Celebrating 25 Years of Organic Farming

Time has a funny way of passing in leaps and bounds in just the blink of an eye.

Elmwood Stock Farm began in earnest in the 1930s with Cecil D. and Clara Bell, who established what was then called Bel-Clair Farm. They kept a family dairy cow, chickens and other livestock and grew a variety of crops including tobacco, which was very common for farms in our region. The operation shifted and grew and came to include cattle as a major focal point and then in 1994 we started selling directly to customers at the farmers market. 

Around the same time, Mac was having his organic “a-ha” moment. After seeing first hand the impact of pesticides and fertilizers in his work through Kentucky State University, he knew that there had to be a better way to grow truly good-for-you food that’s good for the planet too. As he often says, “when you are trudging along a pond dam with a tank of toxic herbicide sloshing around on your back, spraying invasive thistle weeds, and fish ‘accidentally’ die off, it makes you think. When you have a surplus of garden tomatoes at work but are not sure you want to take them home for your family to consume, it makes you think.”

After some time the USDA caught up to this way of thinking and introduced the USDA organic certification. We jumped at this very exciting development and were officially recognized as certified organic in 2000, though of course we had been selling our organically grown and raised produce, meat and eggs before that. 

We’ve now been USDA organic certified for 25 years. Being certified organic means that we can apply the label to our products that we sell, ship, etc. It’s quite a stringent and lengthy process to keep our organic certification; we’re required to submit a detailed system plan to our designated and accredited certifier that shows how we’re adhering to the standards set by the USDA. There are other factors to consider as well when compared with more chemical-based farming, namely that organic farming is much more costly. It’s all worth it though, knowing that we’re contributing to a greater good and that we’re helping to leave this planet better than we found it – and producing great tasting food while doing it!

There’s so much to celebrate but more than anything, thank you for trusting us with growing wholesome food for you all these years. Here’s to 25 more!