July/August 2021 - 20

Wagner Farms in
Rome, New York,
is the winner of
Great American
Media Services' first
Specialty Grower
Sustainability
Award. Photos:
Wagner Farms
Readjust helps Wagner
Farms find sustainability
New York farm wins first Specialty
Grower Sustainability Award
By Stephen Kloosterman
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
verything is in bloom at Wagner
Farms in Rome, New York, where
farm operations and the very
business model have been remodeled
around the concept of sustainability.
The central New York state operation
used to be a commercial-scale grower,
with 170 acres under cultivation using
conventional growing techniques. But,
fast forward to the present day, and
they've been able to do more with less.
A corn burner harnesses a sustainable
energy
source
for
his
farm. New
crop rotations protect the soil while
reducing the need for fertilizer, and
technologies lower costs.
Ronald Wagner was recently
recognized by Great American Media
20
Spudman.com
E
Services - the parent company of
Spudman - with the inaugural 2021
Specialty Grower Sustainability Award,
sponsored by Valent U.S.A.
The farm grows vegetable and fruit
crops in addition to sunflowers and
grain corn that's burned to heat the
greenhouse.
" Years ago we started out more on
the organic side, and then we went
conventional for a reason. The last eight
to 10 years have been a combination
of the two, " Wagner said. " It's been
vital to our farming operation to get a
higher-quality product using less inputs
while safeguarding the quality and the
production for human consumption. "
A DECISION POINT
The farm once grew about 170 acres
of crops - a mix of grain products,
produce including everything from
potatoes and onions to strawberries, and
other u-pick items, such as raspberries.
Today, that's down to just 80 acres,
mostly of grain corn and produce.
The decision to downscale the farm
operation was made by events beyond
Wagner's control.
" We suffered a substantial loss in 2013,
and multiple flood events in a season
that wiped us out, financially crippled
us for a couple years, and then we got
behind with a loss of land for eminent
domain as a development forced us off
of our most-productive renting land -
our farm was financed based upon that
land acreage, " he said. " With reductions
over the years, we had to figure out a
way to make the same money, make the
same living off of less acreage. "
Wagner and his
family downsized
in 2015-16, letting go of all the leased
property and concentrating just on the
main farm, which was 106 acres (70
tillable). About 10 more acres rented
have since brought up the number to 80.

http://www.Spudman.com

July/August 2021

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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-potato-expo-2025-digital-guide
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-november-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-september-october-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-may-june-2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-november-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/spudman-september-october-2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/november-december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/september-october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/july-august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/may-june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/SPUD/basf-2019
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