The team of horses pictured on the label for Green Field Farms products is more than just a nostalgic image designed to attract customers. The farmer members of the marketing cooperative really do farm with horses. The co-op, which started in 2003, is made up of farmers who are members of Amish or conservative Mennonite churches and use horses and buggies for transportation. Aden Yoder, director of operations for Green Field Farms, explains that the co-op was started to help their families sustain their farms in the face of growing development pressure. "Some community-minded men had concerns about our plain people losing our farms," he says.

Green Field Farms is based near Wooster, Ohio in southern Wayne County, just north of the Holmes County line. The co-op's 180 farmer members are concentrated in Wayne and Holmes counties, but some are located as far north as Medina and as far south as Quaker City in Guernsey County. Another 16 growers are located near the co-op's satellite location near Cass City, Mich. The co-op is also considering a second satellite location in southern Ohio. "We want to build a model that not only works here, but can be taken to other communities," Aden says.

When he was a boy, Aden recalls, about 90% of Amish children grew up on farms. Now, only about 15% are on farms working with their families. The co-op aims to revitalize the community's farming tradition. "We're alarmed about some of the social ills that come when Dad is working away," Aden says.

Community leaders organized the co-op after conducting a feasibility study. "We had to figure out how to produce more value per acre," Aden says. Since their farming practices were already similar to those required for organic certification, the co-op focuses on organic products, which generally receive premium prices. Most consumers aren't picky about production methods as long as the food is tasty, inexpensive and quick to prepare. "We couldn't compete with that clientele." Instead, the co-op is focusing on the 15% of consumers who set a priority on buying food that's wholesome and produced by people they know or trust. Those consumers prefer certified organic products and they like knowing their food is produced on small family farms.

At first, the co-op focused primarily on marketing eggs, but sales didn't take off like they expected, Aden says. "That never quite developed into our flagship product like we thought it would." Instead, demand grew for seasonal produce such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, onions, kale and cabbage. The co-op also markets some products that are processed by members, such as raw milk cheese, sauerkraut, kale chips, maple puffed spelt, maple syrup and maple water (condensed from the water evaporated during the syrup making process).

Advice from produce industry experts helped the co-op get started right with standardized packaging and labeling, Aden says. The co-op also connected with a large produce distribution company that agreed to handle their products. "When they first picked up from our location, I'm sure it didn't make sense for them," he says. Now, however, that customer is picking up nine semi loads of produce a week in season, and the produce sales have been growing by 30 to 40% each year. Last year, the co-op worked with a group of investors to put up a new refrigerated warehouse to receive shipments from producers and assemble orders for shipment. The co-op has grown from supplying small specialty markets to supplying produce for the large supermarket chain Kroger. "We can bring together a lot of produce off of small farm," Aden says.

Grower Standards
The farmer members of the co-op maintain their own organic certifications and make management decisions for their own farms. For any given crop, the co-op suggests two or three varieties that yield similar produce. That way, farmers can select what works better for their growing conditions, yet the produce coming in is uniform, explains Junior Yoder, operations manager for Green Field Farms. "We might mix and match product on a pallet," he says.

Before the growing season begins, the co-op coordinates with growers to match production with expected demand. As crops are harvested, growers clean and pack them on their own farms, then trucks from the co-op carry the produce to the warehouse. The co-op hires drivers to handle the motorized transportation.

Green Field Farms also works with farmer members on testing soils and balancing soil nutrients. The co-op has its own soil mineral blending facility to supply members and during the winter months growers work on analyzing their soils and planning their soil amendment programs. As a result, co-op members are seeing improvements in the nutritional value and shelf-life of the produce they grow, says Junior, who also oversees production on his own family farm. "We feel that has really helped us a lot in achieving the quality product our buyers have come to expect," he says.

Dairy venture
In mid-June, Green Field Farms began shipping organic milk from a new, state-of-the-art, processing facility in Fredericksburg. The co-op is working to create a niche market for milk produced on small farms by member farmers, Aden says. They've been struggling to make ends meet because an oversupply of conventionally produced milk has pushed more farmers into organic production. Now, prices have dropped for organic milk as well. "Hopefully this will help our small farms with that," Aden says. 

Green Field Farms has developed its own delivery system to take milk to stores, and to retrieve the empty bottles. The co-op started with two routes to Columbus-area Kroger stores and a third route covering the Athens area. Future routes are planned to deliver milk to Cleveland- and Akron-area Kroger stores. "We're thankful to have a chain that size work with us," Aden says.

The co-op's milk is processed with vat pasteurization, which holds milk at a minimum of 145 degrees F for 30 minutes. That kills harmful bacteria, but retains some enzymes destroyed by typical higher temperature pasteurization, Aden says. The milk, which is not homogenized, is bottled in returnable glass bottles. The milk is intended to fill demand from consumers who are interested in healthy, sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyles. "Old people say that's milk the way we used to get it, and young people say it's green," Aden says. "They know what they're looking for and they're willing to pay a premium for it."