divides us and causes each of us to need to compete with each other and fight individually. Atina Diffley created an Organic Appendix to the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Plan (AIMP) that is legally required when farmland is dsirupted. Atina and her legal team got the pipeline company to accept that (in the words of Dr Deborah Allen) “The losses to an organic vegetable farm from diminished soil quality are of a different character and order of magnitude than on a conventional crop farm.” Healthy soil is necessary for a successful organic farm. By creating this Organic Appendix and getting the pipeline company to accept it, Atina made something other organic farms could also use to prevent eminent domain devastation on their farms. It could also encourage other farms to transition to certified organic and benefit from the Appendix. Far from falling for the individual solution and fighting only for her farm, while further jeopardizing other farms, Atina found a way to unite with other organic farmers in fighting the assault.
This mixture of heart-breaking and encouraging is what makes the book so engaging. Atina tells us: “Every winter I do recover from the season’s exhaustion, but if I push too far, I won’t. As we age, personal balance will require more consistent time for renewal.” In keeping with her wisdom, after 35 years of farming, Atina and Martin retired from active farming to become educators and consultants about organic farming. See their website www.organicfarmingworks.com for more info.

[Stephanie Propson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so compelling. I learned a lot about organic farming and the history of Eagan. The Diffley family were dedicated stewards of the land and their story was incredible to read about. Glad I did,

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Deliciously lyrical.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Diffley isn’t just an author or an organic farmer; she certainly isn’t just a community-wired advocate for farmer’s rights and she sure isn’t just a grandma—she’s all of these things and a whole bushel-full more.

I think perhaps the best way to describe Turn Here Sweet Corn is to consider it in terms of a wind—a wind with all the power to knock you over and, at the same time, caress you with warmth. Everyone should experience this book; the writing will blow you away.

Atina, changed her name after caring for an amazing woman who played a crucial role in the force that’s Atina Diffley. Though now past away, Atina learned from her aged companion how to find strength in even the toughest times.

Author Diffley struggled through a difficult marriage but evolved into a loving partnership with one of the first people to actually see her; Martin Diffley. Through their relationship with not only the land, but all that it can provide, they created a world around a single belief; grow it and they will come.

Welcome to Garden’s of Eagan.

Like all gardens there are weeds—weeds with clever roots that can take over in a single season. But if you create a plan and embrace the weeds, anything is possible. Everything. Turn Here Sweet Corn is not just a memoir, it’s a thriller, it’s a romance and boy is it packed with mystery. And near the end (which is really the beginning) there’s a twist that will give you something we all yearn for; hope.

“In the morning, when I awake, my first thought is: You can soar. Always remember this.”

One of the many messages woven throughout Turn Here Sweet Corn is that organic farming is work. Endless, exhausting, consuming, work. Yet as each season brings new challenges and endless headaches not to mention threats of hail, bulldozers and a possible pipeline, Diffley faces them all with a courage that will surprise you. It’s her core belief that in the end, after all the crops are in and the harvest is done, it’s the land that should always have the final say.

“Someday our businesses and enterprises will cease to exist. They do not need to live eternally. But the land does. The land and nature are forever.”

It’s a rare combination when an author sets out to share her life through words that the words themselves become something else all together. When a story like this becomes a force that can carry you away, you know you’ve discovered something important.

And then there’s kale. Whenever things got a little whacky and Diffley felt her world was coming undone, (and it did many times) she went to the fields filled with kale and found the energy to move ahead. She’s discovered a new place to grow her truth, a new earth to care for and you’re invited.

Turn Here Sweet Corn will whisk you away in a wind you’ll never forget.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the history of Atina's and her husband's farm lives. However, I found the book very upsetting at times and had to put it down, and wasn't sure I wanted to pick it up again. I have lived in Eagan, and I have had a small garden in Eagan. I no longer live in MN, but visit every summer and every summer I am more and more upset by the urban sprawl, which is a huge issue in this book. I think this is a national issue that needs to have some political direction for the entire country. When do we decide to stop building on crucial farmland?
Once the author and her family suffered from urban sprawl and were able to move on the book became a lesson on adapting to change and finding success from hard work and fulfilling dreams. Some of the farm nomenclature became a bit much, but I found a renewed fondness and appreciation for organic food, which I give thanks to the author. I wish her family the best in their continuing evolution of their lives.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and warmly detailed, Atina Diffley's memoir of her family's life on an organic farm is surprisingly gripping, swooningly sensual, and touches the heart in its deepest recesses. All that - and hail, coyotes, beneficial pests, hairy vetch, and an inspiring depiction of what a determined woman backed by a community of organic eaters, food co-ops and neighbors can do to keep one of the world's largest corporations from building an oil pipeline across the farm.

