Martin Farms, ID
Newspaper clippings of Martin Farms throughout time
Newspaper clippings of Martin Farms throughout the years
Our Story
As told by Julie Martin, Mom, Grandma and Co-founder of Martin Farms
Larry and I were married in 1959. Larry wanted to farm, but we didn’t see how we could. In 1967, after we had three children, an older farmer in our area retired, and we had the chance to buy his equipment from him. My dad agreed to sign on a loan with us, and our farming adventure began. We found some ground clear out on the desert that a man would rent to us. It was still in sagebrush, and so we had to clear the sagebrush.
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Pictured left, Larry Martin
Newspaper clippings of Martin Farms throughout the years
We would plow it up and then rake it into rows and then set fire to it. It was hard grueling work. We were a two-person team. I hired a babysitter. We would hire a couple of ladies and myself, and we would cut the potatoes by hand with no automatic machine. They would fall into sacks, and Larry would load the sacks on a truck by hand. Then we would go to the field. I would drag the sacks to the end of the truck, and Larry would dump them into the planter. He would drive the tractor, and I would ride the planter. I would fix a lunch, and my kids would play all day at the end of the field while we planted. I would take their tricycles to the cellar while we cut potatoes, and they would play there.
We decided to rent some ground on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and it was much better ground. But harvesting was quite a nightmare at first. Our trucks would get stuck in the sand. We bought some old army trucks, and they worked better. We still have a couple of army trucks today.
We have had some tough times throughout the years but we've always managed to pull through.
The advances in our equipment have been unbelievable. We started out harvesting two rows of potatoes at a time and now with windrowers pick up twelve rows at a time.
Larry died in 1994 of a brain tumor.
Bill was just in his thirties, but he just took the reins, and with his two brothers, Travis and Zay, they have built a large farming operation.
We now have a successful operating farm. I still pay the bills and am happy to be involved. We have bought quite a bit of ground of our own and still continue to rent from local landowners and the on the reservation.
Farm prices are low, and we hope the outlook improves. Farming is such hard and work and a big risk, but my boys love it, and there is no better place to raise a family than on a farm.
(Pictured left, Julie and Larry on wedding day)