\t\t\t\t![\"Talking_History:](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Talking_History.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
1855: Diffley Preemption of Land In Eagan<\/h4>\n
William and Katherine Diffley preempted 160-acres in Eagan, Minnesota and built the original Diffley homestead on the corner of Dodd and Diffley Road.<\/p>\n
1855\u20131991: Five Generations of Diffleys<\/h4>\n
The extended Diffley family lived on the Diffley land in Eagan, MN. Crops raised included dairy, small grains, hay and vegetables for the Twin Cities markets.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t As a child, Martin worked for neighbor truck farmers and grew and marketed vegetables alongside Highway 3 in Eagan, MN. His uncles and neighbors taught him about soil building crops, rotational grazing, and the human and animal health problems associated with agricultural chemicals. His father ran a barber shop on the Diffley land.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Atina\u2019s family grew or wild-harvested, and canned or froze most of their fruits and vegetables. Sweet corn was sold alongside the road.<\/p>\n Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA), a Minnesota non-profit, formed to link organic farmers and buyers.<\/p>\n Martin took responsibility for the family land owned by his cousins and began growing organic vegetables, marketing them at the Minneapolis farmers market. His early organic systems were based on his uncle\u2019s and neighbor\u2019s advice and experimentation with soil-building crops and alternative pest and disease management.<\/p>\n Martin began the Gardens of Eagan wholesale delivery route serving natural food co-ops in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.<\/p>\n Martin volunteered with OGBA as a field inspector, a certification committee advisor, a board member, chair of OGBA, and worked with the participatory committee and the state to develop Minnesota Organic standards.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Martin opened the Gardens of Eagan roadside stand, then called a \u201cCommunity Market.\u201d<\/p>\n In the early 1980s, the State of Minnesota worked with OGBA to draft state organic rules and regulations. Criteria based on the principle that \u201corganic farming will do no harm\u201d were used, and the impacts of conventional farming on biological diversity, birds and other wildlife, erosion, and the land itself were critical considerations. By bringing the growers and buyers together, commonality, consistency, and a fundamental certification system and methodology were created. Having state standards increased the uniformity, credibility, and visibility of organic farming in Minnesota, and the organic community was thrilled to be able to say, \u201cThese are our standards, written by organic farmers and buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t The Gardens of Eagan collaborated with professors and students from the U of M, and staff from the MN. Departments of Agriculture and Health. Examples of past projects include, Dr. David Andow studied Trichogramma wasps as biological control of corn borers on sweet corn; Dr. Dharma Sreenivasam researched the impact of a lady beetle on potato bug larvae; the Gardens of Eagan provided produce and access to fields for the study \u201cMicrobiological Safety of Organic Fruits and Vegetables\u201d by Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t In the fall of 1988, twenty acres of the Diffley family land (one-hundred and twenty acres total) were needed to build Pinewood Elementary School. The city of Eagan had kept no land left zoned for agriculture. Sewer and water infrastructure crossed the remaining land to serve the school and assessments were placed against the land. Martin\u2019s cousins\u2013the owners of the land\u2013saw no choice but to sell the remaining one-hundred acres for development. The land was bulldozed for Autumn Ridge and Hawthorne Woods housing projects from 1989-1993. During this period Atina and Martin farmed on eighteen different properties within a thirty-mile radius to meet their production needs with certifiable organic land.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Atina and Martin purchased their own land in Eureka Township and began the 36-month process of transition to organic. The transition process included, taking the land out of production, covering open waterways with grass, reducing the \u201cweed seedbank\u201d stored in the soil, creating small fields with adjoining biological diversity habitat, and feeding the microbial life of the soil by planting soil-building crops. They continued growing their vegetable crops on 18-rented fields until 1994 when the new land was ready for organic certification.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t When the Diffley\u2019s 5th-generation family land was bulldozed for suburban development they collaborated with filmmaker Helen De Michiel to create Turn Here Sweet Corn<\/em>, a documentary addressing the rural-suburban interface and the loss of agricultural land. Much of the video is filmed at the Gardens of Eagan and includes organic farming information. The Diffleys also arranged and facilitated film interviews with other farmers, family, and community members. The film aired nationally on PBS, locally at film venues, and is available for purchase on the Internet. The Land Stewardship Project presented Turn Here Sweet Corn<\/em> extensively in their urban-sprawl advocacy work around the state and the Diffleys presented on the importance of land preservation.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t After 12 years of NOSB meetings, multiple organic standards drafts, and 275,000 public comments, the Final Rule for the National Organic Standard was published and fully implemented.\u00a0Organic History.<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t When the Diffleys received notice that the MinnCan pipeline proposed to bisect the Gardens of Eagan they intervened as parties in the route proceeding. Party status permitted the Gardens of Eagan to make discovery requests, file expert evidence, and conduct cross-examination in a contested administrative hearing. Through this legal process they protected their own farm and addressed the unique\u00a0mitigation needs of other organic farmers.