Atina Diffley (née Schoof) was born in 1959, and grew up on a farm in southeast Wisconsin. Martin Diffley was born in 1949, and grew up on a farm in Eagan, Minnesota, that five generations of his family had farmed since 1855. In 1973, Martin Diffley established Gardens of Eagan, which he began farming organically; the farm was certified organic in 1974. Diffley was involved with the Organic Growers and Buyers Association (OGBA) from 1975 to 1990, as an organic inspector, a certification committee advisor, board member, and board chair. From 1983 to 1985, he was also involved in the formation of Minnesota state organic standards.
After Martin and Atina married in 1985, continued farming on the land became untenable as first an elementary school and then housing developments led Diffley relatives to sell the remaining farmland. In 1991, the Diffleys were featured in Helen de Michiel's video production, Turn Here Sweet Corn, about Gardens of Eagan farm and the broader topic of preservation of agricultural land. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the Diffleys farmed on rented plots of land. They eventually established an organic farm in Eureka Township, and as the size of the farm increased, Gardens of Eagan produce became known for its high quality and a staple of the extensive cooperative grocery store movement in the Twin Cities. They sponsored field days to share their expertise and established an internship program on their farm to train younger farmers. Active participants in the Organic Farming Conferences organized by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), both Atina and Martin Diffley presented (separately and together) on various organic farming topics such as cover crops, green manures, farm equipment, growing for market, post-harvest handling, farm labor, soil health, and biodiversity. In 2004, the Diffleys were honored as the MOSES Farmers of the Year.
In 2006, the Minnesota Pipe Line Company (MPL, part of Koch Industries, which operates the Minnesota pipe line system), proposed building a pipe line to transport crude oil from Canada that would cross Gardens of Eagan land (also known as MinnCan, or “Soil vs. Oil, Kale vs. Koch,” as the Diffleys dubbed the project). The Diffleys filed as parties to the proceeding, and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission subsequently received over 4500 public comments in support of Gardens of Eagan. MPL ultimately settled on an alternate route which did not cross the Diffleys' land, and an appendix to the agricultural impact mitigation plan (AIMP) for the MinnCan project specifically detailed measures intended to protect organic farms which might face similar challenges from proximity to oil pipe line infrastructure.
In 2008, the Wedge Community Co-op purchased the Gardens of Eagan name and equipment, leased the land for the next few years, and ultimately purchased land to which they moved the farm and established an organic field school. After the sale of the farm, the Diffleys established Organic Farming Works, a business that promotes organic agriculture through educational outreach and consulting.
Martin Diffley has participated in joint research with University of Wisconsin-Madison plant breeder Bill Tracy and UW graduate students to develop a cold soil-tolerant, open-pollinated organic sweet corn variety so that farmers could eventually save the seed and continue to improve the variety for their particular circumstances. The “Who Gets Kissed?” variety of organic sweet corn was released at the end of 2014.
Atina Diffley designed and edited Roger Blobaum's organic history website; wrote a book, Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works (2012), which was awarded a Minnesota Book Award the following year; and served as co-editor, with Jim Slama, of Wholesale Success: A Farmer's Guide to Food Safety, Selling, Postharvest Handling, and Packing Produce (4th ed., 2013), a manual published by the organization FamilyFarmed, for which she serves as a trainer. Diffley also serves on the boards of the Organic Seed Alliance (2010-present), Farm Commons (2014-present), and the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (2008-present), and is a former board member of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (2006-2013), and the Organic Field School at Gardens of Eagan (2007-2011).
