Meet the Yoder Family

by Carrie Branovan

"If we treat the soil right, it will return life to us. Caring for the earth, particularly the soil, is what God intended for us to do."
—Kore Yoder, Lewisburg Pennsylvania, 13th generation farmer.

The way Kore Yoder tells the story, his father and mother, Noah and Amanda Yoder are the "father and mother" of organic farming in the Lewisburg area of Pennsylvania. Of course, the entire family, humble as they are, would shrug this off.

Back in 1975, when Kore was 21 years old, he remembers his father inviting Irv Jasperson from Wonderlife™ to the farm, because his brother-in-law who lived in Ohio was terrifically impressed with Irv's point of view. This began their journey toward organics. "I don't think there was anyone like Irv at the time," Kore recalls fondly. "He had done his homework. Wonderlife™ methods changed our farm."

"Irv was traveling the country, reminding farmers about the wisdom they had lost," remembers Kore. "Back in the 40's when the chemicals came along, if you started to use herbicides, you didn't have to take the time to cultivate. I can understand how that was immediately attractive. Farmers in those days believed what they were told. We were told that there were no side effects from the use of chemicals on us, or the soil. In those years the focus wasn't on quality, it was on quantity," Kore remembers.