Sustainable Farming

A recent article at newfarm.org profiled Heartland Mills in Marienthal, Kansas. The mill mostly processes organic wheat, but also organic oats, barley, rye, spelt, corn and millet from local farmers. A group of farmers founded the mill in 1986, at the forefront of the organic movement. These farmers had switched to organic after witnessing a rapid decline in the quality of their soil. The mill’s current General Manager, Mark Nightengale, who was a farmer at the time, describes how the soil had become compacted, had lost much of its capacity for water retention and had lost 90% of its organic matter. Faced with this problem of deteriorating soil, Nightengale and others switched to organic farming, even before there was a market for organic foods.

Heartland Mills

The organic pioneers of the mid-eighties were definitely swimming against the current. Nightengale remembers how “Some people told us we were going to the loony bin.” However, despite the obstacles, the founders of Heartland Mills stuck with it and the mill now processes around 160,000 lbs of grain per day. The mill and many of the farmers in the area are to be commended because they were willing to alter their farming methods back before the added incentive of their organic produce commanding a higher price.