You'll want to do the "Corn Dance" yourself, or at least, have an ear or six of sweet organic corn when you've finished this book.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read an amazing story with an amazing and compelling message - read this !

It juxtaposes conventional agriculture with organic and exposes just how ridiculously wrong our current food system is. The great thing is, there is no preaching, just recounting a farming history and it becomes obvious. I love the reverence this author has for food and how it grows.

[Ingridanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful work of art. I feel the same love of the earth from the writer as when I have read Barbara Kingsolver or Joan Goodall. I read this book as slow as I could although the line of people wanting to borrow my book was getting very long.....

[Doug Gentry]

Almost poetic story of the importance of local, organic food. Not too preachy - very inspirational.

[Cary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing page-turner. I never want to waste my vegetables again! Oh how I wish every farmer was like this.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - caution: passion for eco-justice is contagious.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. A book of love, relationships and following your heart.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure: this was an (optional) book I read for a class, so my lens is slightly colored by that viewpoint.

Firstly, Atina's prose is good; she waxes poetical endlessly, so if you want descriptions of living as one with the land and nature and family, etc., this will be in your interest. Downside: the waxing never ceases, and eventually crosses over into, yes, thank you for all the flowery language, but you've made this point before. The book could probably be two-thirds the length and still get the message across without dragging it out.

Secondly, one of the blurbs on the back describes it as part memoir and part organic manual. However, as I was reading this for the organic focus, that information is scattered all over the place, and interwoven with the flowery language, not to mention how many times she repeats how Martin just "knows things" from his experience and wisdom of his elders, or how they pull through because of the connections their family has going back generations - none of which is actually helpful to someone new to farming. Lots of interesting tidbits scattered all throughout, however.

Final point: one could certainly call this a slice of life story, in that not much really happens. There are numerous instances of struggles that the farm goes through, of course laced throughout with invectives from the author about the evils that are destroying the world, which they are! However, the majority of the book is just, here's farm life. If that's what you want to learn about, this book will overload you with that information. It's only in the final 5% that a real conflict arises, and in fairness, it turned from dull engagement into a pageturner that I could not put down: they fight a Koch pipeline. Spoiler alert:
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They win! Fuck yeah.

So: read on if you want 300+ pages of prose about the natural beauty of an organic farm and the hippie family that lives on it, because that's what you're getting into. Wouldn't recommend from an informative perspective.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In telling her story of working the land, coaxing good food from the fertile soil, Atina Diffley reminds us of an ultimate truth: we live in relationships -- with the earth, plants and animals, families and communities. A memoir of making these essential relationships succeed in the face of challenges as natural as weather and as unnatural as corporate politics, Turn Here Sweet Corn is a firsthand history of getting in at the 'ground level' of organic farming. One of the first certified organic produce farms in the Midwest, the Diffleys' Gardens of Eagan helped to usher in a new kind of green revolution in the heart of America's farmland, supplying their roadside stand and a growing number of local food co-ops. This is a story of a world transformed -- and reclaimed -- one square acre at a time.:
~~back cover
"An education on organic farming and its importance, as well as a heartfelt love letter to the land."

This was a fascinating book. It's partly the story of Martin & Atina's marriage, partly the story of how they became dedicated to organic farming, but it's also a polemic on why all farming should be organic, how the hidden pesticides in our food is making us unhealthy and depleting the soil until it's dead and contributing to the loss of biodiversity in our environment, and how big business (i.e., the dreaded, infamous Kochs) believe they're a law unto themselves and can run roughshod wherever they want, and what it takes to fight them to a standstill.

