My name is Dennis Martin. I spent the first 20 years of my life trying to get off the farm and the next 30 trying to get back on. I finally made it when I purchased 15 acres in the country. I call my farm: Martin’s Back Acres “The Land of Fruits, Nuts, and Clucks”. The Martin’s Back Acres came about quickly but The Land of Fruits, Nuts, and Clucks evolved slowly.
I have always enjoyed solving problems so my overall problem was to try to figure out how to make a small farm produce enough profit to support a family. During my 30+ years in the “rat race” I had started 2 businesses in the computer industry so I brought that knowledge to farming. I tried to find a “niche” in the marketplace that was “sustainable” both from an economical and environmental standpoint.
After much experimentation I have finally settled on Pecans, Strawberry & Blackberry Plants, and Chickens. This also includes products related to each of these. For instance, I needed chickens for the high nitrogen fertilizer for the pecan trees but chickens cost a lot of money to feed and house. In order to produce this money I included:
Chickens: Eggs, Baby Chicks, Young Chickens, Young Laying Hens, and Young Roosters.
Pecans include: Pecans, Pecan trees, Pecan cracking & cleaning, and some other related products.
Strawberry & Blackberry Plants could include the fruits of these also. I don’t currently provide the fruits for sale because I haven’t developed the marketplace. In fact, I sell top quality chemical free plants to people who have developed and/or are close to a marketplace for these fruits. Developing a marketplace is usually much more difficult (and time consuming) than producing a product.
As a “Problem Solver” I enjoy passing any knowledge I may have on to others who are younger, have a passion for growing things, and want to pursue this career.
Dennis Martin will speak during the Friday In-depth: Organic Blueberries, Pecans, and Peanuts with Al Clark of Clark & Sons Organic.
Production, variety selection, and an understanding of the organic marketplace are essential in making your farm operation a success with these crops. Learn more about production, variety selection, and an understanding of the organic marketplace are essential in making your farm operation a success with these crops.
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Register for Conference
The 2019 Georgia Organics Conference & Expo takes place Feb. 8-9, 2019 in Tifton, Ga. Learn more about our conference content here and purchase tickets here. Email porter@georgiaorganics.org to receive your member discount code to register and email sarah@georgiaorganics.org to learn about group rates.