<\/p>\n Pipelines and power lines have impinged upon agricultural land for decades. Minnesota state law recognizes this risk and requires that mitigation of impacts on agricultural land be considered in routing energy infrastructure. However, organic farms present a new and unique conflict with pipeline and power-line land use. Construction and soil compaction activities can seriously impair production in farming systems dependent on soil characteristics for fertility; the loss of beneficial insect habitat can impact pest and disease levels; and the use of fuels, herbicides, and other chemicals in the process of construction or right-of-way maintenance can result in decertification of organic farms.<\/p>\n The Diffleys filed evidence establishing the nature of organic production and the unique vulnerability of the Gardens of Eagan vegetable farm to the harms resulting from a crude oil pipeline. They included the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in negotiations, resulting in State support to protect organic agriculture in an appendix to the AIMP. In addition to legal advocacy, the Diffleys worked with consumers and other stakeholders. As a result of outreach and organizing, over 4,500 public comments were received supporting protection of the Gardens of Eagan organic farm and protection of MN\u2019s organic farms from the impacts of the proposed crude oil pipeline.<\/p>\n As a result of these efforts, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission included in the permit for the pipeline what is believed to be the first organic agriculture mitigation plan in the country applicable to energy infrastructure. This mitigation plan provides rights and protections for any affected organic farm in Minnesota. Since the implementation of the Organic Appendix to the AIMP in the MinnCan case, organic mitigation has been applied to other projects in Minnesota, including the Enbridge Pipeline, the Northern Natural Gas Pipeline, and the Cap-X2020 transmission line, and other jurisdictions in the U.S. have begun to require that agricultural impact mitigation plans provide protection to organic agriculture.\u00a0Click to read pipeline documents and articles.<\/a><\/p>\n The\u00a0Wedge Co-op\u00a0purchased the\u00a0Gardens of Eagan\u00a0name and equipment and leased the farmland.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Martin, working with the U of W-Madison (Dr. Bill Tracy) and the\u00a0Organic Seed Alliance<\/a>\u00a0(Dr. John Navazio.) developed a sweet corn variety uniquely adapted to the climate and field conditions at Gardens of Eagan that combines good cold soil germination and vigor with great flavor, sweetness, standability, and resistance to common rust and corn smut. The cultivar,\u00a0Who Gets Kissed<\/a> was released in 2015. It is available for purchase from High Mowing Seeds<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Atina and Martin continue to live on the land and provide outreach through their business\u00a0Organic Farming Works LLC<\/a>. The Diffleys now use their land for seed breeding, education, and mentoring and incubation of future organic farmers.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"The](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/diffleyfamily-dodd-martin.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\tThe Thomas and Anna Diffley family portrait, circa 1917<\/p>\n1950s and 60s: Martin\u2019s Childhood<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Aunt](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/maryeilene-Martinsbridge1962-martin-285x285.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n1960s and 70s: Atina\u2019s Childhood in Rural Wisconsin<\/h4>\n
1972: Organic Certification<\/h4>\n
1973: Gardens of Eagan begins<\/h4>\n
1974: Diffley\u2019s Gardens of Eagan Received Organic Certification.<\/h4>\n
1974\u20131990: OGBA Involvement<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Satr](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Plate-32.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nLate 1970s: Roadside Stand<\/h4>\n
1985: Minnesota Passed State Organic Laws.<\/h4>\n
1985: Atina Joined Martin as Farm, Business, and Life Partner.<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/atina-and-martin-in-retail-store.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n1980s\u2013present: Organic and Entomology Research.<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Gardens](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/organicday1990.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n1989-1993: Suburban Development<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Gardens](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Plate-121.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n1991: A New Home for Gardens of Eagan Found<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"We](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Plate-16.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n1991: TURN HERE SWEET CORN | The Video<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Turn](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/71.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nOctober 2002: Full Implementation Of The National Organic Program Goes Into Effect.<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t2006: \u201cOrganic Appendix for the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Plan.\u201d (AIMP)
\n\t<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Image](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kale-Versus-Koch-Gardens-of-Eagan-intervenes-in-the-MinnCan-crude-oil-pipeline-routing-procedure.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nJanuary 2008: Sale of Gardens of Eagan Name to The Wedge Community Co-op.<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"The](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2519.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n2008- 2015 Participatory Plant Breeding \u2013 Organic Sweet Corn Breeding<\/h4>\n
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Evalaution](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2736.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nThe Future<\/h4>\n
![\"vegy](\"https:\/\/atinadiffley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/vegy-41.jpg\")