The book got off to a slow start, but by the end it was a page turner, just as compelling as any mystery or good love story.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent - not only for the story itself, but for the prose, which is lucid and affecting. Diffley and her family have an organic farm in Minnesota, and the book is less a how-to of farming than it is a love letter to vegetables, the land, and the organic food community as a whole. That community comes in handy in the final major conflict of the book, where a giant fertiliser company wants to put an oil pipe through the farm and legal action has to be taken to stop them (I wonder why the fertiliser people targeted the organic farms over other potential routes? It's a fucking mystery.)

There is, admittedly, a nostalgic sort of glow over what is realistically exhausting and backbreaking work, and for the life of me I will never sympathise with Diffley's ongoing love affair with kale. Sympathetic as I am to her beliefs - the environmental benefits of organic farming have solid scientific backing - and the heartbreak of having to leave an existing farm because of the stupidity of fertile agricultural land being transformed into suburbia, the most affecting pieces of this book for me were the smaller emotional beats. The desolation of Diffley's little daughter Eliza after the first farm she was raised on was bulldozed, for one, and the cutting realisation that the Diffleys might be moving to a new, rundown farm but that means the wildlife there must move out in turn is another. It's cost and consequence and, as I said... beautifully written.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

non-fiction with an abundance of information for the gardener/farmer aspect of our lives. The family has combined their talents and farmland to furnish their neighbors at first and then reaching out through Co-op Groups selling fresh produce as far as their trucks are able to go. All of it of course is organic. The rules for these crops are stringent and cover so much more than regular crops. The evolution of this family and their struggles is covered for nearly 40 years. Theirs is an example of good old fashioned hard work, respect for your neighbor, responsibility in maintaining healthy land and also keeping abreast with the latest mechanical aids required for efficient farming. The people that help in the process are willing workers and honestly care about protecting our environment. As a daughter of a farming family, I was remembering so much of our struggle and dependence on the weather for good crops. In the Midwest and Minnesota too much rain, hail, drought dictate your future. Here in California, yes there is drought but also there are fires.

Very thoughtful, insightful and revealing for those of us interested in climate and protection of our land.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Local author, local story. Wisc-born Tina changes her name to Atina, falls in love with Martin Diffley, southern metro Mpls organic market farmer, and they struggle, loving the land, attempting to avoid developers, and succeeding in their quest to feed Minnesotans good, organically produced vegetables. It's well-written and only bogs down when they start to fight a proposed pipeline, scheduled to be built through their fields. The bog is short-lived and the rest of the book is good enough to carry the 4 stars.
Reading it made me sign up for a CSA share this coming year. Fresh veggies, here I come!

[Lydia Bergen · Rating 3 out of 5]

5-star reviewers called this lyrical and poetic. When I first started, it felt so overwritten and bogged down in detail. I didn't think I'd stick with it, but I got sucked into Atina's story and felt affection for her as a fellow Minnesotan and someone I could see in folks here in Winona who founded our food co-op. A typical memoir includes a transformed narrator, but Atina seems so firmly set in her self-assured and self-righteous ways. Her conflicts are only with threats to the land. More internal conflict would have made her more sympathetic and feel less preachy. That said, I did learn a lot about organic farming and have a renewed awe for the work that farmers do.

[Monica Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so clear and heartfelt. It becomes a primer on how to live one's life, make decisions, keep your dignity and move on if need be. It is also how to manage a marriage. Inspiring. All set in the dirt, the humdrum, labor and connection to all things in the universe that is a farming life.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very inspiring, informative, and readable book. The author lives her farming dreams, the good and the bad, the hard work, the successes and the failures. I learned a lot about organic farming - how it helps the land and the beings, human and otherwise, who live off of the land. I am inspired to make more organic purchases where possible.

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring and moving as you follow Atina's growth over the years organic farming. While I've worked on small scale organic farms, it was interesting to read about larger-production organic farming that still holds itself to high values. Really enjoyed it.

[Patsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much I didn't know about the organic farming history in MN!

[Teri Blonigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting autobiography! I learned a lot about organic farming and to appreciate organic farms. Amazing chapters about Soil vs. Oil. Atina is an inspiring person!

[Robin Kelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite reads. Great story of resiliency and the history of modern organic farming.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book. It was engaging, informative and made me want to get into my garden. A great history of organic farming with hope for the future.

[JS]

Recommendation from friend Patty Drier