Ortensi Farm—
Improving Land Health and Quality of Life BY ANN ADAMS
B
ernadette “Berni” Ortensi grew up on an equine farm in Massachusetts that was very different from the 500-acre farm she manages today with her husband, Gregory. Her childhood farm was a full service farm that included grazing and taking care of 60 horses. Berni learned how to care for, train, show, and oversee the breeding of horses on that farm. Horses were her life, and she thought she would continue providing many equestrian services as a key component to Ortensi Farm when she married her husband in 2002. But as Berni learned more about what she wanted from the farm, by taking classes like HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer training, and what the soils needed from her, the focus of the farm has changed and she has begun focusing more on land health and the quality of life on the farm.
cropping to improve our soils and they seem to be thriving.” When Berni moved on to the farm she realized that while she knew a lot about horses, she didn’t know a lot about soils and plants. “I realized this was a huge responsibility, and I didn’t know anything about agriculture,” says Berni. “I didn’t want to start spreading chemicals so I researched organic farming and what it meant to be an organic farmer. In 2005 we were certified organic by New York Northeast Organic Farming Association (NY NOFA). We’ve managed it that way since then. We grew some small grains, and we had some great crops and
other years it would be loss. Now we are using four cover crops and we have a lot less input costs. We haven’t grazed cover crops yet, but I’m going to do a spring annual crop and then graze it. Then we will do another annual crop in another field and graze it in fall.”
Learning What’s Important
As Berni learned more about soil health and grazing, she shifted the focus of the farm enterprises from the annual grain crops to grassfed protein. Her goal has been to increase soil health and see how she can increase pasture productivity to raise more animals. Right now she has a product weak link as she had more grazing available when she brought the cattle in December for shipping. She uses temporary fencing and will often graze 3rd and 4th cuttings Transforming in their hayfields. a Farm “I’ve really been Gregory originally able to extend my bought the Ortensi grazing season Farm located in with perennials. central New York Any seeding we are in 1997 before he doing is paying for met Berni. They met the seed and we are because Berni was showing a consistent buying hay from profit on the farm. him. In 2002 they And, we still haven’t The Ortensi Farm focus has shifted over the years as Berni and Gregory have married and Berni maximized cattle gotten clear what they enjoy most about farming. joined in the farm numbers. We’re at management. The about 90 cows and farm had been Gregory’s retirement plan as crop failures. Over the years, we decided we calves. We’ve got 350 acres for grazing and he hadn’t planned on sitting in an easy chair. weren’t going to grow organic grains anymore. making hay. I think we can handle 150 cows The farm definitely needed some help as it had Anything annual we plant now is either a cover as soils get stronger and we have more soil historically been a dairy. crop or baleage. nutrients increasing forage production. That’s “The land had been leased and rented, raped “That one decision has helped make our one of the reasons I pay attention to my grazing and pillaged, for 15 years before he bought it,” farm be more profitable. We had low yields and land,” says Berni. says Berni. “It was pretty vacant and needed in combine crops and we’re a smaller farm. “I had already been practicing rotational lots of transformation. That’s our mission—get It costs a lot to own a combine, so we’d hire grazing when I took HMI’s Beginning Women our land in a better place than when we bought out our combining. But, being organic is all Farmer course. After the class, I started it. It has been a slow progression with time and about timeliness. We had weed pressure with changing some of my grazing management. money constraints and weather challenges, but different plants wanting to grow in the soil, and One thing I did was shorten up my grazing we’ve made progress. I attribute our progress we couldn’t deal with it because our custom periods and move the animals more. But the to all the things I’ve learned in grazing classes worker might be busy. We couldn’t respond in biggest thing I’ve gotten out of the Holistic and soil and human nutrition. We’ve done a timely fashion. That whole model was a flop. Management training is thinking of quality of life some amending and used grazing and cover Some years we’d have a marginal profit and CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 N um ber 179
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